Warm and fuzzy terrorists

The president says we’re at war against terrorism.

The secretary of defense says the bombs are dropping and they’re not about to stop soon.

The attorney general repeats his warning that another terrorist attack is imminent – except he doesn’t know where or when or how or even by whom. He does tell us that terrorist cells are all across the country, but he doesn’t know much about them either.

Then we have the daily anthrax updates, the growing death list and that no one knows where it came from or how it’s spreading. In the meantime, it’s reached the Midwest.

It’s a killer disease, and we’re told to wash our hands. A lot.

Thanks, Mom.

Oh, and don’t sniff the envelopes. Sniff the envelopes? The only time I smell the mail is when a magazine has those infernal perfume strips and sniff isn’t exactly what I do. Those things reek – you can smell them across the room!

On top of it, some are even saying anthrax could be the work of right-wing activists – you know the ones, the religious fanatics, the pro-life folks and the McVeighs of the world.

Then Gray Davis, the governor of California, somberly announced that between Nov. 2 and 7, there’s a credible threat against bridges: In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge; in Los Angeles, the Vincent Thomas Bridge; and in San Diego, the Coronado Bridge.

Again, no specifics other than explosives at rush hour. We are told, however, that extra patrols will make the bridges as safe as they can possibly be.

As white-knuckled drivers make their way through the afternoon commute and start worrying about the morning drive, Californians are torn between believing the warning and being scared to death and being cynically angry at Gov. Davis, with some suspecting him of political expediency.

It didn’t help that just after the warning the FBI said the tip was far from credible and the Gov. had overstepped things a bit.

I think I’m going to hide under the bed!

But while the feds and the states huff and bluff about international terrorism there is terrorism going on under our nose and it doesn’t come from the right-wing; it’s as leftist as can be. Does it surprise you that the media mostly ignore or bury the details, which are never presented as terrorism?

Did you read about their latest “successful attack”? They bragged that they set incendiary devices to destroy two barns, two vehicles and an office building at a Federal Bureau of Land Management wild horse holding facility near the Nevada-California border. They also cut sections of corral fence to free the animals. Bomb squads disarmed three of the firebombs but one did explode destroying a hay barn causing $85,000 in damage.

The firebombing took place on Oct. 15 but it didn’t make my papers until Oct. 31. You may not have seen it at all. Even if it was printed, it probably was buried on the back pages. That’s where I saw it.

Why the delay? I’ll tell you why. Because these terrorists are politically correct. They claim to be green, protecting the earth. The media love that.

I’m talking about the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front. Their declared enemy is capitalism and profits. They target logging and tree farms, university labs and genetically engineered food, the fur business, government agencies and corporations.

Of course it’s terrorism. The people involved are from several countries. They have no formal organization but operate from autonomous cells. There’s no membership list, no address, no officers.

They publish crime guides, for example how to commit arson, including timing devices, fuels and security – or as they put it “down to earth and comprehensive how tos.” They also teach what to do when questioned by federal investigators.

They have specific targets and brag about their “accomplishments.” One group says that in three and a half years they caused more than $30 million in damage. A related group brags, location by location in this country, in Canada and Europe that their damage totaled more than $18 million.

Want specifics? Sixty-thousand dollars in damage and 60 hours of research lost at the University of Pennsylvania. At the University of Arizona, Tucson, $500,000 in damage to a laboratory and 20 vehicles. At the University of California, Riverside, $700,000 in damage. At a fur company in Alaska, $2 million in damage. At the University of California, Davis, $5.1 million in damage. And don’t forget the Vail, Colo., ski resort arson which caused $12 million in damage. This is not small potatoes, and they’re getting away with it.

Arson, firebombing, stealth in the night, stealing government, private or university property, vandalism and property destruction – not to say ruining careers, research, and lives. Oh, and don’t forget the contaminated food hoaxes and mailing hundreds of razorblades in letters to unsuspecting victims. It’s terrorism, all right. We should call it that.

The FBI investigates, but just about no one’s been arrested and jail terms are virtually unheard of. Why do I suspect some punches are being pulled? These groups brag about how much they get away with.

What a travesty, but it’s a perfect reflection of political correctness. The bad guys are always on the right. The same people accusing the right-wing of the anthrax contamination (with absolutely no proof) have nothing to say when left-wing, animal-rights and environmental fanatics continue to wreak their havoc. The media let them get away with it, the politicians ignore it and law enforcement is too politically correct to crack down and stop it. You can’t be mean if they’re green.

War on terrorism, my foot!