Domestic Eco-Terrorism, PETA, ALF & ELF
With President Bush’s “War on Global Terrorism” making front page news reports and filling the news waves on the evening news, the American Public might not realize that there is in fact a war of sorts going on behind the scenes in their own country. This is the war on home-grown terrorist organizations. Moreover, it is the war to fight against the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) and its environmental little brother spin-off the ELF or Environmental Liberation Front. The Domestic Terrorism Section Chief of the FBI James Jarboe states that, “the ELF and ALF have become ‘one of the most active extremist elements in the United States’” (Pierce). In another article, John Lewis from the FBI stated that, “The #1 Domestic Terrorism Threat is the eco-terrorism, and animal rights movement.” (Schuster) According to Senate Environmental Committee Chairmen James Inhofe, the damages from Eco-Terrorism have totaled more that $110 million dollars in the last decade. (Frieden) Just recently the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA have been suspected of giving monies to the ELF and ALF to fund their terrorist activities.
One might ask, who are these terrorist organizations and why do they do what they do? These organizations got there start during the 1960’s in the UK when traditional fox hunts were disrupted by “protesters”. After the successes in these activities, the protestors would become terrorists when they set a research institute ablaze, destroying everything, but not harming anyone, yet. (ADL.org) According to ADL.org, it is hard to tell when the ALF really first got its start, but it is assumed to be during the 1979 break in and release of 5 animals at the New York ...
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... the Animal Rights and Environmentalist Movements.” 5 Nov. 2005
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Schuster, Henry. “Domestic Terror: Who’s most dangerous?” Cnn.com: Tracking Terror. 24 Aug. 2005. 5 Nov. 2005.
terrorist acts of a more homegrown variety. Stern interviews American terrorists here in the United
Jeffrey David Simon, The Terrorist Trap: America's Experience with Terrorism, 2nd ed. (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001), 188-89.
Cole, D., & Dempsey, J. X. (2006). Terrorism and the constitution: sacrificing civil liberties in the name of national security. New York: New Press.
Being the oldest daughter of a Senior ATF Agent, I have been exposed to domestic terrorism all of my life. My father has investigated thousands of bombings, fires, and explosions for more than twenty years now. Many of these incidents were examples of the terrorism that I speak about. His experiences have taught me countless lessons and informed me of many current events. The information that I have obtained from him is far more valuable than anything that the media could ever possibly convey. Though he is always strictly guarded with the confidences of his profession, he has always provided me with a firsthand knowledge of the impact that domestic terrorism has on the citizens and law enforcement. Through him, I learn the facts of these incidents without the media’s exaggerations. Today I will share with you some of these facts. I will talk to you about the impact that domestic terrorism has on our citizens. These impacts include: the monetary damages that terrorism inflicts, along with the injuries to the victims, the shocking repercussions that are embedded into the minds and souls of the people who come to sort through the rubble to find the survivors and the remaining evidence.
Linzey, Andrew. Introduction. Animals on the Agenda. Ed. A. Linzey et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
Terrorism is not a new concept and although the treat has been highlighted by the events of September 11th, there has been a history of terrorism in America leading as far back as the establishment of the country. Although the proverb of “one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter” can be true on certain accounts, there is a distinction. The CIA uses a definition outlined by Title 22 Section 2656f(d) of the US Code, which states, "terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents ” (2013). This definition has two important aspects, politically motivated violence and the targeting noncombatants. These two aspects address the motive and methods of a terrorist organization. Through the understanding of this definition it becomes clear that organizations like Al-Qaeda are ...
These figures are shocking and unexpected. For calling themselves animal activists, they haven’t really helped any animals. This proves that hunters are the largest source of conservation funding in the United States, by far surpassing the animal rights
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Herman, E. & Sullivan, G. O.1989. The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions That Shape Our View of Terror. New York: Pantheon.
Ratnesar, Romesh. "Ground Zero: Exaggerating the Jihadist Threat." TIME.com. N.p., 18 Aug. 2010. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. .
Roth, John, Greensburg, Douglas, and Wille, Serena (2004). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States- Monograph on Terrorist Financing, National Commission of Terrorist Attacks, Retrieved from http://www.9-11commission.gov/staff_statements/911_TerrFin_Monograph.pdf.
PETA deals with many animal rights issues, some including fair treatment to animals in movies and entertainment, such as Khartoum. PETA is a non-profit organization with a purpose of getting better treatment for animals. The organization has uncovered many illegal projects, which harm animals in doing so. In 1981, PETA uncovered the abuse of animals in laboratories and experiments, which launched the Silver Springs monkeys case. In this experiment, Dr. Edward Taub was cutting major nerves in the arms of monkeys, and teaching them how to use the paralyzed arm. While people argued that this experiment had no value to it, Taub did app...
Aronson, Jamie "Point: The Fight for Animal Rights." Points of View: Animal Rights (2007): 5.
A large amount of information relating to animal rights disseminates from the many websites PETA is associated with. These websites are a key factor to attract supporters and publish information that will help advance its activism. These two PETA websites that were very useful for researching this paper are www.peta.org and www.furisdead.com. These websites ...
8) ?After the Attack?The War on Terrorism? (2001). Online at: <http://www.monthlyreview.org/1101edit.htm>, consulted on March 29th, 2004.