Fw: The EcoTerrorist Anthrax Connection (COMMENTARY)

[Guest guest]

You have to read this article to believe what it contains, especially the last

line, and I quote

" Inspired by the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, it will not be long

before ecoterrorists and animal rights terrorists seek to demonstrate their

capacity to wreak horror and death among American institutions and people. "

How long will it be before they start attacking anyone who cares for animals

labeling them threats to society?

 

Source:

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=\Commentary\archive\200110\COM200\

11023c.html

 

Contact info for CNSNews:

Cybercast News Service

325 S. Patrick

Alexandria, VA 22304

Toll-Free: 877-CNS-NEWS

 

*This is an email address for the Executive Editor. I couldn't find a general

feedback email.

Scott Hogenson:

shogenson (cnsnews.com)

 

 

 

 

The EcoTerrorist Anthrax Connection

By Tom DeWeese

CNSNews.com Commentary

October 23, 2001

 

While the remains of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and

Washington, DC's Pentagon are " ground zero " for the horrible destruction wrought

by foreign terrorists, the nation's forests, research labs, resorts and housing

developments have long been " ground zero " for domestic environmentally-driven

" ecoterrorists. " There may be diabolical links between the two forces.

 

There is a strong possibility that Animal Liberation Front (ALF) terrorists have

come into possession of Anthrax as the result of having invaded laboratories

that have been researching the disease. This certainly merits investigation as a

source for the Anthrax attacks. The fact that the Anthrax used in the recent

U.S. attacks is domestic and not of " weapons grade " indicates the possibility of

involvement by a U.S. terrorist group. Using the September 11th attacks as

cover, ALF could be using them to shield its own activities. The British

government is investigating ALF for possible ties to that country's outbreak of

mad cow disease last year.

 

There is ample reason to suspect that eco-terrorists could have direct ties and

are working in concert with foreign terrorists. First, both forces are made up

of radical activists who have expressed immense hatred for American industry and

its capitalist society. Both operate underground. Both are structured along the

same lines, using secret cells, and communication networks. Both are determined

to destroy America's way of life.

 

More importantly, there is precedent for such cooperation. It is well documented

that international terrorists from the Islamic Jihad to the Irish Republican

Army, to a variety of violent cells in Europe and Japan have been in

communication with each other, even offering cooperation.

 

It is not unreasonable that enemies of America would see an opportunity in

working with dedicated revolutionaries in the environmental terrorist movement

that are able to travel freely inside our borders as American citizens.

 

In 1999, during preparations for possible Y2K terrorist attacks, the U.S.

military staged urban assault training in San Francisco. One of the military

officers in charge of the training exercise explained to The DeWeese Report that

the San Francisco mission was specifically designed to train troops to react to

a biological terrorist attack.

 

Moreover, he said that this particular scenario dealt with the fact that

American terrorist groups, such as Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front

(ELF), were known to have been in contact with outside terrorist organizations.

These U.S based groups, he said, were helping to make plans to aid such

murderous, biological attacks from within the U.S.

 

Is the FBI investigating the possibility? Probably not. Under former Attorney

General Janet Reno, the FBI was under direct orders to leave such groups alone.

As a result, to date, the FBI has few records on Earth First!, ALF or ELF.

 

In response to the growing violence of eco-terrorism, Congressman George

Nethercutt has introduced H.R. 2795, " The Agroterrorism Prevention Act. " The

bill was introduced before the September 11th attacks. However, Congress made no

moves to pass the legislation. In October, Congressman Nethercutt made the

connection between the foreign terrorist threat and the domestic environmental

terrorists and attempted to add the bill to anti-terrorism legislation called

for by President Bush. Congress refused to take that action, failing to

understand the connection with environmental terrorists.

 

Now, Congressman Nethercutt must begin again to get his legislation enacted.

Among others things, says Nethercutt, " H.R.2795 would empower the FBI to track

down extremist cells of ALF and ELF and would give federal prosecutors the tools

they need to properly punish and deter crimes by these organizations. "

 

The FBI has defined terrorism as: " The unlawful use of force or violence against

persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian

population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social

objectives. " That definition fits eco-terrorists perfectly. If we are engaged in

a war on terrorism, then its time to take out all of the violent thugs who prey

on innocent people and their property.

 

Ecoterrorists have been around a long time and they too have largely been

ignored. They advocate the violent overthrow of the old order. They communicate

through dispatches in radical publications. They hide in safe houses and live

and work in " cells " with no organized structure, no recognized leadership,

manned by dedicated extremist foot soldiers focused on destroying America's way

of life. Many use aliases to hide their identities. They bomb, burn, and

sabotage private property. They issue declarations of war against America. They

too are preparing for massive destruction. They are American-born, and they

operate right here on American soil.

 

Not only should Americans be more aware of the ecoterrorists' threat, we should

take a hard look at the comparable objectives they share with external

terrorists such as bin Laden's al Qaeda network. Incredibly, so far, the U.S.

Government has refused to do so.

 

In February 2001, then-FBI Director Louis Freeh identified ecoterrorist

organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) as one of America's

foremost domestic terrorism threats. The FBI's announcement came on the heels of

a January 1st ELF communiqu\'e9 proclaiming, " This year, 2001, we hope to see an

escalation in tactics against capitalism and industry. "

 

Most ecoterrorist activity seems to revolve around one group, Earth First! It

was founded in 1979 by Dave Foreman who now serves on the Board of Directors of

the Sierra Club. He is also a co-creator of the radical environmental blue print

called " The Wildlands Project. " From the beginning, the structure of Earth

First! was " informal " in order to avoid prosecution. It called itself a

" movement " rather than an organization. There was no bureaucracy, no lobbyist,

no paid staff, and only a cadre of volunteers. There were no membership lists,

no lists of names of any kind, and no way to trace anyone to any activity.

 

For his model of the new group, Foreman adopted Edward Abbey's industry-killing

novel, " The Monkey Wrench Gang. " The book described acts of sabotage. Forman

would call Earth First!'s attacks " eco-tage. "

 

" Monkeywrenching " was a term used by Earth First! activists who poured sugar

into the gas tanks of bulldozers to destroy the equipment of the hated timber

companies. A favorite " Monkeywrenching " trick was to pound spikes into trees. At

the mills, saws hitting the spikes would explode like shrapnel. One worker lost

most of his face when his blade hit an undetected spike. Over the years,

" Monkeywrenchers " have become fond of sending mail bombs and letters in

envelopes lined with razor blades. It pre-stages today's Anthrax-filled

envelopes.

 

Today, Foreman's vision of radical environmental action has spawned a violent

network of eco-terrorists and it's on the rise. They include the Earth

Liberation Front, the Earth Liberation Army, and the Environmental Rangers, to

name a few. Joining forces with the ecoterrorists are the equally violent animal

rights terrorists. The most prominent of these is the Animal Liberation Front.

Just as Earth First! is a violent offshoot of the mainstream Sierra Club, animal

rights terrorists have links to the well-known People for the Ethical Treatment

of Animals (PETA).

 

There have, to date, been more than 3,000 acts of violence perpetrated by

ecoterrorists. For years Americans were warned of potential attacks by foreign

terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and the Islamic Jihad. We

ignored those warnings to our peril. We continue to ignore our domestic

eco-terrorists at our peril. Inspired by the World Trade Center and Pentagon

attacks, it will not be long before ecoterrorists and animal rights terrorists

seek to demonstrate their capacity to wreak horror and death among American

institutions and people.

 

Copyright 2001