| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Ongoing Terrorist Operations in the U.S. |
| 2005-11-10 |
| November 10, 2005: Since 911, no Americans have been killed on U.S. soil by Islamist extremists. But at least six American law enforcement officers have been killed by home-grown terrorist groups. In the words of one extremist apprehended after slaying a police officer in California, his action was intended âto bring attention to, and halt, the police-state tactics that have been used throughout our country." Among the perpetrators have been members of the self-proclaimed Michigan Militia, the Aryan Brotherhood, the National Alliance, and a âChristian Identityâ group. In addition to these killings, domestic extremists have been involved in numerous instances of attacks on individuals or institutions, ranging from Hispanic citizens to synagogues. Just since the beginning of October, police in Idaho apprehended an extremist with a number of improvised bombs, a woman in Michigan was stabbed by neo-Nazis for âdistrespectâ to their regalia, while in Sacramento three members of the âEarth Liberation Frontâ pleaded guilty to attempted arson in connection with an attempt last December to burn down two homes under construction. It is estimated that there are over 800 extremist groups in the United States. Most of them specialize in racial or religious hatred, though a fair proportion have political agendas, ranging from neo-Confederates to radical anarchists, plus some others such as animal rights radicals or eco terrorists. Although domestic terrorists donât get the press coverage accorded to the foreign sort, they do get considerable attention from both official and non-governmental organizations. The FBI, for example, keeps tabs on any group likely to commit criminal acts, regardless of agenda. For example, it recently reported to Congress on âInvestigating and Preventing Animal Rights Extremism,â and has been probing possible links between Aryan Nations neo-Nazis and Islamist terrorists. The two most prominent non-governmental groups that monitor domestic extremism are the Southern Poverty Law Center, which focuses on racist and right-wing groups, and the Anti-Defamation League of Bânai Brith, which concentrates on groups with an anti-Semitic program . |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 PETA is the fundraising political front, EFL / ALF is their militant wing. PETA got caught in the past sending them money. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-11-10 12:29 |
| #3 I wonder how many of those "800 extremist groups" in the US have never done anything criminal, excepting "thought crimes"? In that a number have been around since the 1950s, and *still* haven't done anything illegal, they are hardly worth including in the list for purposes other than to puff it. The second big boffo that is usually tried is to equate non-violent groups with violent groups of the opposite extreme. Like equating the John Birch Society, a non-violent right-wing anti-communist organization with the Weathermen, a violent left-wing anti-government organization. The third trick is to muddle similar groups together, say Greenpeace, PETA and ALF. Greenpeace rarely engages in illegal activity, but when it does, it is usually non-violent. PETA does both, but their violence is indirect. ALF is usually violent, destructive, and now in Britain, human life-threatening with intent to be so. That being said, Greenpeace is a generally legal annoyance; PETA may or may not be considered a corrupt organization; but ALF is clearly a threat and a criminal organization. Greenpeace should be ignored for the most part, PETA should be dealt with in civil law, but ALF should be criminally prosecuted. This is a good outline for how that group of 800 should be objectively analyzed. Perhaps 15-20 of them fit into the last catagory. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-11-10 10:33 |
| #2 Shhhh! You're not supposed to notice them, ET. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-11-10 10:02 |
| #1 Wouldn't the DC snipers qualify as Islamist extremists? |
| Posted by: ET 2005-11-10 09:58 |