1. HOMELAND SECURITY
Everyone's a Threat
Obama's Department
of Homeland Security
and federal-state 'Fusion
Centers' target millions
of Americans as potential
terrorists.
by William F. Jasper
eeling the heat from veterans
F groups, pro-life organizations, con-
servatives, and even Democratic
members of Congress, President Baraek
Obama's Secretary for Homeland Secu-
rity Janet Napolitano was forced to make
a slight about-face regarding a controver-
sial intelligence report issued by her de-
partment. In a string of media appearances Janet Napolitano, Hom eland Security secretary. has halfheartedly apologized for the "Rightwing
in mid-April, Secretary Napolitano half- Extremism" report (inset) issued by DHS
apologized for a Department of Homeland
Security (DRS) report that has drawn se- are attractive to rightwing extremists." It one of more than 42 million veterans
vere criticism for targeting conservative warns that the DHS Office of Intelligence who have worn this nation's uniform
political opponents and associating them and Analysis "is concerned that rightwing during wartime. To continue to use
with dangerous terrorists. extremists will atterqJt to recruit and radi- McVeigh as an exafIllle of the stereo-
The DRS document that stirred up the calize returning veterans in order to boost typical "disgruntled military veteran"
political firestorm is a leaked IO-page their violent capabilities." is as unfair as using Osama bin Laden
report entitled "Rightwing Extremism: What is the basis for this DHS concern? as the sole exafIllle of Islam.
Current Economic and Political Climate The "Rightwing Extremism" report states:
Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and "After Operation Desert Shield/Storm in Rep. Bennie ThofIllson of Mississippi, the
Recruitment." The most harshly criticized 1990-1991 , some returning military vet- Democratic chairman of the House Home-
section of the report concerns the finger erans - including Timothy McVeigh - land Security Committee, voiced similar
of suspicion it points at military veterans. joined or associated with rightwing ex- concerns. In an April 14 letter to Secretary
The report, which was distributed to law- tremist groups." Janet Napolitano, he wrote he was "durm-
enforcement agencies nationwide, warns: David K. Rehbein, national commander founded" by the contents of the report. "I
of the 2.6 million-menDer American Le- am disappointed and surprised that the de-
The possible passage of new restric- gion, was understandably concerned by partment would allow this report to be dis-
tions on firearms and the return of the DHS slur against America's military seminated" to law-enforcement agencies,
military veterans facing significant veterans, casting them in the negative ste- he said. "This report appears to raise signif-
challenges reintegrating into their reotype favored by leftists in the media icant issues involving the privacy and civil
cOIllIlllnities could lead to the poten- and Hollywood. In a letter to Secretary liberties of many Americans - including
tial emergence of terrorist groups or Napolitano, Commander Rehbein wrote: war veterans," Chairman ThofIllson cau-
lone wolf extremists capable of car- tioned. "As I am certain you agree, free-
rying out violent attacks. The American Legion is well aware dom of association and freedom of speech
and horrified at the pain inflicted are guaranteed to all Americans - whether
"Returning veterans," the report continues, during the Oklahoma City bomb- a person 's beliefs, whatever their political
"possess cormat skills and experience that ing, but Timothy McVeigh was only orientation, are 'extremist' or not."

2. On April 16, Secretary Napolitano made
the rounds of the morning TV shows, in an
attefl1X to quell the grow ing outrage. "To
the exte nt veterans read it as an accusa-
tion ... an apology is owed," she conceded
during an on-air interview on FOX News.
" nus was an assessment, not a n accusa-
tion," Napolitano continued. '1t was lim.
ited to extremists - those who see k to
connnit violence wilhin the United States.
