more on The Slipperiest of Slopes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: steven cherry <steven () panix com>
Date: January 29, 2006 9:24:40 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: Ken Kousky <kkousky () ip3inc com>
Subject: Re: [IP] more on The Slipperiest of Slopes

> From: Ken Kousky <kkousky () ip3inc com>
> Date: January 26, 2006 10:21:39 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net, ip () v2 listbox com
> Subject: RE: [IP] more on The Slipperiest of Slopes
>
> Mark, my point is that it is frightening to see the WSJ editorials  
> freely
> call radical environmentalists terrorists.
>
> Even if they are breaking laws and destroying property, at a time  
> when the
> White House suggests that the President has executive authority to  
> do, well,
> whatever is necessary to save us from terrorists, I don't think  
> that my own
> rhetoric approaches that of the Journals editorial.
>
> Does the president have exceptional powers to defend us against  
> terrorists?
> If yes, is their a working operational definition of what  
> constitutes a
> terrorist derived separately or outside our legal system?


As it turns out, there does seem to be a working operational  
definition of eco-terrorism:

<http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm>
"The FBI defines eco-terrorism as the use or threatened use of  
violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by  
an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental- 
political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often  
of a symbolic nature."

So the definition might be over-broad, as Mr Kousky fears, but there  
certainly is one. That page, which consists of some 2002  
Congressional testimony by an FBI section chief, also details some  
examples of past events the FBI considers to be criminal acts of eco- 
terrorism.

I do think it's a legitimate question to ask whether Congress, when  
it grants the government additional powers to fight terrorism, has in  
mind attacks on mink farms or logging equipment, and whether that's  
what voters have in mind when they support or oppose candidates in  
Congressional races.

 Steven

--
   Steven Cherry, +1 212-419-7566
   Senior Associate Editor
   IEEE Spectrum, 3 Park Ave,  New York, NY 10016
   <s.cherry () ieee org>  <http://www.spectrum.ieee.org>


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