An envelope containing a white powder and a copy of a NY Times editorial were received at the NY Times today. After an emergency evacuation, the powder was found to be corn-starch. The envelope contained a cut-out of a NY Times editorial defending the publication of illegal bank surveillance by the Bush administration, marked with a red "X"
The goal of terrorism is not to kill, but to terrorize: mission accomplished. The message is loud and clear -when the pundits call the press "treasonous" , there are nutjobs out there who will take the next step. This time it was corn-strach, next time it could be something much worse. That is the message being sent to the press today.
Following the anthrax attacks which killed five people after 9/11 and which remain unsolved to this day, this attack was clearly an attempt to intimidate and terrorize civilians in furtherance of a political agenda. That is the definition of terrorism. The envelope was postmarked in Philadelphia making this a domestic attack.
No doubt, the FBI will launch an investigation at least as vigorously as those against the various "weekend jihadist" non-plots it has been prosecuting of late.
Don't hold your breath. Right-wing militias and terrorism against liberals have been downgraded as a threat in favor of anti-war protesters and animal rights activists who are routinely monitored by the FBI and Pentagon (http://dailycal.org/...).
Forgetting the lessons of Oklahoma City, the US government is once again ignoring potent threats of right-wing extremists while chasing phantoms of fictional leftist "agit-prop": students protesting the war. Watch how this attack will be downplayed and maybe cheered by the nutjobs.
The NY Times has not served it's public well in the run up to the Iraq war, but we need to defend the press and the principle of freedom of the press. Contact your representatives and ask them to demand an investigation of the right-wing extremists behind this attack. Unless we make a lot of noise, some people will think that it is acceptable to intimidate and attack the "liberal press". Time to confront the brownshirts with outrage and disdain.