Homeland Security Focuses on American Citizens Who Are “Reverant of Individual Liberty”
Jul 6th, 2012 | By Tim George | Category: Today's Off The Grid News | Print This Article
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A recent study funded by the Department of Homeland Security identifies potential threats to national security as including Americans who are “reverent of individual liberty” and “suspicious of centralized federal authority.”
The study was produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland, an organization launched with the aid of $12 million of DHS funding.
Hot Spots of Terrorism and Other Crimes in the United States essentially omits Islamic terrorism, failing to even mention the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and focuses on Americans with conservative and libertarian beliefs. Islamic radicals are barely mentioned while individuals and groups that reflect the majority view of America at large are placed in the category of radical extremism.
The new report derived its definitions from a 2011 study entitled Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism, produced by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. That report, also used by DHS, identifies the following characteristics to recognize potential homegrown terrorists:
- Americans who believe their way of life is under attack.
Americans who are fiercely nationalistic (as opposed to universal and international in orientation). - People who consider themselves “anti-global”.
- Americans who are suspicious of centralized federal authority.
- Americans who are reverent of individual liberty.
- People who believe in conspiracy theories that involve grave threat to national sovereignty and/or personal liberty.
- People opposed to abortion.
Over the last few years, the Department of Homeland Security has taken part in producing a large body of literature that depicts advocates of limited government as terrorists. The most glaring example is a 2009 report, published by the Missouri Information Analysis Center, which framed Ron Paul supporters, libertarians, people who display bumper stickers, people who own gold or even people who fly a U.S. flag, as potential terrorists.
Such targeting of Americans is not limited to DHS. The FBI’s Communities Against Terrorism program warns that citizens who purchase bulk food or show an interest in web privacy when using the Internet in a public place are possible terrorists.
As part of its ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign, the Department of Homeland Security educates the public that generic activities performed by millions of people every day, including using a video camera, talking to police officers, wearing hoodies, driving vans, writing on a piece of paper, and using a cell phone recording application,” are all potential signs of terrorist activity.
©2013 Off The Grid News
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This is hardly surprising when the main thrust of progressives has been to demonize anyone conservative for decades. Now that their guy is in charge, they, along with all their hatred, has come pouring out of the closet.
Wow. I’m not an American, but I understood that being “reverent of individual liberty” and “suspicious of centralized federal authority” were precisely the qualities that drove your nation into a position of leadership and power. It saddens me to see such a fundamental shift, not to mention setting off some serious alarm bells.
Diana – Rest assured that more then a few of us are taking a very dim view of what has transpired. Check with us in 3 or 4 months, we’ll see what happens.
Keeping in mind that the historical and theoretical goals of asymmetric warfare (terrorism) are to cause the people of the target country to become fearful and demand “protection” from their government; to force the government of the target nation to become security conscious to the point it evolves into a police state; and ultimately for the people of the target nation to rebel against the government (because it has become a police state)
In those terms, who is winning the War on Terror?
On its face, this report was interesting – until I went to the source and read the research. The Hotspots of Terrorism report does not state what this article claims. It does define extreme right wing terrorist groups as having the qualities mentioned above; however, it is just a definition which the report also provides for religious and far-left extremists. The fact is. Right wing groups do have these values. The report states:
“When assessing time trends in terrorist attacks we found that the majority of extreme left-wing terrorism was concentrated in the 1970s and ethno-national/separatist terrorism was concentrated in the 1970s and 1980s. Religiously motivated attacks occurred predominately in the 1980s, extreme right-wing terrorism was concentrated in the 1990s, and single issue attacks were dispersed across the last three decades (1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).”
Ironically, the stronger and more interesting findings of the report show extreme right wing groups with the ideologies listed in the article are less prone to terrorist actions. Since the 1970s, far left groups committed, by far, the largest proportion of terrorist acts in the US – almost double the combined acts of single issue, religious, and far right groups combined.
That fact would have made a more interesting article than inciting ideological fervor over a definition rather than an actual report finding. Honesty is the best policy.
It figures that the government of, “We the People” is afraid of the citizens of the United States. We love our country and we will defend it to our last breath. But to be called a terrorist by HLS is crazy an not true. I believe in God and country and that does not make one a terrorist.. As a Scout we learned to be prepared and that does not make one a terrorist. Our current government no longer protects and defends the innocent, let alone the law of the land. Through executive order’s they are changing the landscape of this nation and no one does a thing to stop them.The current administration shows no honor for this great nation and those who gave their very lives to protect our freedoms. As a legal American citizen, we’ll continue to support and defend our country and the constitution of the United states,either at the ballot box or on the field of battle, when ever our Nation call’s on us to do so. God Bless America. SP
Fair and Balanced: Thanks for your input. It is always best for us to look at source documents ourselves to prevent us from embarrasing ourselves in front of the very people we are trying to educate. Here’s my conspiracy theory: the far left loves it when we get over-excited about some news or report and blow all our creadibility. We need to watch our reactions as carefully as we watch our money and morals.
Hickabilly, I agree. Whether or not we agree with the translation from one report to this report, it was agreed that most of us who love this country fall under their definition as a terroist. Okay, so I am a proud American. I love my God and my country and love the red, white and blue and the stars displayed on our flag. I am conservative in my values and I do want my individual liberities protected as written in the Constition of this great country. It has worked where other idealogies have failed. I believe we should get 5 stars for that. I say, if you don’t like what this country is founded on leave. It is based on hard work — you get rewards. Huh, when did this become a bad thing. I pray that in that 4 – 5 months Hickabilly, we will effect change. God Bless us all.