Friday, May 20, 2005

Yet again, WTF?

Eco-militants are greatest terrorist threat, warns FBI
By David Usborne in New York

The FBI has sounded a new and surprising alarm, suggesting environmental and animal-welfare militants are now the biggest terrorist threat in the US, increasingly using incendiary devices on targets ranging from housing developments and research laboratories to car dealerships.
I would like to congratulate the FBI on their excellent work. As we all know, after 9/11 Osama Bin Laden announced his intention to continue his attacks, until all Americans gave up meat and SUVs. His second in command, Ayman al Zawahiri condemned the US support for "terminator" seeds and large US corporations like Monstanto. And we all remember how the Taliban supported reforerstation efforts in the Amazon rainforest.

Seriously, does anyone think that burning empty housing developments or attacking car dealers is equivalent, say, to spreading anthrax through the Senate building? Because I think maybe there are bigger concerns for the US, at the moment.

Note: I don't condone acts of violence or property destruction as a political tactic. It is, however, hard for me to work up any real anger at burned SUVs. I'm one of those people who starts swearing compulsively when I see an SUV. The selfishness and conspicuous consumption inherent in those monstrosities really does get me angry. Still, arson=bad.

1 comment:

AJSomerset said...

We had some discussion of this on Gretchen's blog, where I linked to a post at Orcinus.

These people are not terrorists, they're vandals. And I know these people - I researched them and kept track of them for a couple of years.

What seems to be happening is that the US govt is ignoring the real domestic terror threat (right wing extremists) to avoid alienating their base, and instead focusing on a left-wing threat that is, er, not really a threat to anything save property.