earth liberation font: domestic terrorism

Terrorism is a 21st-century act, with most extremist groups using the Internet and technologies to carry out their attacks. Many nations make the mistake of assuming that the majority of terrorism acts originate in other nations (Joosse, 2012). As a result, most countries have invested heavily in ensuring that their borders are safe and free of terrorism, thus emphasizing homeland security. Domestic terrorism is a new type of extremism that includes extremist organizations that are both rooted in and work exclusively within the borders of a government. In the U.S. context, terrorist groups pose significant threats due to their conflicting ideologies and attacks that have since caused several financial damages (DHS, 2012). Consequently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the US has come up with several strategies that are aimed at reducing the threats of such groups. A key strategy was the division of these terrorist groups into three broad groups namely the right wing, the special interest’s groups, and the left wing. This bureau has used this grouping to devise relevant methodologies of suppressing the several domestic terrorist groups that exist within the borders of the United States. This paper consists of two parts all of which will address the malign issue of domestic terrorism. The first section focuses of the Earth Liberation Front, a dangerous domestic terrorist group, and highlights its ideologies, tactics, targeting, overall goals and its capability. This section also entails a thorough analysis of attacks conducted by this group and the group’s statement of propaganda. The second part majorly focusses on the introduction, explanation and an analysis of the various policies devised to deal with the different aspects of domestic terrorism.

Group Profile

The 9/11 attack acted as an eye opener to the US security agencies as these bodies managed to identify the loopholes that existed within the defense and security system. Most American citizens, residents and groups thought that terrorism had come to a close. However, with the diminishing of external terrorism, a new wave of terrorism, namely domestic terrorism, manifested. One of the terrorist groups that feature among the FBI’s top ten list is the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

The ELF, a radical environmental movement, has its roots in England. This terrorist group was initially established in 1992 in Brighton and has since then conducted attacks that have cost the US several millions of dollars. The main ideology of this group is that their criminal acts would advance the course of environmental protection and other environmentalist agendas. This terrorist group announced its existence in 1996 following an arson attack on a track belonging to the US Forrest Service. While the FBI places this group among some of the most dangerous organizations that threaten the piece of the United States, the leadership structure of the ELF remains unknown (Joosse, 2012). Basing on the environmentalist ideologies of this group, some of ELF’s guidelines include to take all available necessary precautions against activities that are deemed as harmful to human life, and to provide education to the public regarding the various atrocities that are committed against human life and the environment (Knickerbocker, 2003). The Earth Liberation Front also aims at causing a significant magnitude of economic damage to organizations that go against their ideology of creating a world in which both the human life and the environment are sustained.

Targeting

The ELF has a broad target base. The primary targeting for this domestic terrorist group are the organizations that deal with genetic engineering and the laboratories in which these tests are conducted. This group believes that genetic engineering threatens human survival. Consequently, the ideals of this groups have driven them to arrange lethal attacks on these corporations. Large organizations such as Monsanto have also been among the group's top target lists. Animal research facilities are also among this group's top targets as they breach the ideologies that the ELF stands for or believes in (Pickering, 2007). The Earth Liberation Front believes that these facilities are cruel on animals and conduct research that might endanger the lives of their specimen. Car dealership corporations are also ELF’s primary targets since these firms produce products that cause environmental harm. The Earth Liberation Front has also been deemed to be targeting real estate agencies and firms for similar reasons. The last targeting groups for this domestic terrorist organization are the meatpacking plants and forest ranger stations. Meatpacking plants go against environmental codes of this group by killing animals and using them for human consumption. Consequently, this domestic terrorist group aims at destroying these plants with the goal of reducing the number of animals killed within the US. The ELF has caused a destruction whose worth is estimated at the US $100 million (Pickering, 2007).

Tactics

Domestic Terrorist groups have devised numerous tactics to advance their ideologies and fight against the organizations that threaten their survival. The Earth Liberation Front uses an arson as its primary weapon (Knickerbocker, 2003). This group views the arson as a legitimate act of political protest and claims that its destruction capability is at a larger scale as compared to explosives. According to Craig Rosebraugh, the ELF’s spokesperson, this group will utilize all the available options to cause economic destruction on all the targeted facilities (Joosse, 2012). The earth liberation front has on several occasions utilized direct action as a successful technique of politicking or lobbying for human rights. This group believes that direct action has the utilization of illegal means of protests property destruction and arson as its key components. Consequently, this domestic terrorist organization employs sabotage as a technique of causing economic damages on their enemies (Pickering, 2007). To date, all the tactics that ELF advocates for are aimed at the destruction of property while causing no significant harms to human and animal lives. Consequently, this terrorist group utilizes items that are improvised to advance their course.

The targeting ideology of the Earth Liberation Front has a great significance in shaping the tactics that they wish to employ on their enemies. The ELF’s key desire is to cause economic hardships for their target groups so that these institutions will have difficulty in conducting their activities (Joosse, 2012). All the tactics proposed by this group are aimed at minimizing causalities to a scale of zero and are specific to the organizations that they target. The group also proposes the use of ecotage, non-violent direct actions and civil disobedience as some of the key and legitimate political actions that can defend the earth.

