Growing hate groups blame Obama, economy

• Report: the number of hate groups grew by 54 percent since 2000
• Obama’s election win fueled some to join hate groups, study found
• The FBI’s uniform crime report found 7,624 hate crime incidents in 2007
• Obama is a “visual aid” that helps lure new members, says neo-Nazi

Radical segments, of America’s population, insist on holding someone else responsible for their personal failures. It is easier to blame their financial plight on: illegal aliens, “who take their jobs”, black people, “who get a better break”, Jews, “who run the country”, Islam, “who is out to get us”, Liberals, “who seek communism”, and Government who conspires against the christian righteous right…

Enter KKK, Neo-Nazi, SkinHead, Christian Revisionists and hundreds of similar hate groups. America has freedoms that sometimes allow domestic dissidents a great voice. Hard Core Republicans have slid into a desperation that has embraced the Hate Group mentality. They espouse, every day in right wing forums, how they are determined to cause the Obama Administration to fail. They do not, however, detail the consequences for the majority of Americans.

A tiny list of today’s hateful society headlines:

Alarming Increase In US Hate Groups

Hate groups on rise, says law center: Recession, Obama election fuel growth

LETTERS to the editor: Hate group’s ‘research’ pushes impossible agenda

Report: Hate groups on rise nationally but quiet locally

Florida ranks third in number of hate groups

Ultra-fundamentalist hate group to picket Canton High

Waltham’s Mass Resistance labeled as a hate group

Immigration, economy, Obama fuel growth of US hate groups

The Number Of Hate Groups In The US Continues To Grow

So, it is a social and cultural phenomena America is facing. The Conservative Political Action Conference was a glaring example of how Republicans are teasing the idea of treason, as defined by the Bush Administration. The past administration was quick to judge and demean opponents of it’s policies. Progressive thoughts and actions were treated as “domestic terrorism”. Based on that criteria, Republicans are playing with a trip to Guantanamo, while it lasts. They are behaving like “Domestic Terrorists” by infusing a “Civil War” mentality. Advocates of violent opposition to the Obama Administration are being stroked by the party that became famous for using lunatic fringe to increase their power base. Fox News continues to fan the flames of civil conflict, not just unrest. Hiding behind the curtain “freedom of the press” the radical talking heads have actually given license to the CPAC agenda:

STRAIGHT FROM CPAC: A Speech for the Ages From Rush

STRAIGHT FROM CPAC: Gingrich Rips Obama

Limbaugh Rallies Conservatives to Fight Democrats, Find ‘Right Candidate’: On the conference’s third and final day, the conservative talk radio host was the headliner, and the crowd greeted him with an immense ovation.

CNN’s Bill Schneider: Limbaugh Speech Was ‘Angry, Mocking, Bullying, Harsh, and Full of Contempt’

Right Wing Radio Talks Secession as Law Enforcement Listens

When you are raised to believe that all your trials and tribulations are the actions of someone or something else, your actions define you. Seeking a target for your woes, real or imagined, becomes your agenda. This is where Christian Revisionists and Islamic Jihadists are on the same page. They are identical. The most vivid example of this culture of blame is the historic rise of Nazism. This is where education in America has failed. History, severely edited to reflect a social and political posture, has been stripped of it’s objectivity. News reporting has been stripped of it’s objectivity. Religious leaders, school systems, extreme bias reporting and family myths have served misconception as the main course for brainwashing the next generation. This is the same flaw that nurtures extremes from the middle east and western society.

Treason is redefined by each new administration. Unfortunately, those who think they are disenfranchised are actually benefiting from the same social programs they are fighting.

25 States Considering Sovereignty Legislation

Civil War is NOT the option for those delusionals who think they are disenfranchised, just because America is trying to be inclusive and trying to resurrect fairness, as defined by our founding fathers.

