Dec 16, 2010
Attorney General Eric Holder told hundred of Muslims
near San Francisco that the FBI's sting operations penetrating mosques
across the country are an essential "tool in uncovering and preventing
terror attacks." But of course, most of the FBI's high profile
prosecutions for alleged domestic terrorism involve plots that were
hatched in almost every detail by paid FBI informants who nurtured the
schemes to their pre-planned conclusions. So, in point of fact, the FBI
has not been engaged in "uncovering and preventing terrorist attacks,"
as Eric Holder claims, but rather, it has spent tens of millions of
dollars and many thousands of man-hours concocting, financing, and
providing training and equipment for crimes purely of its own invention.
The FBI -- first under George Bush and then even more aggressively under
Barack Obama -- has fabricated the illusion of a wave of terror that did
not, for the most part, exist. In doing so, the U.S. government has
perpetrated at least two classes of crimes: one, against those it has
directly entrapped and prosecuted for crimes conceived and executed by
the government, itself; and the second, larger class of crime,
conspiracy to deliberately deceive and terrorize the American people,
for the purpose of depriving the American people of their civil rights,
and to foment a public hysteria that would facilitate the launching of
military attacks on other peoples.
These are high crimes, as
high as they come, which, in a just world, would warrant many counts of
impeachment for both chief executives responsible: presidents Bush and
Obama.The
irony is, the very atmosphere of hysteria and war fever that the fake
terror plots engender among the public, insulates the perpetrators from
accountability for their crimes. No wonder the incoming Obama
administration shielded the outgoing Bush gang from prosecution. Obama
instructed Eric Holder to expand the phony terror racket, not to shut it
down. Both presidents' historical legacies are now inextricably tied to
a domestic war on terror that is largely a fiction.
The fiction has real
victims, including the poor and powerless, largely Black and brown men
who were manipulated like puppets in theatrical productions directed by
the FBI for purpose of frightening an audience of 300 million Americans.The
families of some of these entrapped, involuntary actors in the FBI's
fake terror dramas are scheduled to gather at New York University, in
Manhattan, on December 16, to devise strategies for seeking justice.
Muslim Americans have
been criminalized as a community. In Irvine, California, an FBI
operative was so brazen in soliciting recruits for jihad, mosque members
got a court restraining order
to shut him up. It turns out the informant was paid $177,000 to incite a
holy war -- the going rate, apparently, for inventing terror where none
has previously existed.
So who is the real target
of government entrapment? It could not be the individuals sucked into
the FBI vortex, since Eric Holder's men knew they were incapable of
independently carrying out the crimes and, therefore, represented no
danger to society. No, American society, itself, has been entrapped by
the Bush and Obama manipulators. The object is to terrify the American
public, so that they will surrender their civil liberties -- possibly the
greatest extortion scheme in U.S. history.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Glen Ford
Glen Ford (1949-2021) was the co-Founder and Executive Editor of the Black Agenda Report. He was a socialist, a Vietnam War-era military veteran and a member of the Black Panther Party. He served in the news media over many years in his professional life. He was the Capitol Hill, State Department and White House correspondent for the Mutual Black Network, an American radio network. He co-launched, produced, and hosted the first nationally syndicated Black news interview program on commercial television, America's Black Forum, in 1977.
Attorney General Eric Holder told hundred of Muslims
near San Francisco that the FBI's sting operations penetrating mosques
across the country are an essential "tool in uncovering and preventing
terror attacks." But of course, most of the FBI's high profile
prosecutions for alleged domestic terrorism involve plots that were
hatched in almost every detail by paid FBI informants who nurtured the
schemes to their pre-planned conclusions. So, in point of fact, the FBI
has not been engaged in "uncovering and preventing terrorist attacks,"
as Eric Holder claims, but rather, it has spent tens of millions of
dollars and many thousands of man-hours concocting, financing, and
providing training and equipment for crimes purely of its own invention.
The FBI -- first under George Bush and then even more aggressively under
Barack Obama -- has fabricated the illusion of a wave of terror that did
not, for the most part, exist. In doing so, the U.S. government has
perpetrated at least two classes of crimes: one, against those it has
directly entrapped and prosecuted for crimes conceived and executed by
the government, itself; and the second, larger class of crime,
conspiracy to deliberately deceive and terrorize the American people,
for the purpose of depriving the American people of their civil rights,
and to foment a public hysteria that would facilitate the launching of
military attacks on other peoples.
