WAR: FBI Claims Eco-Militants Are The Greatest Terrorist Threat To US

The FBI has announced that environmental and animal-welfare militants are the biggest threat currently facing America. John Lewis, FBI assistant director for counter-terrorism has told the senate that these domestic terrorist cause the greatest economic damage as compared to any other militant organization.



The FBI stated at the senate hearing that they are currently investigating 1,200 crimes by eco-terrorist and animal-rights militants. Of these groups, two are the most interest to the FBI. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).


Related News Links:
animalliberationfront.us
www.earthliberationfront.com

[edit on 5/20/2005 by Simulacra]

So- - - if Americans are the greatest threats- uh, then why are we in Iraq?

Eco-terrorists- I love the sound of that.

Reminds me of Gumby with a gun

There are eco-militants all over the world, not just the US. Not all enviromentalists have a tendency to use violence to make their points, but there are groups that do this, just like there are some people who are against abortion and also have a tendency of using violence to make their points.

Here we go... I was wondering when they would shift their focus from terror abroad to domestic terrorism. Things are falling apart quicker than we thought.

Things falling appart?....what are you talking about?

Are you an eco-militant that uses violence and terrorist attacks trying to make some delluded point?

Hmm, so our biggest threat is a few monkeys being stolen from a research lab, and a flat tire on an SUV?

BARBARIANS!

What about somebody a little less extreme, like a Peak Oil speaker like myself? Are we gonna be taken out by snipers while preaching around the water cooler? My Peak Oil speeches might sound militant from afar, from the intensity in my voice...

Seriously, though, uhh... I think they're right -- eco-militants are the greatest "terrorist" threat to the U.S.

Since no other "terrorists" are a threat to the U.S., eco-militants win the title by default.

Zip

i think twitchy was refering to the changeing focus from abroad towards the home front. i have to agree. this could be realy bad in conjunction with acts such as the patriate act and patriate act part two. will the government utilize this in order to strip yet more rights and freedoms? not only that but a shift in focus will diminish the goings on in places like iraq to foucus on the "contenental evil doer". so storys may begin to focus on the goings on at home, and villifying those that "work against humanity".

i don't agree with a lot of the methods that some of these extreem groups use myself. even though to an extent i will agree that we have to do a better job with the enviroment. at the same time i am rather leery of the government grabbing more power unto themselves, while at the same time erodeing citizen's rights and freedoms. in a way i think that the biggest threat to america today is government and big business. every thing else does make for a rather believable exxcuse.

One of the original concerns surrounding the Patriot Act was that it would be used to curtail domestic rights. Noone really cared what surveillance tactics were used to root out foreign terrorists abroad. It is when the government starts using these methods to repress free speech and other freedoms. There have already been many of these instances happening, but they are somewhat sporadic.

On a serious note, I strongle disagree with the FBI's assessment. The greatest domestic terror threat to the US are gangs. There's no getting around it, organized gangs terrorize neighborhoods and essentially run their claimed pieces of land. We see this happeneing everywhere, from California to Texas to Florida to New York.

And why aren't we going after them? Is it because of their ideas? In my opinion, the biggest threat to the status quo of big government are thinking Americans. This is what the FBI and big government fear and this is why the FBI chose an organization known for its idealogy rather than those known for holding entire neighborhoods hostage.

Express your right as a human, spread your opinions and ideas!

But seriously, please stop slashing the tires of my dad's SUV.

Oh my God what a pile of steaming crap this is. People please, before you start falling in line with "their way of thinking" do yourself a favor and just think about a few thing. Really think about what it is they're saying and not saying as well. For example here are some pieces from the aritcle I'd like you to just think about for a second.

1.) "way out in front" in economic damage. He also suggested it would not be long before loss of human life was added to their tally of crimes.
Ok, so they're primary concern then is "economic damage" which these people are "way out in front" in causing huh?!?!

So you're telling me they've somehow caused more damage than the f*cking pentagon losing 2 to 3 Trillion Dollars??? Losing it!!! It's just gone like dust in the wind!! Unless of course it's just been stolen and they're hiding that little minor detail, which is a High Crime, Treason and by today's laws it is Terrorism.

So you're also suggesting that they've beat the record in the catagory of "economic damage" over Enron too??? Interesting theory but we all know it's not true, not even the slightest bit.

2.) "There is nothing else going on in this country over the past several years that is racking up the high number of violent crimes and terrorist actions,"

Again, that is a very creative little theory there, but it's equally as much BS as the first statement from them. Does anyone actually believe that could be true with the number of Gang Shooting, Cop Killing, Drug War, Mafia, etc. events that happen daily??? Or gosh, what about the actual f*cking terrorist attacks that have happened like WTC and Oklahoma City Bombing.

Not to mention that even they adimt that as of yet, there isn't any human deaths that have resulted!!! Hell, that fact alone makes the abortion radicals 1,000 times greater Terrorists than even the most active "Eco/Animal Radical". Or for that matter, even the occasional pissed of postal worker qualifies as more of a terrorist.

3.)"The danger of ELF and ALF is imminent," he said. "Although they have not killed anyone ... it is only a matter of time until someone dies as a result of ELF and ALF criminal activity."

Ok people, now look, it doesn't get any easier than this. Read it over and over if you have to, but tell me if that doesn't sound just slightly familiar??? Imminent Danger, Nothing yet that's solid proof, but the danger is right around the corner, trust us!! Death and destruction is almost upon us, we must act "Pre-Emptively" to disable this threat!! Sound Familiar Yes??? Easy stuff to see through yes??? I hope so for all of our sakes!!

Please, for the love of God, someone tell me that this sh*t is just as obvious to you as it is me!!!

