While ChimpCo Hypes "Eco-Terrorist" Threat, Jury Still Out On Washington State Arson Case - Guardian

[hatrack]

EDIT

According to the FBI, "eco-terrorism", or "ecotage", is now the number one domestic terrorism threat in the US, greater than that of rightwing extremists, anti-abortion groups and animal rights organisations, and on a par with al-Qaida. The US building industry, rightwing political groups and the mainstream media all leapt to condemn the ELF after the arson. "We've seen this grow over the years and it's very scary," said Brian Minnich of the Building Industry Association of Washington, which offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the arsonists. "It tends to be done by young, intelligent people," says FBI special agent Robbie Burroughs. "There is nothing to suggest that is anything else than terrorism."

But the jury on the McMansions arson is very much out. Instead of striking fear into the heart of middle America, the incident has revealed growing civil liberty fears about the US government's redefinition of terrorism, and a breakdown of trust in the authorities. Although rightwing commentators and libertarian bloggers have used the attack as ammunition in their ideological war against environmentalists and the left, few others think it is so simple. The more anyone looks into the arson, the more they suspect that it has probably got more to do with fraud or political smearing and dirty tricks than with terrorism.

Letter writers to the Seattle press and websites like Treehugger.com and Grist say it is suspicious that the attack on the McMansions should take place in the middle of America's most serious downturn in the housing market in 30 years, with a recession looming and properties almost impossible to sell. People are deliberately setting fire to their own properties to escape mortgage misery, they say, and only one of the houses on the Street of Dreams is said to have been sold.

Mainstream greens point out that both the fossil fuel industries and US rightwing groups like the "Wise Use movement" have a long history of trying to discredit environmentalists. The advice given to the FBI from nearly every quarter has been: "Follow the money" - implying that the arson was possibly insurance-related. The FBI say it has found nothing to suggest this. John Heller, the president of Street of Dreams Seattle, was unavailable for comment, but in a statement on his website said: "At one time there were issues involving an environmental group that had opposed the development but it's our understanding that the parties settled their differences."

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/03/greenbuilding.ethicalliving

[texastoast]

1. Chimpy is the biggest American terrorist--along with Dead-eye Dick

Follow the money, indeed.