The Politics of Calling Right-Wing Extremists a Bigger Threat Than ISIS

It is incredible to me to see what great lengths the Obama Administration will go to politicize almost anything and everything.  While, at the same time, try to downplay the threat of terrorism.  As if 9/11 never happened. Nor the Boston Marathon bombing or the slaughter at Fort Hood.

In the latest iteration, CNN is reporting that the President's Department of Homeland Security is circulating a report that suggests that the greatest threat to our American homeland is not ISIS but, instead, right-wing extremist groups such as the skinheads and those angry white and anti-American militia cells.  Of course, this implies that there are no political left-wing groups we should fear. The basis of their assessment is that there are approximately 100,000 core right-wing extremists in this country, and that, in the last 5 calendar years, there have been a total of 24 violent acts committed by these groups; mostly against law enforcement.  That's right, 24!  Of course this is less than 5 incidents per year and ignores the fact that, on average, 150 cops are killed each year by violent offenders like gang members.  It also ignores the fact that, in 2008, the FBI called left-wing Eco-terrorism the biggest threat facing the country.

In my opinion, gangs pose the biggest threat to the lives of too many Americans.  They are a subculture who doesn't believe in our societal values or laws.  To more fully understand this, here are some excerpted bullet points from the FBI's own threat assessment:

• There are approximately 1.4 million active street, prison, and OMG [Outlaw Motorcycle Gang] gang members comprising more than 33,000 gangs in the United States. 
• Gangs are responsible for an average of 48 percent of the violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90 percent in several others, according to NGIC analysis.
• Gang infiltration of the military continues to pose a significant criminal threat, as members of at least 53 gangs have been identified on both domestic and international military installations. Gang members who learn advanced weaponry and combat techniques in the military and are at risk of employing these skills on the street when they return to their communities.
• Gang members are acquiring high-powered, military-style weapons and equipment which poses a significant threat because of the potential to engage in lethal encounters with law enforcement officers and civilians. 

Everyday, hundreds of people in this country are killed or seriously injured by gang members. Gangs are the key element in drug, weapon, and human trafficking.  Simply, violence is their mainstay and our Department of Homeland Security ignores this and considers 24 violent acts by right-wing groups the biggest threat?  

Lastly, there's another reason to worry about gangs.  Most of their members have served and/or will serve time in prison in the future.  Increasingly our prisons have become a hotbed for converting inmates to radical Islam.  There should be a concern that at some point, some gangs, may revert to terrorist tactics to undermine the police and government agencies like the FBI or use terrorism against the civilian population.

References:

DHS intelligence report warns of domestic right-wing terror threat: http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/politics/terror-threat-homeland-security/

FBI: Eco-Terrorism Remains No. 1 Domestic Terror Threat : http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/03/31/fbi-eco-terrorism-remains-no-1-domestic-terror-threat/

Cops killed each year: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+cops+killed+each+year&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

FBI: Gangs: They poison our streets with drugs, violence, and all manner of crime: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/vc_majorthefts/gangs

Radical Islam in Prison: Made in the USA: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/spearit/radical-islam-prison_b_880733.html

America's Cage War Against Radical Islam:  Gang members operating as the "fifth column" are providing aid to the the terrorists from inside the United States: http://www.policemag.com/blog/gangs/story/2011/07/gangs-america-s-fifth-column.aspx