Oh, dear. Oh, dear.
Civil liberties activists, anti-war organizers, eco-militants and animal rights operatives are in a fright over news that the nefarious FBI is watching them. Why on earth would the government be worried about harmless liberal grannies, innocent vegetarians, unassuming rainforest lovers and other "peaceful groups" simply exercising their First Amendment rights?
Let me remind you of some very good reasons.
In March 2003, I reported on a manifesto disseminated across the Internet by infamous eco-radical Craig Rosebraugh - former spokesman for the violent Earth Liberation Front - who called on fellow leftists to take "direct actions" against American military establishments, urban centers, corporations, government buildings and media outlets.
His instructions included:
1) Attack the financial centers of the country. Using covert or black block techniques . . . physically shut down financial centers which regulate and assist the functioning of U.S. economy. This can be done in a variety of ways from massive property destruction, to online sabotage, to physical occupation of buildings.
2) Large scale urban rioting. With massive unrest and even state of emergencies declared in major cities across the country, the U.S. government will be forced to send U.S. troops into the domestic arena thereby taking resources and political focus away from the war.
3) Attack the media centers of the country. . . . Using any means necessary, shut down the national networks of NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, etc. . . .
4) Spread the battle to the individuals responsible for the war and destruction of life - the very heads of government and U.S. corporations. No longer should these people be able to hide behind their occupations, living their lives in peace while they simultaneously slaughter countless people. Hit them in their personal lives, visit their homes, and make them feel personally responsible for committing massive atrocities.
5) Make it known publicly that this movement DOES NOT support U.S. troops as long as they are serving an unjust and horrifying political regime. Create an atmosphere lacking of support to assist U.S. troops at home and abroad in losing their morale and will to fight . . .
6) Actively target U.S. military establishments within the United States . . . use any means necessary to slow down the functioning of the murdering body.
In April 2003, I reported on a mob of "peace" activists from an outfit called Direct Action to Stop the War that coordinated a seditious blockade of an Oakland port in shipping military supplies. The antiwar mob's primary target at the Port of Oakland was American President Lines, a longtime carrier of military cargo. For Operation Iraqi Freedom, the carrier made nine of its vessels available to the Defense Department in order to move ammunition and sustainment cargo to support U.S. military forces.
The anti-war obstructionists weren't simply exercising their "free speech." They blocked trucks, employees, entryways and streets in order to stop the shipment of things like bullets, rations, lubricants, medical supplies, repair parts and chemical defense equipment to our troops. They also targeted Stevedoring Services of America, which handled some 3 million tons of humanitarian aid.
In August 2004, radical guerrilla activists from the "Black Bloc" group publicized plans to disrupt the GOP convention by attempting to distract police dogs, halt trains in New York City and spur the evacuation of Madison Square Garden.
In January 2005, the anti-war extremists of Code Pink traveled to the Jordan-Iraq border and doled out $600,000 in aid to "the other side."
In February 2005, civil rights attorney and left-wing darling Lynne Stewart was convicted on five counts of conspiring to aid murderous Islamic terrorists and lying to the government about smuggling messages from her jailed client, terrorist mastermind Shiekh Omar Abdel Rahman, to his followers in Egypt.
In June 2005, moonbat celebrity professor Ward Churchill suggested to a Portland audience that killing military officers with explosive devices was a more effective anti-war tactic than conscientious objection. "Fragging an officer has a much more impactful effect," Churchill advised.
The FBI's job is to take threats to our domestic security seriously and act on them before catastrophe strikes. Given the suspect words and actions of left-wing groups over the last several years, "dissent is patriotic" is a bromide no responsible agent can swallow blindly. Tolerating the unfettered free speech of saboteurs has threatened enough lives already.
