Thread: Homeland Security Warns of Extremists on the Right

Homeland Security Warns of Extremists on the Right

By Bruce Daniels
ABQnewsSeeker
Tuesday, 14 April 2009 09:59

Agency tells cops that economic downturn, election of a black president could spawn extremism.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement agencies of a rise in "rightwing extremist activity" caused by the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of some disgruntled war veterans, the Washington Times reported.

According to the nine-page report titled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment," we could be in for a return of the kind of right-wing militia activity experienced in the 1990s -- the last time a Democrat was in the White House.

Just as in the `90s, according to the report, right-wing extremists "exploited a variety of social issues and political themes to increase group visibility and recruit new members," including such issues as "opposition to gun-control efforts, criticism of free-trade agreements (particularly those with Mexico), and ... perceived governrment infringement on civil liberties" as well as "exploitation of social issues such as abortion, inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage."

The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis "has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues," the report states.

http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/abqne ... right.html

The DHS/Office of Intelligence and Analysis "has no specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence, but rightwing extremists may be gaining new recruits by playing on their fears about several emergent issues," the report states.

So they basically have nothing, and if this is not profiling I don't know what is!!!!

It has begun, they are trying to shut us down!!!! IF you had not planned on attending a tea party, please please for the love of freedom reconsider!!!!

In America, police do not profile citizens based on their political beliefs or candidates of choice.

To do so is suppression of free political speech.

W

Food for thought is there has always been profiling. And profiling will be around forever.

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

In America, police do not profile citizens based on their political beliefs or candidates of choice.

To do so is suppression of free political speech.

W

With all due respect W, are you saying that these articles are fiction or are you saying this is no longer America?

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

In America, police do not profile citizens based on their political beliefs or candidates of choice.

To do so is suppression of free political speech.

W

Exactly. But we're in obama's "America" now and will be told what our beloiefs are, and are not, and he will be the only political candidate of choice.

And we're being profiled by "prominent civil rights orginizations" who have usurped that authority replacing legal and credible law enforcement professionals.

Please go here, help needed!

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-882449.html#882449

This is Profiling based on a disagreement on politics of the far left and far right and targets WHITES!! FEEL LIKE YOUR FREEDOM WILL DISAPPEAR BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IN SOME VALUES THAT THE ELITES DO NOT YOUR NOT ALONE!!!





The Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement officials about a rise in "rightwing extremist activity," saying the economic recession, the election of America's first black president and the return of a few disgruntled war veterans could swell the ranks of white-power militias.

A footnote attached to the report by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis defines "rightwing extremism in the United States" as including not just racist or hate groups, but also groups that reject federal authority in favor of state or local authority.

"It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single-issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration," the warning says.

The White House has distanced itself from the analysis. When asked for comment on its contents, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said, "The President is focused not on politics but rather taking the steps necessary to protect all Americans from the threat of violence and terrorism regardless of its origins. He also believes those who serve represent the best of this country, and he will continue to ensure that our veterans receive the respect and benefits they have earned."

The nine-page document was sent to police and sheriff's departments across the United States on April 7 under the headline, "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."

It says the federal government "will be working with its state and local partners over the next several months" to gather information on "rightwing extremist activity in the United States."

The joint federal-state activities will have "a particular emphasis" on the causes of "rightwing extremist radicalization."

Homeland Security spokeswoman Sara Kuban said the report is one in an ongoing series of assessments by the department to "facilitate a greater understanding of the phenomenon of violent radicalization in the U.S."

The report, which was first disclosed to the public by nationally syndicated radio host Roger Hedgecock, makes clear that the Homeland Security Department does not have "specific information that domestic rightwing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence."It warns that fringe organizations are gaining recruits, but it provides no numbers.

The report says extremist groups have used President Obama as a recruiting tool.

"Most statements by rightwing extremists have been rhetorical, expressing concerns about the election of the first African American president, but stopping short of calls for violent action," the report says. "In two instances in the run-up to the election, extremists appeared to be in the early planning stages of some threatening activity targeting the Democratic nominee, but law enforcement interceded."

When asked about this passage, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said, "We are concerned about anybody who will try to harm or plan to harm any one of our protectees. We don't have the luxury to focus on one particular group at the exclusion of others."

Congressional debates about immigration and gun control also make extremist groups suspicious and give them a rallying cry, the report says.

"It is unclear if either bill will be passed into law; nonetheless, a correlation may exist between the potential passage of gun control legislation and increased hoarding of ammunition, weapons stockpiling, and paramilitary training activities among rightwing extremists," the report said.

The FBI was quoted Monday as saying that, since November, more than 7 million people have applied for criminal background checks in order to buy weapons.

