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| White supremacists enlisting in military |
| 2006-07-07 |
| A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racist hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to a watchdog organization. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia groups, estimated that the numbers could run into the thousands, citing interviews with Defense Department investigators and reports and postings on racist Web sites and magazines. "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator from a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem." A Defense Department spokeswoman said officials there could not comment on the report because they had not yet seen it. The center called on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to appoint a task force to study the problem, declare a new zero-tolerance policy and strictly enforce it. The report said that neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance, whose founder, William Pierce, wrote "The Turner Diaries," the novel that was the inspiration and blueprint for Timothy McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, had sought to enroll followers in the Army to get training for a race war. The groups are being abetted, the report says, by pressure on recruiters, particularly for the Army, to meet quotas that are more difficult to reach because of the growing unpopularity of the war in Iraq. The report quotes Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator, saying, "Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don't remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members." Barfield said Army recruiters struggled last year to meet goals. "They don't want to make a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military," he said, "because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists." The 1996 crackdown on extremists came after revelations that McVeigh had espoused far-right ideas when he was in the Army and recruited two fellow soldiers to aid his bomb plot. Those revelations were followed by a furor that developed when three white paratroopers were convicted of the random slaying of a black couple in order to win tattoos, and 19 others were discharged for participating in neo-Nazi activities. The defense secretary at the time, William Perry, said the rules were meant to leave no room for racist and extremist activities within the military. But the report said Barfield, who is based at Fort Lewis, Wash., had said he had provided evidence on 320 extremists there in the past year, but that only two had been discharged. He also said there was an online network of neo-Nazis. "They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military," he said. "Several of these individuals have since been deployed to combat missions in Iraq." |
| Posted by:Penguin |
| #15 In contemporary Clinton-speak, Nazis = Fascists > mere DE-REGULATED/LIMITED REGULATORY COMMIES + STALINISTS + LEFTISTS, etal, i.e. A GOOD NAZI-FASCIST WHOM ISN'T SAME, sub i.e. who is also for Marx, Lenin, and Mao depending on the nano-politics of the moment, on whose shoulders de facto blame and liability appears to fall on. more popularly known as Universal Policratism-Politicism + Waffle-ism. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-07-07 22:39 |
| #14 Lots of cow puckie. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2006-07-07 17:41 |
| #13 Those of us who have lived in San Francisco know that the Chronicle is institutionally incapable of simply reporting the news. They often - and without any explanation - put editorials on the front page as news items, print extremely biased and misleading headlines, fail to retract false data when they are called on it, and generally tow whatever line the Nancy Pelosi wing of the Democratic Party is currently pushing. Your patented Rantburg Surprise Meter (tm) should be on zero over this article. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2006-07-07 17:21 |
| #12 National Alliance rubes signing on to fight in the ZOG war for Israel? Not bloody likely. |
| Posted by: Jolung Ebbolutle3297 2006-07-07 16:34 |
| #11 The Chron trying to muscle in on the NYT's bid for the 2006 Julius Streicher Award? |
| Posted by: Jeating Glavinter6466 2006-07-07 15:17 |
| #10 Huge load of bovine fecal matter. Whahahaha.... possibly a boat load. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-07-07 14:43 |
| #9 There are, of course, no Nation of Islam members in the armed forces. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-07-07 12:41 |
| #8 Huge load of bovine fecal matter. We do not allow folks w/racist or gang tatoos into the service (of any racial background). If someone had a prior association w/gangs that is something we cannot control unless there was ample proof of lawbreaking w/such or a criminal record. For the record, the SPLC can kiss my white Irish ass for instigating this tripe. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-07-07 12:39 |
| #7 How about this thought.. the other side could be engaging in "PsyOps" as well seeing as how they think our military are just a bunch of gangstas thanks to the MSM. |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2006-07-07 11:58 |
| #6 the BS meter moving to the high side.... again, I guess the SF Chronicle is OK with Baathists who really are old school Nazis anything to cast doubt on the GWoT... |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2006-07-07 11:56 |
| #5 yah, well I dont suppose latino gangster graffiti is quite as much of a hearts and minds issue for the locals as white supremacist graffiti would be. although this "a guard shack was recently defaced with "GDN" for Gangster Disciple Nation, along with the gang's six-pointed star and the word "Chitown," a soldier who photographed it said." might well explain some confusion among the locals. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2006-07-07 11:49 |
| #4 They've also found black and latino gang graffiti in Iraq - is the SPLC concerned about that too? |
| Posted by: Spot 2006-07-07 11:04 |
| #3 The Southern Poverty Law Center's a little behind the curve on this. Unless, of course, this graffitti is okay... May 1, 2006 Chicago Sun-Times The Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings and Vice Lords were born decades ago in Chicago's most violent neighborhoods. Now, their gang graffiti is showing up 6,400 miles away in one of the world's most dangerous neighborhoods -- Iraq. Armored vehicles, concrete barricades and bathroom walls all have served as canvasses for their spray-painted gang art. At Camp Cedar II, about 185 miles southeast of Baghdad, a guard shack was recently defaced with "GDN" for Gangster Disciple Nation, along with the gang's six-pointed star and the word "Chitown," a soldier who photographed it said. The graffiti, captured on film by an Army Reservist and provided to the Chicago Sun-Times, highlights increasing gang activity in the Army in the United States and overseas, some experts say. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-07-07 10:58 |
| #2 How an SF Gate tell the difference? They think everyone from a Red State is a neo-nazi cracker. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-07-07 10:55 |
| #1 Biased much? /of course I don't think aryan nations ought to be grouping up in the military. But c'mon Frisco Chron! Get over your bad selves already. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2006-07-07 10:32 |