Conservatives threaten homeland
... or something like that.
Quote:
On Feb. 20, 2009, Missouri's Department of Public Safety issued a report to all law enforcement in the state entitled "Missouri Information Analysis Center Strategic Report: The Modern Militia Movement."
The report linked people holding conservative views on immigration, abortion, the U.N. the New World Order, etc. to dangerous and violent "militias" that Missouri law enforcement were instructed to be on guard against. Conservative opinions were demonized and made the subject of law enforcement scrutiny.
The report was leaked. National and state public reaction was strong and negative, and Missouri retracted the report and apologized.
This victory was short lived. The substance of the report is back, this time distributed to "federal, state, local, and tribal counterterrorism and law enforcement officials ..." by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an "assessment" dated April 7, 2009, entitled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."
The entire assessment is available at the Roger Hedgecock website.
The assessment states it was "prepared by the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Environment Threat Analysis Division" and "coordinated with the FBI."
It admits that "The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) has no specific information that domestic right wing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence." Nonetheless, it states that "right wing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about ... the economic downturn and the election of the first African-American President ..."
The report elaborates that... "right wing extremists are antagonistic toward the new presidential administration and its perceived stance on a range of issues, including immigration and citizenship, the expansion of social programs to minorities, and restrictions on firearms and use."
Sources say the report was in the works for a year, but I don't buy it... not in it's present form. If DHS were concerned about extremist groups worried over issues such as the economy and the wars, etc. they would have been issuing reports on all the left-wing extremism over the past 8 years, have you seen or heard of any? The report reads like a pure propaganda piece coughed up like a fur ball. It even has the gall to warn against the threat from returning soldiers being recruited to the cause:
Quote:
(U) Disgruntled Military Veterans
(U//FOUO) DHS/I&A assesses that rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of extremists—including lone wolves or small terrorist cells—to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned, or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today.
Perhaps if the President wouldn't stage fake photo-ops with the military they wouldn't be so disgruntled. Go ahead laugh, I'm sure you didn't think Bush's Thanksgiving turkey in Iraq was fake like the NY Times did, did you? This report which "has no specific information "is political BS of the highest order... but go ahead, tell me it's spot on. Then furnish some solutions.