By Josh Ely
The terrorism threat is becoming more and more ominous for Americans: Two of the three victims murdered by ISIS Muslims in the past few weeks have been American. There has been evidence of Muslims crossing into the U.S. illegally from Mexico. And there have been individual instances of Muslims accused of killing Americans in the U.S.
So what is U.S. Attorney General Eric Holders plan? A "community based" approach.
He's suggested that groups outside of traditional law enforcement can keep an eye out for, or intervene in the lives of individuals who may be at risk for radicalization. ISIS was only mentioned once in a recent speech by Holder, and it was clear that he wants to avoid hinting that the new program would seek out those susceptible to following extremist ideologies.
Cheryl Chumley, author of "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming Our Reality," believes Holder's approach was a mistake.
"Just listen to the language Holder uses – he wants to build community coalitions to 'raise awareness' and 'share information on best practices' to combat terrorism and persuade Americans contemplating joining the jihad to rethink those plans," she said.
If this matches Holder's approach to domestic terror, Chumley was unsurprised. She said Holder's "main fear" is domestic violence.
Last year, the Congressional Research Service published a paper examining domestic terrorism.
In it, the FBI defined domestic terrorism as having no foreign component whatsoever.
In fact, the bureau's and the Department of Homeland Security's practical shorthand definition of domestic terrorism is "Americans attacking Americans based on U.S.-based extremist ideologies."
The threats to your privacy are exposed in "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality."
Also cited was a Southern Poverty Law Center claim that "changing racial demographics of the country, frustration over the government's handling of the economy and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories motivated some hate groups."
The report and high profile incidents in its wake led Holder to revive the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee within the Department of Justice. However, other federal departments' policies had predated Holder's stance on domestic terror.
The Washington Times reported in 2009 that the Department of Homeland Security had issued a warning to local law enforcement about "rightwing extremist activity."
Adding to the narrative, the group New America had labeled instances of domestic terrorism "deadly right wing attacks" and claiming they were more prevalent than jihadist-inspired terror in the years since 9/11.
The data had quietly shaped government policy. Chumley said that by this time, the attorney general's intentions had been made "loud and clear."
Holder believed, said Chumley, "America's biggest threat is Americans with guns – not ISIS terrorists with a stated goal of spreading the caliphate throughout the world."
"And that's why ISIS continues to spread, and will continue to spread," she said.
WND reported last week a case against an alleged Muslim terrorist who reportedly described his brutal killing of New Jersey teen Brendan Tevlin "for being American" as a "just kill."
"It was, in fact, an act of jihad, perpetrated by a fellow American who sympathized more with those who want to annihilate us than with his own country and its people," said radio host Todd Pettengill of "The Todd Show" on WPLJ in New York City.
He recounted the declaration by the suspect, Ali Muhammad Brown, 29, that the June 25 attack was a "just kill."
"Domestic terrorism, no matter what the president says, is already here," he warned.
During the first few weeks of his presidency, Obama spotlighted what he saw as a serious "right-wing" threat.
At that time, an unclassified Department of Homeland Security report warned of the possibility of violence by unnamed "right-wing extremists," including opponents of abortion. The DHS report was followed days later by a report from the Missouri Information Analysis Center that warned law enforcement officials to watch out for individuals with "radical" ideologies based on Christianity.
Constitutional expert Herb Titus of William J. Olson, P.C. told WND that Americans should be wary by attempts by the Obama administration to crack down on "terrorism."
"What do they mean by domestic terrorism?" he asked at the time. "The problem, whether it's called international or domestic terrorism, is the word 'terrorism.' There's no legal or historic meaning."
Further, a study at the West Point Military Academy asserted people who are part of the ideological right wing of American society constitute a danger to the nation. And the Department of Defense was caught teaching that critics of abortion are "low-level terrorists."
DHS also was found to be monitoring a blog posted by a Christian who was forced to flee Brazil because of the conflict between the nation's pro-homosexual "hate crimes" agenda and his advocacy for traditional marriage.
Later, a West Point study from the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center linked opposition to abortion and other "fundamental" positions to terrorism.
The threats to your privacy are exposed in "Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare is Becoming our Reality."