neurotwitch

After ELF - FBI/Congressional castrati hunt environmentalists

The Earth Liberation Front has been branded the top terrorist group in the nation. Now that political conservatives and corporations are making steady inroads into our inconvenient civil liberties with nary a slap on the hand in sight, they're broadening their scope and taking aim at any group that even remotely threatens the short-term corporate bottom line.

The Christian Science Monitor has an article about this: "Eco-terrorists, too, may soon be on the run" (written by Brad Knickerbocker). (I first heard about it on NPR the other night.) He writes:

It may be the wartime mood, but lawmakers and law-enforcement agencies around the country are hot on the trail of terrorists.

Not the kind who attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September, but those who - in the name of animal rights and environmental protection - attack logging trucks, slaughterhouses, fur farms, and university research facilities.

Congress is working on legislation that would stiffen penalties and bring such crimes under federal racketeering laws. The FBI is deploying more agents to fight "ecoterrorists." Government land managers are stepping up security.

Concluding with:
"How best to deal with this home-grown brand of Al Qaeda? I propose that we use the model that has worked so well in Afghanistan," says Rep. George Nethercutt (R) of Washington. "Cut off their funding. Give them no rest and no quarter."

But Rep. Nick Rahall (D) of West Virginia takes a different view. "Robbing future generations of Americans of the splendor and grandeur of publicly held natural resources is, in my book, a form of terrorism," Rahall says, referring to timber theft.

The Associated Press reported:
FBI expert James F. Jarboe said that since 1996, the ALF and ELF have caused $43 million in damage in more than 600 attacks, ranging from spray-painting buildings and breaking windows to firebombing fur farms, research centers and a ski resort.

``They're the most active. They cause the most damage,'' Jarboe said, although white supremacist groups are still considered more dangerous because their attacks are often aimed at people.

Nobody has been killed in an ELF or ALF attack, but McInnis said it is wrong to think of the ecoterrorists as ``nature-loving hippies'' or misguided youths.

So there ya go - our government's official policy: "We'll go after groups that cause property damage, but we won't worry about those groups that kill people. No siree - we gotta protect those bulldozers and chain saws ... "

Makes one wonder if there would've been such a response to terrorism if 3,000 people were killed with no property damage. What's the gubmint doing about the anthrax deaths lately?

The FBI says:
Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of violence by a group or individual based and operating entirely within the United States (or its territories) without foreign direction, committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

Under this definition, our country was founded by terrorists.

"Currently, more than 26 FBI field offices have pending investigations associated with ALF/ELF activities. Despite all of our efforts (increased resources allocated, JTTFs, successful arrests and prosecutions), law enforcement has a long way to go to adequately address the problem of eco-terrorism. Groups such as the ALF and the ELF present unique challenges. There is little if any hierarchal structure to such entities. Eco-terrorists are unlike traditional criminal enterprises which are often structured and organized."

They can't find them to prosecute them because eco-activists successfully operate in exactly the same way the men and women who founded our country operated - the strategy book is right there in a United States history book for anyone who cares to read. (Ohmigod - terrorist tactics laid out in our history books - burn 'em! Both - the terrorists AND the books!) And/or the FBI is its usual competent self.

The problem with a witchhunt is no one knows who's going to get swept up in the hysteria. It could be you. Recommended reading:

If an Agent Knocks on the ELF site:
Excerpt: Do I have to talk to the FBI?
No. The FBI does not have the authority to make anyone answer questions (other than name and address) to permit a search without a warrant, or to otherwise cooperate with an investigation. Agents are usually lawyers, and they are always trained as investigators; they have learned the power of persuasion, the ability to make a person feel scared, guilty, or impolite for refusing their requests for information. So remember, they have no legal authority to force people to do anything -- unless they have obtained an arrest or search warrant. Even when agents do have warrants, you still don't have to answer their question.

A law enforcement official can only obtain your name and address if he or she has a reasonable suspicion to believe that you have committed or are about to commit a crime. Thus, if an FBI agent knocks at your door you do not have to identify yourself to him; you can simply say "I don't want to talk to you," or "You'll have to speak to my lawyer," and then close the door. An FBI agent, unlike a local police officer, does not have jurisdiction to investigate violations of state statute.

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

<< Back to main