And all this was rreantto do was to give
law enforcement what we call 'sihIational
awareness.' "
Situational awareness? Awareness
about what sihIation, precisely? This "in-
telligence" report admits that it contains
no concrete evidence. It states:
The DHS/Office of Intelligence and
Analysis (I&A) ha s no specific in-
formation that domestic rightwing Military veterals returning from fighting terrOriSts In I raQ. like these soldiers in the N York
ew
terrorists are currently planning acts City Veterans Day Parade. are seen by DHS as potential "nghtwlng" terrorist recruits
of violence, but rightw ing extre mists
may be gaining new recruits by play- ents that are primarily hate-orie nted bulletin out of Missouri targeting conser-
ing on their fears about several e rrer- (based o n hatred of particular reli - vatives, libertarians, gun rights advocates,
gent issues. The economic downturn gious. racial or e thnic groups), and pro-life activists, and others. Much of the
and the election of the first African those that are mainly antigovemmelll, c riticism of Napolitano and the DHS re-
Arrerica n preside nt present uniq ue rejecting federal authority in favor of port has failed to draw the disturbing con-
drivers for rightwing radicalizalion state or local authority, or rejecting neclion between theDHS ''Rightwi ng Ex-
and recruitment. government authority e ntirely. It may tre mis m" report and 'The Modern Militia
include groups and iIXlividuals that are Movement," a report issued in February
Nevertheless, the DHS report claims that dedicated to a single issue, such as op- by the Missouri Information and Analy-
''lone wolves and small terrorist cells em- position to abortion or immigration. sis Center (MIAC), a branch of the state 's
bracing violent rightwing extremist ideol- Highway Patrol. MIAC is what is known
ogy are the most dangerous domestic ter- The DHS report sloppily (or, perhaps, as a "fusion center," one of 58 such fed-
rorism threat in the United States." cleverly and maliciously) demonizes mil- eral-state-Iocal law-enforcement centers
The report ell1Jloys the word "right- lions onaw-abiding Americans, con.f1ating nationwide sponsored by DHS.
wing" 50 times, and in nearly every in- them with violent, criminal groups such as The MIAC report turned into an espe-
stance (47 times), it is in the context of Neo-Nazis and "white supremacists" sim- cially hot potato when it became known
''rightwing extremism," "rightwing ex- ply because they adhere to political beliefs that it specifically na~ political candi-
tremist," ''rightwing terrorist," or ''right- at variance with those of the administra- dates and political parties, implying that
wing terrorist and extremist." Tellingly, the tion. By repeatedly associating "right- they and their supporters should be viewed
report doesn't bother to define any of these wing," "extremism," "terrorism," "vio- as potential terrorists, and/or threats to law
polilicallycharged terms, a majorderelic- lence," "threat," "dangerous," and " white e nforcement. The MIAC report states:
tion of due diligence in such an irq>ortant supremacist" with those who
matter. Itis si milarly shcxkly in using terms OJl>ose abortion, gu n control,
favored by left-wing extre mists to describe socialism, government bail- The DHS report stop pity (or, perhaps,
their oppone nts on the right, such as "anli- outs, and amnesty for illegal
govern lrent," "hate-orie nted," " paranoid," alie ns. the DHS is reinforc-
cteverly and maliciously) demonizes
"dangerous." and "viole nt." ing a left- wing trope ai~ at millions 01 law-abiding Americans ,
The c losest the DHS re port comes Cfiminalizing and silencing
to offeri ng a definitio n is this troubHng politically incorrect expres-
conllallng them with Violent, criminal
description: sion and dissent. groups such as Neo-Nazis simply because
The DHS report is doubly
Rightwing extremism in the United troubling because it COIrnS
they adhere to polilical beliefs at variance
States can be broadly divided into quick on the heels of a similar with those of the administration.
those groups, movements, and adher- federal-state law-enforcement

3. HOMELAND SECURITY
Like Secretary Napolitano, secret. Listed as "UNCLASSIFTED//FOR
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon OFFICIAL USE ONLY (U//FOUO)," the
There is an addilional face I of Ihe initially defended his agency's DHS report tells law-enforcement recipi-
DHS and MIAC reporls Ihal begs 10 be report. However, as a public ents it "is not to be released to the public,
backlash against the report wilt the media, or other personnel." Likewise,
exposed: Ihe slrange and alarming
during the last weeks of March, the MIAC report prohibits distribution to
symbiosis belween Ihe federal he reversed course. Van God- those outside law enforcement.
