January 09, 2004

Signs of a domestic terror plot: The discovery of an arms cache in Texas, including the makings of a cyanide bomb capable of killing thousands of people, has led to three convictions but few answers about what it was intended for.

"Officials say the case was at one point included in President Bush's daily security briefings, but it remains virtually unknown outside East Texas — even though, critics point out, it represents an instance in which federal authorities discovered a weapon of mass destruction. Much of the criticism has come on Internet Web logs, known as 'blogs.' People who operate the websites, or 'bloggers,' have seized on the Krar case and what they perceive as the inattention it received from the Bush administration and major media." This was discussed on MeFi here and here. Via Orcinus, who is quoted in the article.

posted by homunculus 20 years ago
  • Registration is required to read the link.
  • Here's the article on the Boston Globe, which doesn't require registration but truncates the article. Here's the missing part:
    Revelations, however, that many questions remain unanswered in the case have made it the target of the new, post-Sept. 11 politics of terrorism. Critics of the Bush administration say federal officials and the mainstream media are suffering from tunnel vision — that they are so focused on international threats that they have failed to give sufficient attention to threats at home. At most, the critics say, increased attention to this case could have brought more answers. At the least, they say, if the defendants in this case had been people with foreign backgrounds or Muslims, U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft himself would have announced the arrests and the guilty pleas. Instead, details of the case were revealed in a half-page press release sent to local media. Officials say the case was at one point included in President Bush's daily security briefings, but it remains virtually unknown outside East Texas — even though, critics point out, it represents an instance in which federal authorities discovered a weapon of mass destruction. Much of the criticism has come on Internet Web logs, known as "blogs." People who operate the websites, or "bloggers," have seized on the Krar case and what they perceive as the inattention it received from the Bush administration and major media. The fault, critics say, lies not with law enforcement officers, whom they believe prevented a deadly plot from developing. Instead, they say, the fault lies with an administration that adheres too closely to a script. "If anyone wanted evidence that the 'war on terror' is primarily a political marketing campaign — in which war itself is mostly a device for garnering support — they need look no further than the startling non-response to domestic terrorism by the Bush Administration," one blog, called Orcinus, said recently. The blog, which uses a killer whale as its mascot and targets the nexus of politics, culture and journalism, is written and compiled by David Neiwert, a Seattle resident and former journalist. Robert Jensen, an associate professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas in Austin and director of the College of Communication's honors program, agrees with the criticism. He says that the Bush administration, to promote its efforts overseas, "needs a public that is afraid and sees these wars as justified." "The primary justification is a fear of people 'out there' who want to come here and get us," he said. "Arrests of foreigners are very effective arrests to publicize. It has a political function. Domestic terrorism may be, in some ways, more of a threat. But there is no reason to publicize it. It doesn't have any political benefit." Federal officials disagreed with the contention that their international investigation into terrorism had distracted them from domestic threats. "Certainly, our international anti-terrorism efforts are clearly the No. 1 priority," said Mary Beth Buchanan, the Pittsburgh-based U.S. attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania and the chairwoman of a committee of federal prosecutors that advises Ashcroft. "But domestic terrorism is also a part of that. As we've increased our efforts to find the sources of international terrorism, we are also stepping up our efforts in the area of domestic terrorism as well." Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the observations about the Krar case are overly cynical. "We don't spend a lot of time thinking about how we announce our activities," he said. "We base all our decisions on the facts and the law and we pursue all violations … vigorously."
  • (The role of bloggers like Orcinus in this story is what made it interesting to me and why I thought it was worth posting.)
  • America's homegrown terrorists (Part I) (Part II)
  • Domestic terrorism? No way, that's so 90s. We're all behind Dubya 100,000%, right? Right? Hmmm, must be some agitatin' monkeys here. Maybe commies.
  • Or eco-terrorists! Eek!
  • This must be the case of the white supremacist which TPM was refering to.
  • Abortion providers and activists received 77 letters threatening anthrax attacks before 9/11, yet the media never considered anthrax threats as terrorism until after 9/11, when such letters were delivered to journalists and members of Congress. Well, um .. ye see, there's ...terrists ... and terrists who back the GOP. /going for the jugular
  • Wikipedia article on Jose Padilla (alleged terrorist).
  • Indeed. This is obviously a case of impassioned free speech. Regrettable, but Tha Laward-uh! Commands it!
  • hadn't heard about the alabama thing. freaky. and yeah, the wonkette update in the post pretty much nails the lameness of the ft. dix threat. but i'm a-scared! i'm very a-scared! i'm experiencing...well, a SURGE of a-scaredness!