24 is a tv show, like many others where the cops bend the rules to get an edge on the criminals, purportedly because the bad guys are so devious and intelligent that they cannot be apprehended within the strictures of the laws. Yet in real life, the vast majority of criminals have demonstrated a propensity for stupidity and ignorance that blazes a mile-wide trail of evidence that cannot withstand modern forensics techniques. Very, very few pose much of a challenge, particularly when the cops already know what they’re up to and who many members in a criminal gang are.

The notion that Al Qaida is so secretive and omnipotent that legions of police, military investigators and jailers have to break the laws repeatedly is best summed up as a deliberately promoted urban myth. We know their longterm goals. We know their methods and their repeated choices of weaponry. And the way they divide their organization into cells means vital planning information remains dispersed and in relatively few hands.

So it remains a depressing fact that the violations of law and morality that have occurred under the anti-terror banner are not rooted in good detective work nor the well-polished art of war. The actions are crude, useless and represent a sadistic streak that was begun at the highest levels of government and reverberated throughout the ranks of other sadistic sick fucks.

It’s perfectly apt to compare it to military behavior during Hitler’s Nazi regime. ‘Just following orders’ remains a crutch and a defense too weak to stand. There have been US troops and commanders who - to their credit - refused to participate, but a great many joined in. And some enjoyed being sadistic bastards.

This is not new.

Much of the US penal system is rife with abuse and sadism. It’s a well-known fact that the California prison system actually was run by the Nazi Party and the racism and violence spawned by that was as criminal as anything the incarcerated had done.

Other states had or still have similar dysfunctions and corruptions. Tortures include isolation which has a demonstrable capacity to drive people crazy. Most people.

Its inception is not really rooted in partisan politics, though it’s quite clear that people who support ‘anything goes’ policies towards criminals (and terrorists) have an affinity to call themselves conservative. But these policies, conserving nothing, represent sadism and brutality. They don’t limit crime, rehabilitate anyone nor change anything for the better. They perpetuate a cycle and culture of violence and actually confirm to the incarcerated that there is no morality in the society they attack.

Humiliation and degradation? How many terror attacks did that prevent? None that have yet been documented. So what special fascination drives people to violate prisoners’ rectums and the physiological processes that occur there?

Simple: they enjoy it. Which cannot masquerade as national security or even institutional order. It’s a perversion. It’s an immoral presence in the psyches of every person who joins in. America doesn’t necessarily stand out as a leader of sick fucks, but it also doesn’t stand out for its moral capacity to resist and weed out the sick fuckism.

And until we come to grips with that, those not actively participating don’t have a chance of preventing it in the future. We may be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but we also remain a country in deep denial that shirks a critical moral responsibility.

Maybe Obama can shut down Gitmo, but the real, long term cure requires a massive social demand to end the prevalence of the policies and perversions of deeply disturbed sick fucks.

In the abstract, the answer is: “Of course not.”  And naturally, law and criminality are frameworks for abstract thought.  If it were purely a legal decision of whether we go after the Bush crime syndicate, it would be just as easy as it would be if it were merely a partisan issue.  Go for it.  Unfortunately, it’s never that simple.

OBAMA: We’re still evaluating how we’re going to approach the whole issue of interrogations, detentions, and so forth. And obviously we’re going to be looking at past practices and I don’t believe that anybody is above the law. On the other hand I also have a belief that we need to look forward as opposed to looking backwards. And part of my job is to make sure that for example at the CIA, you’ve got extraordinarily talented people who are working very hard to keep Americans safe. I don’t want them to suddenly feel like they’ve got to spend all their time looking over their shoulders and lawyering (up).

Greenwald is unimpressed, likewise Digby.  Mind you, they are looking at things from an admittedly ideological/partisan lens, but their conclusion that even looking for a compromised centric position on blatant violations of Constitutional and International Law principles — running from the left as all Democratic leaders instinctively do — is that Obama’s approach is fundamentally flawed.  But if America wanted assurances that all corporatists, constitution shredders and torturers would be put up against the wall, we’d have elected Dennis Kucinich or at least John Edwards. 

