America's counter-terrorism chief under Donald Trump. Early in Trump's second term the administration ordered strikes against Islamic State jihadists in a cave complex in Somalia.
Gorka is among the hawks in the White House who are unconvinced by Ahmed al-Sharaa's transformation in Syria, insisting the country remains a counter-terrorism issue. He is famous for combative rhetoric, calling critics of the Iran war "testicularly challenged" and saying terrorists should be vapourised into "red mist".
In 2026 Mr Gorka unveiled a 16-page counter-terrorism strategy, described by him as his "life's work". It identifies three threat categories—narco-terrorists and transnational gangs, Islamist terrorists, and violent left-wing extremists—and omits any mention of the Iran war or right-wing extremism. The strategy was widely criticised as polemic rather than policy. Under the new doctrine American forces have carried out dozens of confirmed strikes on alleged "narco-terrorist" boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, and air strikes in Somalia have risen sharply against the Biden years.
Any programming language is at its best before it is implemented and used.