Right-Wing Domestic Terrorism in the USA
Dawn Gable
HAVANA TIMES — Coral Gables travel agency Airline Brokers that was fire bombed in April, presumably for facilitating travel to Cuba, is not alone in being targeted by right-wing extremists. Women’s health clinics around the nation are also currently on high alert.
Last week a women’s health outreach clinic in New Orleans became the fourth such facility to be set ablaze in recent weeks. Two clinics were hit in Georgia in early May, where three women’s health centers had been burglarized earlier in the year. The FBI and ATF are still investigating these cases of confirmed arson.
In April, a Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin was fire bombed by a luckily incompetent villain. The perpetrator was caught and charged with arson rather than terrorism even though his outbursts at his initial hearing revealed his “righteous” intention to stop “baby killers”.
Just as those involved in promoting Cuba travel have been ruthlessly targeted by anti-Castro zealots during past periods of relaxed travel restrictions, women’s clinics have also suffered waves of violence over recent decades triggered by changes to national policies or perceptions.
It was only three years ago that an abortion provider, Dr. George Tiller, was murdered by an anti-abortion militant while attending church service.
Leading up to his murder the direct action organization Operation Rescue had set up a camp on the side walk in front of his clinic to intimidate patients. Tiller was wearing body armor, at the suggestion of the FBI, the day he was shot point-blank in the head.
It is unconscionable that the country leading the global war on terror discounts domestic terrorism when it is perpetrated by extremist of right-wing ideology.
If the FBI were to treat these crimes as acts of terrorism and the investigations and perpetrators were handled accordingly, perhaps the crusaders against family unification and family planning would think twice about intimidating law-abiding individuals and about tossing flames through windows.
Cort, you make it seem like there is a single agreed upon definition of terrorism which is not the case. Terrorism is too often used as a perjorative to negatively label the actions of those with whom you politically disagree. One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter.
I haven’t done a inventory of whether right wing or left wing extremists have a greater propensity for violence or other criminal acts in pursuit of political causes. But I disagree just as strongly when right wing pundits call for those firebombing banks or torching police vehicles during G20 or NATO summits to face terrorism charges, rather than to be charged with vandalism, participating in a riot or other offenses already covered by existing criminal statutes.
There is an understandable desire by those who support a part if not all of the Castro regime to paint the US with the same brush used to paint the panopoly of criticisms levied against Cuba. Terrorism, as is widely understood, is a type of violence that is rarely perpetrated within US borders. It is equally rare to occur in Cuba. However, both sides, choose to inflame the debate by calling the other party a terrorist. The US does not crash airliners into buildings nor does Cuba. As Mark G commented, not all violence is terrorism, but all terrorism is violence.
Mark
Terrorism, noun
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3. a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.
It has wide uses and terms and there is hundreds of these groupings in the US mostly right wing and just because the state does not charge a person/persons as such does not mean it is not terrorism.
Just because an illegal act may be politically motivated does not mean it necessarily meets the test of being a terrorist act. Whether it is a right wing extremist vandalizing an abortion clinic or a left wing extremist vandalizing a Starbucks, neither meets the test of being a terrorist act, and these acts should not be prosecuted as such. Even the person who murdered Dr. Tiller was correctly convicted of first degree murder (not terrorism) and is serving a life sentence.