Hate, Bigotry and Lethal Attacks By Right-wing Extremists
“ The word ‘terrorism’ in the United States usually brings to mind plots linked in some way to al Qaeda, while the danger posed to the public by white supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and other right-wing militants is often overlooked,” cautions an August 7 CNN report.
It informs us: “Militants linked to al Qaeda or inspired by jihadist ideology have carried out four terrorist attacks in the United States since September 11, which have resulted in 17 deaths. Thirteen of them were in a shooting incident at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009. By contrast, right-wing extremists have committed at least eight lethal terrorist attacks in the United States that have resulted in the deaths of nine people since 9/11, according to data compiled by the New America Foundation. And if, after investigation, Sunday's attack on the Sikh temple in Wisconsin is included in this count, the death toll from right-wing terrorism in the U.S. over the past decade rises to 15.”
(What is the New America Foundation? According to its website, New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. )
To read the rest of the CNN post Right-wing extremist terrorism as deadly a threat as al Qaeda?—click here.
Per the Associated Press:
“The Southern Poverty Law Center has described Page as a "frustrated neo-Nazi" who participated in the white-power music scene, playing in bands called Definite Hate and End Apathy.”
(Wade Page is the gunman who killed six people and injured some others at the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Sunday, August 5th. Page also died, having shot himself in the head.)
“Federal investigators are developing theories but also may never know for certain why he chose to attack total strangers in a holy place.”
“The FBI has classified the incident as domestic terrorism, a violent act for social or political gain.
(What is the Southern Poverty Law Center? According to its website, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society.)
By the way, I mentioned the Southern Poverty Law Center in a blog on NOW I posted in June 2010 called Racism in New Berlin.
Today, a Reuters article tells us: “ Efforts by authorities to spot and pre-empt violent right-wing extremists like the ex-soldier who shot up a Wisconsin Sikh temple face serious legal and political hurdles, including free speech guarantees and pushback from political lobbies.”
To read the rest of that Reuters’ article Focus on violent extremists hampered by U.S. laws, political pressure, click here.
***Update: Aug. 11 John Tirman ( executive director, MIT Center for International Studies) states "In the last several days, three events dramatically underscore a hard truth about domestic terrorism: nearly all of it originates with the extremist right wing." His post on Huffington Post today is titled Does All Terrorism Come From the Right Wing? Here's the link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-tirman/domestic-terrorism_b_1767433.html
