They would never think the same of the Communists in Acorn going around in their “Che Lives” shirts, but folks buying guns and ammo worrying about bans and recession could be domestic terrorists…How about going after known terrorist like Bill Ayers and people whom associate with them. You would think registration on M4C would classify you as one.
The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement agencies that recent news is helping “right-wing extremist groups” recruit new members and could lead to violence, and warns about the possible recruitment and radicalization of returning veterans.
DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis issued an intelligence assessment last week that said it has no specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but right-wing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on fears about the recession and the election of the first African American president. The office called them “unique drivers for right-wing radicalization and recruitment.”
“Right-wing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African American president, and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members, mobilize existing supporters and broaden their scope and appeal through propaganda, but they have not yet turned to attack planning,” the assessment reads.
“The current economic and political climate has some similarities to the 1990s when right-wing extremism experienced a resurgence fueled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs and the perceived threat to U.S. power and sovereignty by other foreign powers.,” it continues.
The report also suggests that returning veterans are attractive recruits for right-wing groups looking for “combat skills and experience” so as to boost their “violent capabilities.” It adds that new restrictions on gun ownership and the difficulty of veterans to reintegrate into their communities “could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”
“Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups … The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by right-wing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement,” the report says.
The assessment notes that right-wing recruitment grew in the 1990s but subsided after increased scrutiny by the government following the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings.
It does state that in 2009 “threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups … have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts.”
“Nevertheless, the consequences of a prolonged economic downturn-including real estate foreclosures, unemployment, and an inability to obtain credit-could create a fertile recruiting environment for right-wing extremists and even result in confrontations between such groups and government authorities similar to those in the past,” reads a key finding in the assessment.
Some critics have said the DHS is equating conservative views to right-wing terrorism, but a DHS official countered that in January the department issued a mirror intelligence assessment of left-wing extremist groups.
“This is the job of DHS, to assess what is happening in this country, with regard to homegrown terrorism, and determine whether it’s an actual threat or not, and that’s what these assessments do. This is nothing unusual. These assessments are done all the time. This is about awareness,” the official told FOX News on Monday.
DHS spokeswoman Sara Kuban said the April 7 assessment is one in an ongoing series published by DHS “to facilitate a greater understanding of radicalization in the United States.”
“DHS has no specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but right-wing extremists may be gaining new recruitments by playing on their fears about several emerging issues,” Kuban said.
You do realize that President Obama worked at ACORN, right? And without their support in the recent election cycle he wouldn’t have had such high turnout?
^ You better believe that all this is being monitored. BTW it started under Bush post 911 and is not going to let up. Big Bro is watching, get used to it.
You know EXACTLY what it’s coming to. This is what they do just before they start ‘rounding up’ to no good folks and put em on a train.
I’m not saying that’s their intentions…I don’t believe that…but this is the SAME exact thing that Nazi Germany did.
I don’t care what anybody says…This is the 2nd time they’ve labeled RIGHT wing people as ‘terrorists’.
I’ve never broken the law.
I go to church.
I’m a 56 year old white male.
I spent 21yrs in the USAF.
I’ve always paid my taxes.
Don’t owe anybody a penny.
I’ve worked hard all my life for what I have.
I love this country.
I never realized I was such a bad boy.
I’d better change my ways.
I’ll say this early on; watch the tinfoil, the Walter Mittiness, and who you start classifying as your “enemies”. I’ve seen how this topic is progressing on other forums and it isnt going to go that route here.
I love how presumptive people are in this thread. Assuming that Homeland Security doesn’t consider leftist organizations in the same way. Where do you guys come up with your assumptions? It’s like your heads are in the dirt until someone threatens your specific interest group. No offense of course.
I can contact a fellow professor and friend of mine in the Twin cities that will give you a list of constitutional violations that took place based on observations and illegal spying by the federal government (Homeland Security, FBI, and ICE to be specific) on leftist groups prior to the RNC. This includes illegal arrests, searches, seizures, detentions, ext.
And that is in one example. I would be more then happy to give you a comprehensive list. Homeland security will watch any group that threatens the status quo of the nation, and they will do so with impunity. That is why they were created, and that is what they will continue to do until either the law, or the populace demand that they cease. This isn’t an issue about “right” or “left”, it’s about government and the people.
I think you mean presumptuous, not presumptive there, professor. And there’s nothing more presumptuous then telling a bunch of people they don’t know as much about something as you do.
I’m not jumping to any conclusions. My comment was based on a direct, printed statement made by DHS suggesting that our heroic veterans somehow constitute a threat to this country.
Hippes called our soldiers criminals in Vietnam. I guess now the new vogue is “terrorists.”
I’d love to see this list. That said, I seem to remember A LOT of conservatives/right wingers who were appalled by the Patriot Act, the creation of DHS and many of the policies/actions of the Bush Administration.
The apparent difference is that the left-wing is perfectly content to let these groups silence the right-wing, as well as demonize veterans as long as it serves their political purposes or is done by Obama.
I’m going to run up the BS flag on the dearth of liberal outrage on this score.
Count me amongst them. I was appalled when it wasn’t those like me being targeted, and I’m appalled now. It’s a shame that the hippies weren’t able to protest without having their rights revoked. It’s not like there was a serious plan to storm the convention center.
The DHS was NOT created to run roughshod over the constitution. I don’t care if they think it’s what they were created to do, or if it helps them do their job better. All I see is one of the most bloated bureaucracies on American soil. I’m sure that there are plenty of DHS Agents doing God’s work, but I do think that they should be employed by another agency.
