Terrorists Infiltrate the Military

Posted on July 30, 2008 in Scoundrels Terrorism War

If you’d asked Donald Rumsfeld two years ago, he would have denied that there was any problem of racist extremists infiltrating the military for the purpose of learning terrorist soldiering skills. A new report adds to my suspicion that the Bush administration is fully aware that right wing fanatics are preparing for a new war against America and using the armed forces as a training ground:

The report, titled “White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel since 9/11,” compiles statistics from hundreds of FBI cases from October 2001 to May 2008. It finds that U.S. military experience “is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement.” It adds: “FBI reporting indicates extremist leaders have historically favored recruiting active and former military personnel for their knowledge of firearms, explosives, and tactical skills and their access to weapons and intelligence in preparation for an anticipated war against the federal government, Jews, and people of color.”

And it’s not just veterans who are drawn to the cause. “FBI cases also document instances of active duty military personnel having volunteered their professional resources to white supremacist causes,” the report states. The FBI finds that “an estimated 19 veterans (approximately 9 percent of the 203) have verified or unverified service in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Calls for zero-tolerance of racial extremism in the military have come from both sides of the aisle. Hatewatch reports that Republican Senator Richard Shelby wrote: “Military extremists present an elevated threat to both their fellow servicemembers and the public. We witnessed with Timothy McVeigh that today’s racist extremist may become tomorrow’s domestic terrorist.”

The eye of the nation needs to be upon some of those reputedly sent to defend us lest they become our attackers.

[tags]terrorism, racism, racial extremism, domestic extremism, domestic terrorism, military[/tags]