Domestic Terrorism

There exists in this country, a cabal entered into by extremist elements to incite a civil war through violence. The theoretical bible for this cabal is The Turner Diary, a fictional racist account of a decentralized terrorist campaign to incite a civil war against non-European Americans. Our country needs to respond to this cancer in our national soul by exposing and expurgating this traitorous cabal as an expression of social revulsion at the violence as well as its purpose. We also need hate crime legislation in order to criminalize the terror that these people instill by their violence. Violence from these sources has abated since 9-11, but they remain a threat.
The core of these extremists is made up of a conglomerate of violent elements that have loosely coalesced during the last couple of decades from nominally disparate movements: these movements include the pro-life movement, the paramilitary movement, extremist religious groups, combined with the KKK and Nazi’s. These ultra-right wing elements have a documented history of violence against the government, abortionists, organized religion (including Christian and non-Christian denominations), non-Europeans, and political opponents. These elements have avoided a central leadership in order to avoid infiltration and capture; they instead communicate by violent deeds-again aping ‘Turner’.

These amorphous groups abound in various forms. Phineas Priests are people who believe that they gain martyrdom by killing inter-racial couples. Christian Identity members believe that they are pleasing God by killing ‘mud people’, religious ‘deviants’, or homosexuals. Some paramilitary factions are engaged in attacks upon government officials and citizens. Extremist exile-based terrorist groups, such as the Cuban Alpha 66 and Omega 7, have a bloody history both here and abroad. My personal favorite, White Rose Banquets are held by and in honor of people who murder other people in abortion clinics to save the unborn.

The extreme right has been involved in a ubiquitous pattern of violent acts that reached a crescendo in the 80’s and has continued virtually unabated. The public is aware of many but not all of these violent acts. Many occur below the radar screen of the national media, a media that has also failed to identify the violence conceptually as a cabal. The media does report separate incidences of violence: the robbery and killing spree by the Order in the early 80’s, the 1986 Montana Freeman standoff, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma, the Illinois-Indiana killing spree, Columbine, James Byrd jr., Matthew Shepard, the September 99 murder of seven people in a Texas Baptist church, the LA synagogue killings, “pro-life” murders, the threats against both the black mayor and his homosexual opponent in a San Francisco election, the synagogue arson and death of a gay couple in the Sacramento area, and extremist elements who surrounded the Gonzalez residence in Miami. The media does so, however, without reporting evidence of the cabal that propels the violence.

Countless acts of this de-centrally-organized violence get little more than local coverage by the media. In May 99, for example, there was a rash of activity: the conviction of supremacist militia members for murder and plotting to overthrow the government in Washington, the arrest of a bomb-toting, Anti-government extremist in Denver, the conviction of Michigan paramilitary members for a plot to kill government officials, and the racially motivated attempted murder of two children in Wisconsin. Other incidents include the 1996 KKK shootings of black children in South Carolina, the October 95 murderous derailment of a passenger train in Arizona in retaliation for Ruby Ridge and Waco, the 1993 murder by a paramilitary sect of police officer Roger Motley in Alabama, or Nazi lowrider vehicular assaults.

The new millennium is sparking a new wave of threats. This threat combines biblical prophecies with race war and fear of a New World Order. Examples of this threat are people who were arrested for allegedly planing terrorist actions in Sacramento and Florida. The April 2000 Pittsburgh suburb murders may be the latest example.

Our political establishment has failed to face up to this challenge. The far right-dominated GOP has acted as little more than as apologists for extremists. They use the same rhetoric as the cabal. They criticize law enforcement efforts to combat the cabal, as they have done regarding Ruby Ridge, Waco, and the rescue of Elian, while remaining silent about the criminal behavior of the cabal. Furthermore, the recent spat of racist GOP ads is appealing to this voter block. What this GOP Congress should be doing is holding extensive public hearings in order to identify and expose these perpetrators of organized violence against our citizens and values.

There has been very little attention to these groups since 9-11. George, #43, has not mentioned this threat in more than passing since he has been in office. We have also not heard nearly as much from these elements since 9-11. That has been a good thing: unfortunately, this disease remains a silent malignancy.

