A deadly ‘enemy’
from within?
Commentary by PAT
MURPHY
Americans
are jittery about foreign terrorists and another sudden, ghastly, brutal
surprise attack. But another serious threat to the safety of Americans is
with us and thus far has not been publicly discussed: Homegrown
terrorists.
They go by
various names — so-called survivalists, patriots, militia,
eco-terrorists.
But they
all share an irrational paranoia and resentment of the U.S. government and
what they see as police state tyranny.
They’ve
made no secret of their virulent antipathy toward Uncle Sam. Their threats
to pick up arms to try to overthrow the government if and when they decide
that Washington asserts too much control over our lives are well
publicized.
Well, the
stage is set.
Washington
is imposing tighter controls over American life in the wake of Sept. 11.
Even Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor concedes that
Americans will soon find some of their liberties shrinking. The forecast
is for tighter security for years to come.
Increased
surveillance and wiretaps of telephones. Armed troops at airports. New
laws for detention for suspicious persons. Less privacy with bank
accounts.
Of such
grist the militia/patriot/survivalist mentality seethes.
Even as
Washington warns of possible new terrorist attacks from Osama bin Laden
"sleeper" agents hiding in the United States, local law
enforcement agencies are dealing with incidents involving Americans that
would be considered of terrorist origin were foreigners involved.
In the
first, a drunken Alaskan shot a hole in the Alaska pipeline. Nearly
300,000 gallons of oil were spilled before a clamp could be applied.
Because the shooter is American, should his sabotage of a vital energy
supply line be treated any less harshly than a terrorist from another
country?
Police
discovered five camper vehicles in rural Illinois packed with bomb making
materials and 12,000 rounds of ammunition belonging to a so-called
"survivalist" group. Should the owners be treated less seriously
than foreigners? Bombs and 12,000 rounds of ammo are not the customary
stocks of rabbit hunters.
And
eventually the Federal Aviation Administration must confront this: should
passengers tipsy with booze be banned from boarding airline flights and/or
should in-flight alcoholic beverages be drastically limited or banned for
the duration of the "war" to avoid air rage incidents that could
be as disastrous as a terrorist skyjacking?
As
patriotic and supportive as virtually all Americans are during these tense
times, some are not as civil or as loyal to the government’s or public’s
well-being.
Cheerless
armed militias that skulk around the woods in camouflage gear practicing
with sniper rifles and swapping dark suspicions about the government might
exploit today’s tensions to conduct guerrilla warfare against the U.S.
government, hoping to blame Muslim terrorists.
Remember,
the deadliest terrorism on U.S. soil before Sept. 11 was inflicted by an
American, Timothy McVeigh, at Oklahoma City. Other U.S-born bombers in our
midst have taken their tolls, too — Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, who killed
three and wounded 23 others in 16 incidents; abortion clinic bombers, and
the fugitive Atlanta Olympics bombing suspect and anti-gay religious
zealot, Eric Robert Rudolph.
The
unpleasant, unavoidable fact is that some violent enemies of Americans and
their way of life are not strangers from abroad, but from within, and
shouldn’t be disregarded lightly because they’re one of us.