Who must be vilified next in order to promote an agenda of fear? Go after those crazies that want to protect animals and save the earth. From CNN.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/19/domestic.terrorism/index.html
"Violent animal rights extremists and eco-terrorists now pose one of the most serious terrorism threats to the nation, top federal law enforcement officials say.
Senior officials from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) and Explosives told a Senate panel Wednesday of their growing concern over these groups.
Of particular concern are the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF)."
Yet with everything going on overseas where we over 1,600 troops have been killed and at least 20,000 Iraqi civilians (http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/#count), let's focus on those crazy extremists that are causing so much trouble at the SUV plants and near big trees. How much trouble have these groups caused?
More below the fold.
"John Lewis, the FBI's deputy assistant director for counterterrorism, said animal and environmental rights extremists have claimed credit for more than 1,200 criminal incidents since 1990. The FBI has 150 pending investigations associated with animal rights or eco-terrorist activities, and ATF officials say they have opened 58 investigations in the past six years related to violence attributed to the ELF and ALF...No deaths have been blamed on attacks by those groups so far, but the attacks have increased in frequency and size said Lewis."
At least some Senators could see through this diversion tactic.
"The Department of Homeland Security spends over $40 billion a year to protect the home front," Sen. Frank Lautenberg said. After listing al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah, the Democrat from New Jersey wanted to know who else the law enforcement agencies considered terrorists: "Right to Life? Sierra Club?"
Lautenberg declared himself "a tree hugger."
And Sen. James Jeffords also issued a statement expressing doubt about the target of concern.
"Congress can't do much about individual extremists committing crimes in the name of ELF or ALF, but we can act to significantly enhance the safety of communities across the nation," the independent from Vermont wrote.
"ELF and ALF may threaten dozens of people each year, but an incident at a chemical, nuclear or wastewater facility would threaten tens of thousands."
Please.