governmenl (especially Ihe Deparlmenls sey, the director of the fusion With nearly 60 of these DHS federal-
center that produced the report, state fusion centers nationwide, there is
of Juslice and Homeland Securily) and was replaced on April 6. His good reason to suspect that other similar
cerlain privale lell-wing groups. superior, Department of Public reports attacking Americans' constitution-
Safety Director John Britt, was ally guaranteed rights have been issued or
placed on administrative leave are being developed for dissemination.
You are the Enemy: The militia pending an investigation of the report. This kind of political targeting is very
subscribes to an antigovernment and Missouri State Rep. Jim Guest told THE dangerous and underscores why the U.S.
NWO [New World Order] mind set, NEW AMER ICAN he is especially concerned Constitution strictly circumscribes federal
which creates a threat to law enforce- that the MIAC illustrates the growing prob- policing and reserves the vast majority of
ment officers. They view the military, lem of increased intrusion by the federal police powers to the states. The Founding
National Guard, and law enforcement government into state police functions. He Fathers wisely recognized that gradual
as a force that will confiscate their hopes to uncover the sources of the po- encroachment by the federal government
firearms and place them in FEMA liticized "intelligence" in the MIAC report could lead to nationalization and the
concentration camps. [Bold efIllha- and the exact nature of Missouri 's relation- eventual use of a national police force to
sis in original.] ship to DRS at the MIAC fusion center. impose tyranny. Vhile it may be true that
corruption and abuse of police powers at
The MI AC report then states: "Militia Investigate DHS the state and local levels will always be
members most commonly associate with Members of Congress should be looking a concern as well, the magnitude of the
3rd party political groups. It is not uncom- into this matter as well. The dangerous danger pales in cOfIllarison to the menace
mon for militia menDers to display Con- precedents established by the DHS and posed by a centralized agency with po-
stitutional Party, Campaign for Liberty, or MIAC reports should not be allowed topass lice authority over the entire nation. The
Libertarian material. These menDers are simply because Secretary Napolitano was DHS-sponsored fusion centers are further
usually supporters of former Presidential forced by public pressure to issue a half- evidence that the DHS is the lead agency
Candidate [sic]: Ron Paul, Chuck Bald- hearted apology. She would not even have of what is rapidly becoming a de facto na-
win, and Bob Barr." done that had the DHS report remained tional police force.
There is an additional facet of the DHS
and MIAC reports that begs to be exposed:
the strange and alarming syrmiosis be-
tween the federal government (especially
/low "'EE the Departments of Justice and Homeland
kNOW 'T' Security) and certain private left-wing
-rE~ STAND5 FoR groups. We might ask, for instance, how
P~RTIES
theDHS arrived at its conclusion that ''the
TER/?oRIST most dangerous domestic terrorism threat
/ in the United States" comes fromindividu-
als and cells "ermracing violent rightwing
extremist ideology."
According to the DHS report, this as-
sessment is based on information "from
law enforcement and nongovernmental
organizations." Who are these unnamed
NGOs? That is not too difficult to fig-
ure out. As we have noted previously in
these pages and in our online articles, the
wording in the government reports is very
similar to what we find in diatribes against
conservatives issued by hard-core left-
wing groups such as the Southern Poverty
Law Center (SPLC), the Anti-Defamation

4. League (ADL), and the Political Research
Associates (PRA).
However, the connection goes beyond
the mere filtration of biased verbiage by
these above-mentioned groups into of-
ficial bulletins; they and other organiza-
tions have been working closely with the
Department of Justice (DOJ) since the
Clinton administration officially targeted
"rightwing" opponents. The SPLC and
ADL websites boast about their work-
shops in which they train hundreds of
federal and state law-enforcement person-
nel in the dangers emanating from "right-
wing" threats.