These are high crimes, as
high as they come, which, in a just world, would warrant many counts of
impeachment for both chief executives responsible: presidents Bush and
Obama.The
irony is, the very atmosphere of hysteria and war fever that the fake
terror plots engender among the public, insulates the perpetrators from
accountability for their crimes. No wonder the incoming Obama
administration shielded the outgoing Bush gang from prosecution. Obama
instructed Eric Holder to expand the phony terror racket, not to shut it
down. Both presidents' historical legacies are now inextricably tied to
a domestic war on terror that is largely a fiction.
The fiction has real
victims, including the poor and powerless, largely Black and brown men
who were manipulated like puppets in theatrical productions directed by
the FBI for purpose of frightening an audience of 300 million Americans.The
families of some of these entrapped, involuntary actors in the FBI's
fake terror dramas are scheduled to gather at New York University, in
Manhattan, on December 16, to devise strategies for seeking justice.
Muslim Americans have
been criminalized as a community. In Irvine, California, an FBI
operative was so brazen in soliciting recruits for jihad, mosque members
got a court restraining order
to shut him up. It turns out the informant was paid $177,000 to incite a
holy war -- the going rate, apparently, for inventing terror where none
has previously existed.
So who is the real target
of government entrapment? It could not be the individuals sucked into
the FBI vortex, since Eric Holder's men knew they were incapable of
independently carrying out the crimes and, therefore, represented no
danger to society. No, American society, itself, has been entrapped by
the Bush and Obama manipulators. The object is to terrify the American
public, so that they will surrender their civil liberties -- possibly the
greatest extortion scheme in U.S. history.
Glen Ford
Glen Ford (1949-2021) was the co-Founder and Executive Editor of the Black Agenda Report. He was a socialist, a Vietnam War-era military veteran and a member of the Black Panther Party. He served in the news media over many years in his professional life. He was the Capitol Hill, State Department and White House correspondent for the Mutual Black Network, an American radio network. He co-launched, produced, and hosted the first nationally syndicated Black news interview program on commercial television, America's Black Forum, in 1977.
Attorney General Eric Holder told hundred of Muslims
near San Francisco that the FBI's sting operations penetrating mosques
across the country are an essential "tool in uncovering and preventing
terror attacks." But of course, most of the FBI's high profile
prosecutions for alleged domestic terrorism involve plots that were
hatched in almost every detail by paid FBI informants who nurtured the
schemes to their pre-planned conclusions. So, in point of fact, the FBI
has not been engaged in "uncovering and preventing terrorist attacks,"
as Eric Holder claims, but rather, it has spent tens of millions of
dollars and many thousands of man-hours concocting, financing, and
providing training and equipment for crimes purely of its own invention.
The FBI -- first under George Bush and then even more aggressively under
Barack Obama -- has fabricated the illusion of a wave of terror that did
not, for the most part, exist. In doing so, the U.S. government has
perpetrated at least two classes of crimes: one, against those it has
directly entrapped and prosecuted for crimes conceived and executed by
the government, itself; and the second, larger class of crime,
conspiracy to deliberately deceive and terrorize the American people,
for the purpose of depriving the American people of their civil rights,
and to foment a public hysteria that would facilitate the launching of
military attacks on other peoples.
These are high crimes, as
high as they come, which, in a just world, would warrant many counts of
impeachment for both chief executives responsible: presidents Bush and
Obama.The
irony is, the very atmosphere of hysteria and war fever that the fake
terror plots engender among the public, insulates the perpetrators from
accountability for their crimes. No wonder the incoming Obama
administration shielded the outgoing Bush gang from prosecution. Obama
instructed Eric Holder to expand the phony terror racket, not to shut it
down. Both presidents' historical legacies are now inextricably tied to
a domestic war on terror that is largely a fiction.
The fiction has real
victims, including the poor and powerless, largely Black and brown men
who were manipulated like puppets in theatrical productions directed by
the FBI for purpose of frightening an audience of 300 million Americans.The
families of some of these entrapped, involuntary actors in the FBI's
fake terror dramas are scheduled to gather at New York University, in
Manhattan, on December 16, to devise strategies for seeking justice.
Muslim Americans have
been criminalized as a community. In Irvine, California, an FBI
operative was so brazen in soliciting recruits for jihad, mosque members
got a court restraining order
to shut him up. It turns out the informant was paid $177,000 to incite a
holy war -- the going rate, apparently, for inventing terror where none
has previously existed.
So who is the real target
of government entrapment? It could not be the individuals sucked into
the FBI vortex, since Eric Holder's men knew they were incapable of
independently carrying out the crimes and, therefore, represented no
danger to society. No, American society, itself, has been entrapped by
the Bush and Obama manipulators. The object is to terrify the American
public, so that they will surrender their civil liberties -- possibly the
greatest extortion scheme in U.S. history.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.