Right-Wing Radicals

“Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" What a title! Without following news sources, I might have thought there was evidence that Republicans and oil companies were enlisting an army of lobbyists to quell rumors that global warming poses a threat to the planet and that the banking industry was prepared to finance offshore drilling with taxpayer investment dollars.

The report, released on April 7 and labeled “Unclassified//For Official Use Only” by the Department of Homeland Security, ruffled some feathers, particularly with reference to the Oklahoma City bombing and wording that suggested disgruntled war veterans are likely to be recruited by extremist paramilitary groups for covert actions against select groups of Americans.

Timothy McVeigh, a Bronze Medal veteran during the Gulf War, masterminded the deadliest act of domestic terrorism. By lethal injection, he was the first criminal executed by the federal government since the 1963 hanging of Victor Fequer, who killed Dr. Edward Bartels seeking drugs that the doctor may have been carrying.

The outcry of invoking the memory of the 13 barrels of explosives loaded in, and exploded from, a Ryder truck seems disrespectful of the estimated 387,000 residents in the Oklahoma City area who knew someone directly affected by the bombing. Over 800 people were injured and 168 killed on the 19th of April 1995 – of which 19 were children. FBI investigations found evidence that McVeigh had been scouting the federal building since the previous December, aware of the daycare center. McVeigh showed no remorse for the deaths of the children, referring to them as “collateral damage”.

McVeigh’s anti-government feelings began when given orders to execute surrendering prisoners while serving in the Gulf War. His anger intensified in 1992 when FBI sniper fire murdered Vicki Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, as she stood unseen behind a door. 14-year old Samuel Weaver was shot in the back while retreating from gunfire.

McVeigh specifically chose April 19th for the bombing because on that day in 1993 the federal government ended a 51-day standoff with members of religious sect Branch Davidian in Waco, Texas, leaving 4 federal agents and 74 Davidians dead. Four hundred rounds of now-banned CS tear gas failed to flush the group out. The eventual use of assault tanks and explosive devices by the FBI ignited fires and destroyed the resident compound. These actions caused the majority of the deaths.

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, one day after the intended day of executions. The timing of the release of the report was appropriate.

The details of the report were justly assumptive. Foreclosures, job losses, unemployment, immigration, abortion and racist concerns over the election of the first black president are all probable causes that may attract enlistments into right-wing extremist groups.

Take note that one in five returning veterans (roughly 300,000) from Iraq and Afghanistan combat regions have been diagnosed with mental/psycho-social disorders They return to low wages, joblessness, homelessness and marital problems. Many forgo treatment because of the stigma surrounding mental health claims. A few receive minimal therapy while some are completely ignored and commit suicide.

Since these soldiers have no one to lean on for assistance, they may in fact respond to the recruitment of militia groups that seek their combat skills toward their causes and offer solace with the butt of a rifle positioned cheek to shoulder.

When released, the report spelled it out in black and white – it failed to acknowledge the majority of dedicated veterans who fought for the red, white and blue stripes of the American flag in defense of our liberties.

Steve Barry, a white supremacist and an Army Special Forces soldier, wrote in The Register, a publication of neo-Nazi group National Alliance, an article titled “Planning a Skinhead Infantry”:

“Light infantry is your branch of choice because the coming race war and the ethnic cleansing to follow will be very much an infantryman's war. It will be house-to-house, neighborhood-by-neighborhood until your town or city is cleared and the alien races are driven into the countryside where they can be hunted down and ‘cleansed’.”

“As a professional soldier, my goal is to fill the ranks of the United States Army with skinheads. As street brawlers, you will be useless in the coming race war. As trained infantrymen, you will join the ranks of the Aryan warrior brotherhood.”

The article was published in 1999. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization known for tolerance education programs, reported the number of hate groups have risen 53% in America from 602 in 2000 to 926 in 2008, including Neo-nazi, Neo-Confederate, black separatist, white nationalist, and various skinhead and Klu Klux Klan affiliates.

Therefore, “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" was appropriate.