Assessing the policy impact of Backfire / Green Scare
The following is from a proposal I am putting together for a public policy class I am attending here at Winthrop University. I think the issues of ALF and ELF and the accompanying prosecution form the Federal Government are important topics and of interest to everyone in the Punk Movement
The federal prosecution program referred to by the Justice Department as Operation Backfire but known idiomatically as Green Scare has been credited with an increase in arrests of the membership of radical environmental activists groups such as the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front for a variety of crimes such as arson, use of a destructive device, and conspiracy to commit murder. Many supporters of the Operation Backfire program condone its procedures and policies but for those who call it Green Scare, the program is seen as an illegal attempt to violate the rights of environmental activists. In this paper I am writing I will attempt to weigh the available material from a variety of sources such as Justice Department press releases, court records, news media Items such as newspapers, news broad casts, blogs, and communiqués from the FBI, ATF, regional Sheriff agencies and the opposition forces of groups like ALF and ELF. Relevant data will be gathered and analyzed in an attempt to judge standards of government interference, such as statutes from similar cases and whether the Backfire is similar to past Government programs such as COINTELPRO , (Counter Intelligence Program) is a program of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at investigating and disrupting dissident political organizations within the United States. The term Green Scare, alluding to the Red Scare of the 1940s – 1950s is an expression used by environmental activists to refer to legal action by the US govt. against the radical environmentalist movement.
“Investigating and preventing animal rights and environmental extremism is one of the FBI's highest domestic terrorism priorities,” said FBI Director Robert Mueller. “We are committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle these movements, to protect our fellow citizens, and to bring to justice those who commit crime and terrorism in the name of animal rights or environmental issues.” Taken from the FBI Website 09-13-2006
Defining a Terrorist Threat
Though Justice Department officials publicly refer to the ALF and ELF defendants as "terrorists," none is formally charged under terrorist criminal statutes, nor are the terms "eco-terrorism" or "domestic terrorism" in either indictment. Legally, "domestic terrorist" refers to a specific category established in the federal criminal code, USC 2331, as enhanced by the USA PATRIOT Act.
The federal government’s elastic public use of the term "eco-terrorism" has drawn some criticism from the public and officials. Taken from the ELF Website 2006-09-13
Blog Category: News and Politics
Playing (Music): Life during war time by the Talking Heads & Disconnect by Rollins Band
Current mood: cheerful
Added on: 13/09/2006 18:10:07
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