The Homeland Security report added: "Over the past five years, various rightwing extremists, including militias and white supremacists, have adopted the immigration issue as a call to action, rallying point, and recruiting tool."

The report could signify a change in emphasis for Homeland Security under former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. A German magazine quoted Ms. Napolitano as rebranding "terrorism" as "man-made disasters." Since its inception in 2003, the department has focused primarily on radicalization of Muslims and the prospect of homegrown Islamist terrorism.

Ms. Kuban said, however, that the department had published reports on left-wing radicalization as well, though she could not name one.

"These types of reports are published all the time. There have actually been some done on the other end of the spectrum, left-wing," Ms. Kuban said.

A similar headline was used in a report issued in January, Ms. Kuban said, although she could not provide the content of the headline.

Ms. Kuban said she did not know how long the new report had been in the making.

"The purpose of the report is to identify risk. This is nothing unusual," said Ms. Kuban, who added that the Homeland Security Department did this "to prevent another Tim McVeigh from ever happening again."

The Homeland Security assessment specifically says 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."

Jerry Newberry, director of communications for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the vast majority of veterans are patriotic citizens who would not join anti-government militias.

"As far as our military members go, I think that the military is a melting pot of society. So you might get a few, a fractional few, who are going to be attracted by militia groups and other right-wing extremists," he said.

"We have to remember that the people serving in our military are volunteers, they do it because they love their country, and they believe in what our country stands for," he said. "They spent their time in the military defending our Constitution, so the vast majority of them would be repulsed by the hate groups discussed in this report."

The Homeland Security report cited a 2008 FBI report that noted that a small number of returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups.

The FBI report said that from October 2001 through May 2008 "a minuscule" number of veterans, 203 out of 23,000, had joined groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Movement, the Creativity Movement, the National Alliance and some skinhead groups.

"Although the white supremacist movement is of concern to the FBI, our assessment shows that only a very small number of people with prior military experience may have an affiliation with supremacist groups," FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said Monday when asked about the FBI report.

A 2006 report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors white supremacists like the Klan, said that white-power groups had an interest in the kind of training the military provides.

Mark Potok, director of the center's intelligence project, said the Homeland Security report "confirms that white supremacists are interested in the military. There is some concern, and there should be, about returning veterans, one need only think of the example of Timothy McVeigh, who was in the first Iraq war."

Mr. Potok added that he was generally pleased with the report.

"Basically, the report tracks fairly closely with what we have been saying for some time now. They mention us a couple of times, though not by name," he said.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... -on-right/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/14/ ... sm.report/

Here's where they're getting this information. SPLC. Biased opinion masquerading as "findings" and "facts" .......

(CNN) -- Right-wing extremist groups may be using the recession and the election of the nation's first African-American president to recruit members, a Department of Homeland Security report contends.

Though the nine-page report said it has "no specific information that domestic right-wing terrorists are currently planning acts of violence," it said real-estate foreclosures, unemployment and tight 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."

The report, prepared in coordination with the FBI and published April 7, was distributed to federal, state and local law enforcement officials under the title "Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment."

It compares the current climate 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 cites proposed restrictions on weapons as likely to increase membership in extremist groups and expresses concern the groups might try to recruit veterans.

The report also cites concern about anti-Semitism, saying that some groups are blaming the loss of U.S. jobs and home foreclosures on "a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish 'financial elites' " in an attempt to recruit members.

The election of President Obama is cited as a key recruitment tool. "Many 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 firearm ownership and use," the report said.

It said that twice in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election, "extremists appeared to be in the early planning stages of some threatening activity targeting the Democratic nominee, but law enforcement interceded."

The report said that "lone wolves and small terrorist cells" represent the nation's biggest terrorist threat because their low profile makes it difficult to intervene before they act.

Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, agreed that Obama's election may have boosted membership in such groups, but called any link to the economy "more questionable."

He said his group has documented "a steady, not dramatic," growth of extremist groups -- from 602 in 2000 to 926 in 2008, an increase of more than 50 percent.

Though "there has been a lot of talk about the country being stolen," it is "a little early" to conclude that Obama's election has driven massive growth in such groups, he said.

A DHS official said the department was not trying to squelch free speech by issuing the report. "There is no link between extremists being talked about in that report and conservative political thinkers, activists and voters," the official said.

But conservative radio talk show host Roger Hedgecock was not persuaded. "If the Bush administration had done this to left-wing extremists, it would be all over the press as an obvious trampling of the First Amendment rights of folks and dissent," he told CNN.

In fact, the Obama administration in January did issue a warning about left-wing extremists. Both reports were initiated during the administration of former President George W. Bush.


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CNN report has a lovely (rolls eyes) picture of the Nazi flag. Click the link to see the bias.