Capability

The capabilities of this terrorist group pose a huge threat to the US government and the health and the security of the public. This group has efficient resource management skills thereby ensuring that it does not lack any of their resources at any given instance (Loadenthal, 2014). The unknown quantity of bomb equipment and arson also acts as a threat to the FBI as the agencies do not have adequate data that will enable it to take on the domestic terrorist group. The elusive logistics and mission execution capabilities also give the ELF an upper hand. The increased utilization of brilliantly improvised explosives makes the terrorist organization a significant threat to peace and economic stability. The group’s capability to self-sufficiently find funding for their operations and the expertise that the group members have gained through mission experience increases the danger posed by the senior members of the organization. The Earth Liberation Front expresses high-level elusiveness due to their amorphous organization, logistics, individualized membership and the group’s ability to remain underground yet largely public (Loadenthal, 2014). However, the capabilities of this group have been decreasing significantly due to infiltration and law enforcement pressures thereby moderating the threat that it has on homeland security.

Overall Goals

The group’s overall goal is to enhance environment sustainability and protection of human life (Knickerbocker, 2003). The Earth Liberation Front has on numerous occasions claimed that its primary objective is to educate the public regarding the various means of protecting the environment and on how different organizations have committed atrocities against nature and all the species that live in the natural environment (Loadenthal, 2014). Lastly, this organization aims at inflicting economic damages, at a massive scale, on the individuals and groups that gather immense profits from the exploitation and destruction of the natural environment.

Analysis of Attacks

The ELF utilizes a myriad of techniques to conduct attacks on their targets. This group has successfully conducted more than 100 attacks from the time of its birth to 2015. More than 32 attacks have been conducted by the use of arson with the aim of starting a fire to cause property damage. This organization has also utilized sabotage with the primary goal of damaging buildings, crops, vehicles and equipment. The total of attacks conducted using sabotage stands at 19 (Pickering, 2007). As per the dawn of the 21st century, most attacks were conducted using vandalism. More than 40 attacks had been made on the various organizations whereby the members of this domestic terrorist group caused low-level damages by breaking windows and using sprays to display their slogans.

The excellent organizational capabilities possessed by the various leaders of this group gives them an upper hand in the events of attacks. This group first conducts a cost-benefit analysis before indulging in a battle or attack (Knickerbocker, 2003). If the risks are significantly outweighed by the benefits of indulging in the battle, the group may not carry out an attack. However, most of the environmental protests that have been successful have had an adverse impact on ELF’s motivation as their non-democratic actions are deemed as outdated.

The timeline of the activities conducted by this group ranges from 1997-2009. The Earth Liberation Front’s first attack was arranged and conducted on March 11, 1997, at Sandy, Utah whereby there was a series of pipe bomb attacks destroying four tracks (Pickering, 2007). In 1998, the organization conducted numerous attacks all of which targeted plants dealing with animal products and forestry. Some of the attacked firms included the Animal Damage Control building, U.S. Forest Industries headquarters, and the Vail Mountain ski resort. Numerous similar attacks in which the ELF claimed responsibility occurred in other parts of the US from then to 2009 (Pickering, 2007). In summary, the attacks showed the excellent cooperation and organization of the terrorist organization. The successes of this group sent the various security agencies to the drawing board. The group never experienced any major failure in the course of their action but have gone underground for a relatively long time.

Statements of Propaganda

The ELF is an organized group that conducts most of its recruitment activities using propaganda. This group has portrayed an image that would convince the public that their course is for human interests. This organization has widely been seen for proper gating claiming that it acknowledges the American dream and that all its action is public oriented (Pickering, 2007). In a nutshell, the goals and statements used by this terrorist group might be deemed as both human and environmentally friendly, but the facts remain that this organization pays limited attention to human rights as they destroy property. Therefore, all the statements given by this group are propagandas. Earth Liberation Front is a leading domestic terrorist group that possess serious threats to homeland security due to its well-planned operations, strong beliefs in its ideals, organization, and the use of propaganda to advance its interests.

Policy Analysis

The United States has an organized structure with different agencies being established to curb the various issues affecting American citizens. The Department of Homeland Security is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that the potential terrorist acts occurring within the United States territories are contained. This department enjoys a huge allocation of resources that supports their actions. The Congress is also charged with several tasks regarding homeland security including the creation of policies that enhance peace within the US borders. Consequently, most of the legislations made by this institution are aimed at enhancing public comfort by eliminating threats of the disruption of peace. One such policy adopted by the FBI that has greatly assisted in quelling domestic terrorism is the Operation Backfire.

Operation Backfire is a criminal investigation that involves the collaboration of different agencies under the leadership of the FBI (Dryzek, 2013). These investigations are primarily prompted by the activities that are conducted in the name of environment or animal rights. The US considers such acts and eco-terrorism and is listed among some of the biggest threats to homeland security. The birth of Operation Backfire took place in 2004 with the merger of the FBI and seven other investigations from one of its fields at Portland. This collaboration was termed as Operation Backfire (Dryzek, 2013). According to this renowned agency, the core goal of this operation is to investigate the various acts of domestic terrorism conducted on behalf of two of the world’s most dangerous organizations that are the ELF and the Animal Liberation Front.