The real heroes and leaders in this struggle are people like Morris Dees and others who are fighting to expose the cabal. Other heroes are members of the BATF, FBI, or others who are battling this internal national security threat without sufficient public support. For further information, see www.splcenter.org, www.militia-watchdog.org, or www.fbi.gov.

A Single-State Solution

Proposal on the Middle East Crisis

The resolution of the crisis in Palestine must be comprehensive & should be sought via a single state solution: a two-nation federation. The foundation of this federation must be based upon the recognition of the sovereign rights of Israelis and Palestinians including the right to secede, as well as autonomy for Bedouins. A constitution needs be written & ratified by all parties, which protects these rights. A federal government should have responsibility for defense & foreign affairs. For such a treaty to hold, the military of the federal government must be integrated up the chain the command. The supreme commander & heads of each service branch should be rotated among the two nations on a regular basis, providing continuous control over the military by both nations. The federal military should have almost-exclusive responsibilities for the airforce & navy. In addition, each nation must have the right to maintain a militia that is capable of defending against outside aggression.

A long-term peace in Palestine requires a comprehensive resolution of outstanding issues. Any peace requires that all refugees be entitled to repatriation. This immense movement of people should be carefully coordinated to equitably portion land to all. Given the majority status of the Palestinians in the country, Israel would have to cede enough additional land, beyond the occupied territories, to provide for an equitable share of arable land and water for all. Providing contiguous borders for each nation would insure that each nation could exist independently were either to seek secession. Both need access to the sea & neighbors. It must provide a framework for constructing a viable environment of justice, peace, and security.

A one-state solution provides the greatest flexibility in relocating millions of people with the most satisfaction. It will also require the willingness of these 2 people laying claim to the same land to be flexible in seeking resolution, including the willingness of Palestinians refugees to move to land that was not ones historical home. The test of that commitment will be Jerusalem. Palestinians and Israelis will have to shift their loyalties from Israel or Palestine to a greater Palestinian/Israeli entity; making their lot with neighbors with whom they want to live in peace friendship for millennia.

Any successful solution requires that Israelis & Palestinians purge their heart of hatred & racism, and, in addition, refuse vengeance: they must join together to renounce violence against civilians. The real basis of the Middle East crisis began as people began to respond to the holocaust. Zionism felt that it had to take extreme measures to provide security for Jews. Jews were & remain a traumatized people as a result of the attempted genocide upon them. Zionism failed that difficult moral test of the crisis that faced them. They responded by commencing to steal enough land to provide for all Jews. In so doing, they became like their oppressors. As a consequence, 75% of Palestinians are refugees.

This solution satisfies the long-term goal of Zionism to return to their ancient homeland and also comports with commitments made by the Ottoman Empire for autonomy. The early goal of Zionism was to establish a nation in peace & friendship with their neighbors. It was a serious mistake to begin to rely upon alliances with Western powers instead of their new neighbors. Doing otherwise would have made a big difference in how the Arab world responded to protecting the victims of the holocaust.

This solution will work much more smoothly if the Arab world agrees to participate constructively in the effort. Both sides must stop attacks upon civilians & actively prevent them. Arab ancestors welcomed Jews into their land. They need to now do the same and honor commitments made by those ancestors. The parties will have to decide what to do with any charges of crimes against humanity that either side wishes to bring. One day, hopefully, these cousins will pray together to their God on the Temple of the Mount and the Dome of the Rock.

The United States should pursue a one-state solution to the Middle East crisis & shift US foreign policy toward a realignment of our treaty obligations. We should immediately extend our military support of Israel to include all of Palestine. We should insist that weapons & aid supplied to Palestine & Israel not be used against any of their citizens. Such a shift in policy would eliminate much of the military capability to use the state to terrorize citizens. It would also be better for America because it frees us from defending Israeli policies with which we disagree. We would, however, still be honoring our commitment to defense of Israel.

It cannot be stressed enough that the solution to this crisis can only be resolved through non-violence. South Africa under the leadership of Nelson Mandela showed the world that virtually any oppressive social order can be overcome by peaceful means. The test of the people of Palestine will be to see if they can pull this off. Can they all break bread and vow to help create a world where they can all flourish.