Elections have consequences, but even the victors have to acknowledge at the end of the day that Obama is Pat Buchanan and Tom DeLay’s president too.

From a partisan perspective, it is a losing cause to think that by acting “reasonable” (read: accepting Right wing framing) you will win over conservatives to support, or at least not thwart your agenda.  I’m not just talking about the Hannitys and Limbaughs or even “Cigar Dave” who insists that B. Hussein Osama [sic] will invite al Queada to tea at the White House — but also to think that the Village Courtiers in Washington will blythely go along with anything that smacks of liberalism without being persuaded the alternative presents a moral imperitive on a par with their insistence that terror suspects are fair game for torture.

However, it is not a partisan issue whether we investigate and prosecute members of the Bush administration for their crimes.  Not really.  It is a political decision to be sure, but not a right/left issue.  Just as any prosecutor in this country is invested with nearly unfettered discretion on their decision whether or not to bring charges against a suspect — and under what circumstances and at what time — what the Obama administration does is about whether they are willing to invest his enormous political capital into transformative change or engage in retribution.  The political calculus may require that he cannot do both, at least for now — at least that’s the decision the smoke-signals from Camp Obama seem to indicate he’s made.

That doesn’t mean that members of both the right and the left won’t reenact the Sturm and Drang we always do over this — and all of us will be convinced that Obama isn’t one of us no matter what he does.  Maybe that’s a consequence of leadership of a nation this diverse and as vocal as we all are about it.  Bush was disavowed by the true-believers on the right some years ago, crystalizing the moment he thought about appointing Harriet Meirs to the Supreme Court and didn’t round up anyone with a Mexican accent lacking a green card. 

Note how “concerned” the right is with protection of (at least) American lives as they defend what can be argued are crimes against humanity.  Beyond the elitist view of American exceptionalism this betrays, it also highlights the bullying nature of the conservative mindset.  Just as their anti-abortion/abstinence-only stance has the fringe benefit of saving innocent lives while perpetuating male domination of women (that’s the feature, not the bug), environmental and consumer protections, food and drug regulation, occupational safety as well as anti-discrimination laws all protect American lives everywhere.  The reason they scoff at such measures yet champion torture and war in the name of shielding us all from danger is that it gives them a chance to show just how tough they are.

One thing that would do immeasurable damage to their chest-thumping culture would be to set an example at the highest level that their kind of ends-justifying-means, Jack Bauer approach to national security is punishable by law.  But that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

America’s Hidden Role in Hamas’s Rise to Power

The United States bears much of the blame for the ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip and nearby parts of Israel. Indeed, were it not for misguided Israeli and American policies, Hamas would not be in control of the territory in the first place.

America’s official version of Terrorism. Reading this 2008 U.S. Army Manual brings into focus how America uses its own terrorism, euphemistically calling it “irregular warfare”. Thank you Existentialist Cowboy for pointing me to this document…

Army Special Operations Forces Unconventional Warfare

Unconventional warfare: Operations conducted by, with, or through irregular forces in support of a resistance movement, an insurgency, or conventional military operations. (FM 3-05.201)

1-19. JP 1-02 defines IW (Irregular Warfare) as “a violent struggle among state and nonstate actors for legitimacy and influence over the relevant populations. IW favors indirect and asymmetric approaches, though it may employ employ the full range of military and other capacities in order to erode an adversary’s power, influence, and will.” IW is inherently a protracted conflict that will test the resolve of the United States and its partners. Adversaries will pursue IW strategies, employing a hybrid of irregular, disruptive, traditional, and
catastrophic capabilities to undermine and erode the influence and will of the United States and its strategic partners. Meeting these challenges and combating this approach will require the concerted efforts of all instruments of U.S. national power.
1-20. IW is about people, not platforms. IW does not depend on military prowess alone. It also relies on the understanding of such social dynamics as tribal politics, social networks, religious influences, and cultural mores. Although IW is a violent struggle, not all participating irregulars or irregular forces are necessarily armed.