Well let's be fair, Eco-Militants do cause an absurd amount of damage. For example:

The boy who firebombed Hummers

Billy Cottrell: student, 23, jailed for eight years

William, or "Billy", Cottrell, a physics student who was sentenced to eight years in prison for firebombing a Hummer dealership and damaging 125 SUVs in August 2003, is exactly the kind of eco-militant the FBI is worried about.

The 23-year-old graduate student was found guilty last month of helping to destroy car dealerships, in a series of co-ordinated attacks around Los Angeles, spray-painting the "gas-guzzling" vehicles with slogans such as "Fat, Lazy Americans" and "I * pollution".

Cottrell also admitted to tagging the vehicles with the letters ELF, the initials of radical group, the Earth Liberation Front, which has claimed responsibility for a string of arsons in Detroit, Philadelphia and San Diego.

mOjOm said
Please, for the love of God, someone tell me that this sh*t is just as obvious to you as it is me!!!

The Bush administration has given a new meaning to 'smoke and mirrors.'

What really gets me is that it (the admin) must be teflon coated, the negatives just roll off.

Jamuhn hits the nail

GANGS

Why is there not a concerted effort to get rid of gangs? Never has been and for some reason it looks like there never will. Are some of them secretly important to part of the government?

Hmm, so our biggest threat is a few monkeys being stolen from a research lab, and a flat tire on an SUV?

BARBARIANS!

Few tainted monkeys. Monkeys that are infected with dangerous diseases for scientific researches.

Flat tires on SUVs are nothing to be concerned about, except for the SUV owners today. However, the rise of oil prices would hasten an eco-militant group to slash ALL the tires on ALL vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.) as a mean of protesting the continued public consumption of oil just for the convenience of driving the vehicles around and spending money to enrich the oil companies. Their argument would be something of this kind: "We do not believe the public is entitled to drive around in their vehicles for convenience while wasting oil and enriching the oil companies,".

Vandalism is not the way to get your point across. It's a stupid move and makes us sane environmentalists look bad. If I ever meet someone who would brag about something like this I would turn him in to stop him/her from commiting any more damage. SUV drivers are in for a big shock anyway, slashing a few tires is nothing compared to what awaits them in 10 years... The ELF and ALF are terror groups, they have not commited murder...yet but they are getting more extreme by the day. Extremism is a bad thing no matter how you cut it.

So does this mean the Edward Abbey books on my bookshelf make me a terrorist now?

ELF is pretty stupid though--firebombing SUVs creates carbon dioxide and other more noxious fumes as the vehicles burn. And while I hate Humvees with a passion and I think defacing them is pretty funny, blowing them up is a waste of resources (I mean why not steal the Hummer and recycle it into something useful in an ELF chop shop?), and it still creates pollution. Oh yeah, and it doesn't actually solve the problem. They're insured, the dealerships gets paid back, so you're not causing that much damage economically.

ALF is exceptionally stupid. I deplore animal research and think most of it is useless (especially since it is basically going towards finding cures for diseases brough about by the aforementioned lazy Hummer drivers sitting on their behinds and guzzling Cokes and oil....). But releasing infected, or potentially infected animals puts everyone at risk. Then consider that if these animals are sick, even if you save them, they just have to be put down. They can't be pets (but I don't even think ALF believes in pets). And if you release them into the wild, they're invasive species. Nevermind that having lived in a lab where humans take care of your needs that you've got no shot of surviving out there anyway. Released animals will either die of starvation, disease or by being eaten by something else.

That all said, this is a pathetically thinly veiled ruse just to tackle the American public again, just like they did in the 50s-70s. And yes, all while ignoring the real threats of organized crime (which probably wind up feeding hidden government coffers anyway). But aside from a few isolated incidents, I don't think ELF or ALF pose a serious threat to American citizens. Unless the FBI has some hard evidence that they're planning on say bombing LNG terminals in the US and cutting off our natural gas, or, bombing refineries and cutting off oil, or breaking into level 4 labs and releasing monkeys with ebola or smallpox, this stuff is pretty lame and inoccuous (albeit stupid). So they'll spend all their resources on domestic repression and then the real terrorists will strike again (since they're not being watched) and then we'll have a real catastrophe on our hands and then....

All this suggests a desperate empire with its back against the wall that has no coherent plan to get out of its current mess, no exit strategy to extricate itself from the various messes that its in. So turn the focus internally and self-destruct in paranoia. Great. Genius plan.

These people may represent the biggest threat to American corporations, but they are not a threat to the American people. To say so is absurd. Even if a logger gets killed or something admittedly bad like that, it's not America that suffers. That logger could just have easily been a National Guardsmen which would mean that due to Bush's backdoor draft, he'd be in harm's way to a much greater degree. The Iraq war makes all claims like this appear almost childishly absurd. Corporate profits are what prompt news like this.

Are ELF and ALF folks seeking nuclear materials? Are they forging identification papers to enter the US so as to fly planes into buildings? Do they strap bombs to their chests?

Burning a few Hummers? Is that news? No, I don't think so.

The greatest terrorist threat is the bush administration!!! And the wars they are creating!

This is all too Orwellian. I agree with the other posters that we need to worry more about groups like gangs than these nutjobs. Slap them with felonies when they're caught, but let's not call them terrorists.

Besides, calling them terrorists gives them too much credit.

Simulacra, lets be even with each other..

You know the SUV's are tearing our world in half.. bad example.

what other groups cause biological contamination from released animals, destroys vital research that can save lives thus risking lives of the sick, openly and often attack on our soil and has the most domestic support? they are a more immediate threat to americans than anyone else.