Shooting the Messenger

Published Jun 13, 2009

From the magazine issue dated Jun 22, 2009

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In February, the Missouri Information Analysis Center, one of several "fusion" centers created after 9/11 to share intelligence among local, state and federal agencies, issued a "strategic report" warning about a resurgence of the "modern militia movement." Last week, on the same day that white supremacist James von Brunn allegedly killed a guard at Washington's Holocaust Memorial Museum, Missouri's police chief informed legislators that the fusion center had suspended production of such reports. Why? Outcry from conservative activists, who felt they were being tarred too. Similarly, in April, Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives badgered the Department of Homeland Security into backing away from a report about growing far-right extremism.

They may talk about it less in public now, but law-enforcment and intel officials tell NEWSWEEK they're quietly scrutinizing threats from the far right just as carefully as those from Islamic extremists. And the danger isn't entirely homegrown. According to published reports, von Brunn attended meetings of the American Friends of the British National Party, a now defunct group that raised funds for the U.K.'s largest far-right movement. The British National Party's leader, onetime Holocaust denier Nick Griffin, recently won election to the European Parliament and has regularly visited the U.S. to speak to extremist groups.

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Posted By: molliedivine @ 06/20/2009 2:24:37 PM

The outcry came because it put the 3rd party on the same playing field as white supremicists and the unabomber. So, if you don't fall into republicans or democrats- you're a threat. That to me was the scary part.
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Posted By: Lee Holmes @ 06/15/2009 2:58:10 PM

Well . Somebody needs to tell Hosenball how well this worked out the last time.

One of the criticisms of the 9/11 Report was that the Clinton administration turned inwards after OK City and Waco in order to focus upon tubby bearded men in camos running around the Michigan wilderness shooting off heavy heat. The dutiful media, then as now, spent no mean amount of time studying and interviewing members of these ''militias''
Except that while these were about these tasks, al Qaeda, totally ignored by all, was busily setting up shop all along the east coast and California,and getting its assets organized to pull off 9/11. It turned out that these militias were of no moment whatever,and created no threats. Even the Klan was supine ,organizing no threats that could even be minutely compared to what jihadists had in mind for the packed LAX, Ft.Dix, the SEARS Tower, and several other smaller operations that failed due to the amateurism of those who tried to carry the plots out.
Hosenball is providing another of his disservices to this republic by intimating that von Brunn, plus Limbaugh, equals Republicans,something that this specimen never did when looking at an Ayers or a Dohren,when Obamas supporters were just as vehement in their defense of Obama, who was a minimal aqcuaintance of these two at the least, as opposed to a Limbaugh, who never met von Brunn.Both sides sought to kill for their ideologies and to this day, Ayers still has ''no regrets'' for his portion in the ''struggle''.
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Posted By: bojack27 @ 06/15/2009 10:36:55 AM

The problem this article fails to outline is the demonization of a political party by the media who wants to say one party was behind this particular crime. One could look at the recent killings of the abortionist Mr. Tiller and look at the coverage it garnered compared with the coverage a Muslim extremist who committed an act of terrorism on a Army Recruiter. Obama has yet to speak out and condemn this act of terrorism. Instead he goes promoting Islam and self-appointed the office of the president of the United States as the main translator of what Islam is and is not.