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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Other Terror Threat
The Other Terror ThreatBy CHARLES KURZMAN and DAVID SCHANZER at the NY Times
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/opinion/the-other-terror-threat.html?referrer=&_r=1
"SNIP.............
In a survey we conducted with the Police Executive Research Forum last year of 382 law enforcement agencies, 74 percent reported anti-government extremism as one of the top three terrorist threats in their jurisdiction; 39 percent listed extremism connected with Al Qaeda or like-minded terrorist organizations. And only 3 percent identified the threat from Muslim extremists as severe, compared with 7 percent for anti-government and other forms of extremism.
The self-proclaimed Islamic States efforts to radicalize American Muslims, which began just after the survey ended, may have increased threat perceptions somewhat, but not by much, as we found in follow-up interviews over the past year with counterterrorism specialists at 19 law enforcement agencies. These officers, selected from urban and rural areas around the country, said that radicalization from the Middle East was a concern, but not as dangerous as radicalization among right-wing extremists.
An officer from a large metropolitan area said that militias, neo-Nazis and sovereign citizens are the biggest threat we face in regard to extremism. One officer explained that he ranked the right-wing threat higher because it is an emerging threat that we dont have as good of a grip on, even with our intelligence unit, as we do with the Al Shabab/Al Qaeda issue, which we have been dealing with for some time. An officer on the West Coast explained that the sovereign citizen anti-government threat has really taken off, whereas terrorism by American Muslim is something we just havent experienced yet.
Last year, for example, a man who identified with the sovereign citizen movement which claims not to recognize the authority of federal or local government attacked a courthouse in Forsyth County, Ga., firing an assault rifle at police officers and trying to cover his approach with tear gas and smoke grenades. The suspect was killed by the police, who returned fire. In Nevada, anti-government militants reportedly walked up to and shot two police officers at a restaurant, then placed a Dont tread on me flag on their bodies. An anti-government extremist in Pennsylvania was arrested on suspicion of shooting two state troopers, killing one of them, before leading authorities on a 48-day manhunt. A right-wing militant in Texas declared a revolution and was arrested on suspicion of attempting to rob an armored car in order to buy weapons and explosives and attack law enforcement. These individuals on the fringes of right-wing politics increasingly worry law enforcement officials.
..............SNIP"
randys1
(16,286 posts)come out in the daylight and do some bad shit.
Hope not, but think so.
WDIM
(1,662 posts)Of the never ending war against terrorism and justification for the militarization of our police.
I see nothing dangerous about a person that identifies themselves as sovereign. That is actually the very philosophy this country was founded on. That we are all sovereign in our rights. We are all equal and the masters of our own rights. And because we are equal you should not violate my rights and i should not violate yours. There should be a mutual respect and we should allow people to be free to pursue their own happiness. As long as it is not trampling on the rights of others.
This is exactly what we need the police for to ensure people do not tread on another persons rights. You cant steal. You cant murder. You cant rape. You cant molest. You cant swindle and make bad deals. You cant be negligent in your actions and cause harm to others. This is what police need to be focusing on.
The real menace are the criminals that oppress and exploit and murder and steal and take from all of society.
applegrove
(118,677 posts)WDIM
(1,662 posts)Its fear mongering. Pure and simple. Dont trust your neighbors dont trust the people fighting for their rights. Dont trust dont trust just fear. The media is full of it.
applegrove
(118,677 posts)WDIM
(1,662 posts)But there is not some large organized under ground movement to over throw the government. Their propaganda is trying to push this nonsense of domestic terrorist. To push their fear mongering as usual.
95% of people love this country and believe in government as a tool to bring peace and stability.
Maybe 4% see the government as a problem and commit crimes and are bad people. Most of those are in prison.
We know 1% see our government as a tool to exploit, pillage, plunder, and murder. They run everything including the newspaper that is pushing this propaganda.
applegrove
(118,677 posts)SamKnause
(13,107 posts)The Police !!!!!!!!!!!