The term backfire has its individual meaning that is a tactic that is associated with intentional and indirect attacks in a slow manner. This type of operation gives its users a wider defense perimeter and might also be utilized in changing the force of the convention column. There exist several chains of commands that authorize a backfiring (Bardi, 2015). The numerous and uncouth attacks conducted by the earth liberation front was the key reason for the decision of the utilization of this approach in investigating ecologically based attacks. Senator James Inhofe, in a congressional testimony, admitted that the estimated damage caused by ELF and ALF could be valued at $110 million (DHS, 2012). Consequently, the situation had to be contained to avoid further issues.

The primary ideology of the Earth Liberation Front is to inflict economic damages to institutions and organizations that devalue human life and the lives of animals. This group also reports that in its operations, it will never inflict any forms of harms to human beings. While the course of the Earth Liberation Front remains convincing to most Americans, the damages that they create impact negatively on the attacked organizations and the American economy at large. Therefore, the operation backfire does not pay any attention to the course of these group but considers them an enemy of development (Loadenthal, 2014).

In response to the ideals of this domestic terrorism group, the main intentions of the operation backfire policy by the United States is to ensure that no damages are caused while advocating for either human or animal rights (Dryzek, 2013). The ELF swore that they would advance their course by any means. According to Brad Knickerbocker (2003), a member of this group claimed that they would no longer hesitate and that they would implement their justice by the use of guns and would provide the needed protection for their decades. Consequently, the FBI designed a program for the implementation of the countermeasures against these domestic terrorist groups (Knickerbocker, 2003). The Operation Backfire investigatory team utilized the link analysis, a technique commonly applied in narcotics investigations, to give a visual representation of the suspects. The team also ensured that they had excellent resource management measures so as not to lack anything in the process of the criminal investigation.

The measurement of the success of a given counterterrorism operation is often difficult due to the presence of a myriad of measures of metrics. The potential success indicator of the Operation Backfire were the arrests. However, this mode of assessment cannot be 100% efficient (Bardi, 2015). The FBI must assess the expenditure of its resources versus the level of the achievement of the desired results. Another metric that can be utilized by the FBI is the analysis of their capability to adapt to the dynamic situation and changes in the techniques utilized by this terrorist group. Operation Backfire has yielded amazing results since its inception 13years ago. By 2008, the number criminal acts solved through this operation was exceeded 40. These criminal acts vary in magnitude and range from vandalism to arson. More than 17 individuals had been arrested and arraigned in various courtrooms by 2007, 15 of which pleaded guilty. The FBI holds several meetings allowing public participation in reporting the various acts of eco-terrorism conducted by these two groups ("Update - Operation Backfire", 2008).

Conclusion

In summary, domestic terrorism is rampant in the US with the Earth Liberation Front being at the center stage of most eco-terrorist activities. This group’s principal goal is to take all available necessary precautions against activities that are deemed as harmful to human life, and to provide education to the public regarding the various atrocities that are committed against human life and the environment. Some of ELF’s targets include Bioengineering facilities, meatpacking plants, forest reserves and academic centers conducting research on animal specimens. The goals and statements used by this terrorist group might be deemed as both human and environmentally friendly, but the facts remain that the group uses propaganda to justify their deeds. The Department of Homeland Security has worked with different agencies to look establish policies that would quell this organization. One of the policies is the Operation Backfire that has recorded numerous successes following the arrest of several gang members and the solving to more than 40 cases. In a nutshell, the Earth Liberation Front is a leading domestic terrorist group that possess serious threats to homeland security due to its well-planned operations, strong beliefs in its ideals, and organization.



















References

Bardi, J. D. (2015). Environmental Adaptation, Legislation Adaptation: Keeping up with the Eco-Terrorists. New Eng. J. on Crim. & Civ. Confinement, 41, 159.

Countering Eco -Terrorism in the United States: The Case of ‘Operation Backfire’. (2012) (pp. 1-37).

Dryzek, J. S. (2013). The politics of the earth: Environmental discourses. Oxford university press.

Joosse, P. (2012). Elves, environmentalism, and “eco-terror”: Leaderless resistance and media coverage of the Earth Liberation Front. Crime, Media, Culture, 8(1), 75-93.

Knickerbocker, B. (2003). Firebrands of 'ecoterrorism' set sights on urban sprawl. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 6 May 2017, from http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0806/p01s02-ussc.html

Loadenthal, M. (2013). The Earth Liberation Front: A Movement Analysis. Radical Criminology, (2), 15-46.

Loadenthal, M. (2014). Eco-Terrorism? Countering Dominant Narratives of Securitisation: a Critical, Quantitative History of the Earth Liberation Front (1996-2009). Perspectives on Terrorism, 8(3).

Pickering, L. J. (2007). The Earth Liberation Front, 1997-2002. PM Press.

Update - Operation Backfire. (2008). FBI. Retrieved 6 May 2017, from https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/stories/2008/november/backfire_11908