The most irq :lOrtant of the nongovern-
mental groups impacting the DHS and
DOJ in this regard is the Council on For-
eign Relations (CFR), which is usually Terrorists? Every year. millio ns of law-abid ing Americans. like these pro-life demonstrators in
described by the elite media as "nonpar- Mon tpelier. Vermon t. peacefully march in opposition to abortion
tisan" and ''balanced.'' It is probably ac-
curate to view the CFR's April 21, 2008 lent, 'no-hann' doctrine" that leads them to Napolitano is lying to the American people
Backgrouruier report, entitled "Militant sifIllly target property for vandalism, rather when she says the Report is not based on
Extremists in the United States," as the than attacking people. TheDHS report does ideology or political beliefs. In fact, her
document that kicked off the current round not specifically mention the SPLC, rut it is report would have the admiration of the
of official government warnings of a new Im& likely referring to them when it quotes Gestapo and any current or past dictator in
"rightwing" menace. a "prominent civil rights organization" on the way it targets political opponents. This
According to the study, written by CFR the danger of military veterans being re- incorr:petently written intelligence assess-
staffer Holly Fletcher, the main domestic cruited by "violent neo-nazis, skinheads, ment, which directs law enforcement offi-
security danger to the United States comes and white supremacists." The DHS-spon- cials across the country to target and report
from "hate groups motivated byultra-con- sored MIAC report specifically references on American citizens who have the politi-
servative ideals that are often anti-Semitic SPLC as one of its sources. cal beliefs mentioned in the report, will be
and racially motivated." Fletcher shows Congressional and state investigations used as a tool to stifle political opposition
a telling dependence on the SPLC, cit- should probe this alarming evidence in- and opinions. It will give a pretext for op-
ing them as an authority several times. dicating that hard-core left-wing activist ponents of those Americans to report them
She writes, for exafIllle, that "right-wing groups have become grafted onto govern- to police as rightwing extremi&s and terror-
extremists are still considered the most ment agencies and are abusing federal and ists. You can imagine what happens then."
dangerous to the United States, says the state police powers to target their political The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District
SPLC." And, she writes, "Left-wing and opponents. Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
environmental extremist groups are not on behalf of nationally syndicated con-
hate groups, according to the SPLC, be- Mounting Legal Opposition servative radio talk-show host Michael
cause they do not espouse rhetoric that tar- Private legal efforts to redress the DHS Savage, Gregg Cunningham (president of
gets specific groups that have a defining abuses are already underway. The Thomas the pro-life organization Center for Bio-
characteristic." More Law Center, a national public inter- Ethical Reform, Inc.), and Iraq War Ma-
Surprise, surprise, the CFR/SPLC line is est law finn based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, rine veteran Kevin Murray. The law center
precisely the attitude adopted by the DHS! announced on April 17 that it had filed a claims that Napolitano's DHS has violated
'hen the furor erupted over the DHS federal lawsuit against DHS Secretary Na- the First and Fifth Amendment constitu-
"Rightwing Extremism" report, the DHS politano. The suit charges that her depart- tional rights of these three plaintiffs by
and its media shills pointed to a DHS re- ment's "Rightwing Extremism Policy," as attempting to chill their free speech, ex-
port issued in January entitled "Leftwing reflected in the DHS Intelligence Assess- pressive association, and equal protection
Extremism." This supposedly :;howed that ment "Rightwing Extremism," violates the rights. The lawsuit further claims that the
the department is being ifIllartial and even- civil liberties of coIillat veterans as well as Department of Homeland Security encour-
handed. However, the DHS "I..eftwing Ex- American citizens by targeting them for ages law-enforcement officers throughout
tremism" report is far fromifIllartial. It fol- disfavored treatment on account of their the nation to target and report citizens to
lows the CFR/SPLC lead, falsely claiming political beliefs. federal officials as suspicious right-wing
that left-wing extremists are cOfIllaratively Richard ThofIllson, president and chief extremists and potential terrorists because
benign because they adhere to a "noINio- counsel of the law center, stated, "Janet of their political beliefs . •