We are now embroiled, so the president says, in a war against terror. While I believe we must put an end to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization, now is also the time to put an end to a war we thought finished in 1945. We have homegrown, neo-Nazi groups here in this country. Given their history, we should declare neo-Nazi groups as inherently terrorist organizations and act accordingly and aggressively, as we would with al-Qaeda.
By focusing laser-tight on bin Laden, we could be ignoring the possibility that the recent anthrax attacks may have been a “copycat” effort meant to draw attention off the tail of a homegrown terrorist. It’s worrying that through lax security in this country, through their own ingenuity (it’s dangerous to think of them all as merely moonshinin’ rednecks), or through an al-Qaeda “friend,” some of these neo-Nazi groups could find access to biological or chemical weaponry.
We have seen how these so-called “militia” groups and those aligning themselves with neo-Nazism and the Klan have committed terrorist acts in this country and have no compunction to use violent means to further their goals.
In 1964, four young girls were killed in Birmingham, Ala., when their church was dynamited by Ku Klux Klan members. Other bombings in the area during that period, instigated by the Klan, earned the city the grim nickname “Bombingham.”
In 1995, Timothy McVeigh, associated with white-supremacist and anti-government groups, detonated a bomb next to the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. More than 165 people, including a large number of children, died in the explosion.
In 1998, Eric Rudolph injured or killed more than 150 people in bombing attacks around the south, including an abortion clinic in Birmingham, a gay bar in Atlanta and the 1998 Olympics in Atlanta. He was later found to have ties to white-supremacist groups. What if, instead of bombs, Rudolph were running around with anthrax?
It is a documented fact that numerous white supremacist groups applauded the Sept. 11 attacks, including the so-called Posse Comitatus of Pennsylvania and the National Alliance. Other groups, such as many in the “militia” movement, have conspired to overthrow what they refer to as the “Zionist Occupied Government” — the United States government — through any means necessary should an opportunity arise.
All this should be proof enough that groups aligning themselves with neo-Nazism or neo-fascism can be considered terrorists. We can use U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373 against them as much as against al-Qaeda. Deny them money. Freeze their bank accounts. Freeze any attempts at financing their terror campaigns on American soil. We need to deny these homegrown terrorists a base here from which to launch their own dreams of racial jihad.
We have to hunt down and stop Osama bin Laden. However, this is also the time to finally put an end to a similar, yet older terror. It’s time we finished the job we began so long ago.