1-21. Waging protracted IW depends on building global capability and capacity. IW will not be won by the United States alone but rather through combined efforts with multinational partners. Combined IW will require the joint force to establish a long-term sustained presence in numerous countries to build partner capability and capacity. This capability and capacity extends U.S. operational reach, multiplies forces available, and provides increased options for defeating adversaries. The constituent activities of IW are—

• Insurgency.
• COIN.
• UW.
• Terrorism.
• CT.
• FID.
• Stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) operations.
• Strategic communication (SC).
• PSYOP.
• Civil-military operations (CMO).
• Information operations (IO).
• Intelligence and counterintelligence (CI) activities.
• Transnational criminal activities, including narco-trafficking, illicit arms dealing, and illegal financial transactions that support or sustain IW.
• Law enforcement activities focused on countering irregular adversaries.

1-22. The above list of operations and activities can be conducted within IW; however, they are not new and most are addressed in current joint and Service doctrine. What is new is their application within the IW conceptual construct. The list of activities considered together is also useful in characterizing how IW is distinct from conventional warfare and its emphasis on major combat operations (MCO). Particularly noteworthy is that UW (including support for insurgencies), CT, FID, PSYOP, … are well-suited to be major practitioners of IW.

I found several precursors to the refined document above. It shows the US use of terror as an acceptable option. The number of US and allied players that are educated in these operations are capable of changing their alliances and aiming their knowledge back to the US. We have already experienced this, but, the media is instructed to ignore the fact that Taleban, Hamas and Al Qaeda are students of US training and recipients of US weaponry.

Of course, IW as an “Un-Official” operation has been used for decades. Secrets must be revealed at some point. The US Constitution and International Law were never considered as a hindering factor, only an irritant. This required these “Black Operations” to remain classified, public opinion could cause problems. This is also the argument for using mercenaries who allow our government to deny complicity, using American Tax Dollars.
Bush has advocated using mercenaries like Black Water from the beginning. See where that has taken us? The cost of this tactic has cost us the America we used to enjoy.

Irregular Warfare (IW) - Joint Operating Concept (JOC) - Version 1.0 11 September 2007

Insurgency and counterinsurgency are at the core of IW. The purpose of
insurgency is to overthrow and replace an established government or societal
structure. Terrorism and counterterrorism are activities conducted as part of IW
and are frequently sub-activities of insurgency and counterinsurgency.
However, terrorism may also stand alone when its purpose is to coerce or
intimidate governments or societies without overthrowing them.

… since our adversaries employ terrorism and transnational criminal activities against
the interests of the United States and its partners, these activities are included
below as examples of the range of operations and activities that can be conducted as part of IW:
• Insurgency
• Counterinsurgency (COIN)
• Unconventional warfare (UW)
• Terrorism
• Counterterrorism (CT)
• Foreign internal defense (FID)
• Stabilization, security, transition, and reconstruction operations (SSTRO)
• Strategic communications
• Psychological operations (PSYOP)
• Information operations (IO)11
• Civil-military operations (CMO)
• Intelligence and counterintelligence activities
• Transnational criminal activities, including narco-trafficking, illicit arms
dealing, and illegal financial transactions, that support or sustain IW
• Law enforcement activities focused on countering irregular adversaries

Too many books on this subject are available …

Modern irregular warfare: In defense policy and as a military phenomenon
• Asymmetric Warfare: Threat and Response in the 21st Century
• Counterinsurgency and the Global War on Terror: Military Culture and Irregular War (Stanford Security Studies)
• Guerrilla Warfare: Irregular Warfare in the Twentieth Century (Stackpole Military History Series)
• The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual
• Never Surrender: A Soldier’s Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
• Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
• Uncomfortable Wars Revisited

For the Military Art and Science Major

Irregular Warfare Specialty Track

The U.S. Army and Irregular Warfare by John Gates in 2002

Naval Postgraduate School - Center on Terrorism and Irregular Warfare