Conffederate
Confederate

April 21, 2009

Duck and Cover

Yes, kids. The media is always willing to cover the Obama Adminstration's butt:

For the first time, an accused domestic terrorist is being added to the FBI's list of "Most Wanted" terror suspects.

Daniel Andreas San Diego, a 31-year-old computer specialist from Berkeley, Calif., is wanted for the 2003 bombings of two corporate offices in California.

Authorities describe San Diego as an animal rights activist who turned to bomb attacks and say he has tattoo that proclaims, "It only takes a spark."

A law enforcement official said the FBI was to announce Tuesday that San Diego was being added to the "Most Wanted" terrorist list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the announcement ahead of time.

San Diego would be the 24th person on the list, and the only domestic terror suspect.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko declined to comment on the pending announcement.

The move to add a domestic, left-wing terrorist to the list comes only days after the Obama administration was criticized for internal reports suggesting some military veterans could be susceptible to right-wing extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence. That prompted angry reactions from some lawmakers and veterans groups.

I have to ask—by what standard is San Diego the first domestic terrorist added to the FBI's "Most Wanted" list?

Ted Kaczynski was a high-profile left-wing domestic terrorist that went on a 17-year bombing spree that put him on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list as the Unabomber.

Eric Robert Rudolph was on the "Most Wanted" list as a right wing domestic terrorist when he was captured in 2003.

Those are just the first two domestic terrorists that were on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list that immediately come to my mind; I strongly suspect there were others.

If I didn't know better, I might suspect that the addition of an obscure left-wing terrorist who planted two bombs that caused no injuries and only minor property damage to "Most Wanted" list was a political calculation, perhaps made specifically to help take the heat off a DHS Secretary under fire for supporting the release of a controversial report that labeled mainstream conservative values as those belonging to extremists, and who more or less stated military veterans were too stupid to keep from being duped into joining extremist groups.

I'll leave it to others to judge which.

Correction: As Jim notes in the comments, there are two distinct "Most Wanted" lists maintained by the FBI, the traditional "Most Wanted" list that focuses on criminals and one created specifically for terrorism suspects in 2002. While Kaczynski and Rudolph are without a doubt domestic terrorists, they were listed on the FBI's traditional "Most Wanted" list, and not the terrorism list. The AP article was correct in listing San Diego as the first domestic terrorist added to the terrorism list, even if he wasn't close to being the first domestic terrorist.

The timing of adding left-wing bomber San Diego, a minor figure in every respect, at this time, is still highly suspect.

Posted by Confederate Yankee at April 21, 2009 07:24 AM
Comments

was'nt Tim McVaey on the ten most wanted befor they knowe who he was?

Posted by: Rich in KC at April 21, 2009 11:05 AM

The most wanted terror list is a post 9-11 thing, it's not the ten most wanted, the list the folks you named in your post were on in the 'good' old days, two different lists.

Posted by: Jim at April 21, 2009 11:19 AM

So Jim will let Kaczyniski slide for being ahead of pre-9/11 designation, even though he was clearly a domestic terrorist in word and deed.

That's like saying there weren't dinosaurs until human beings came into existence millions of years later to name them as such.

Rudolph, however you want to slice it, was on the list from 1998 until his capture in 2003, andspending two years as a listed domestic terrorist and three years prior as a "run-of-the-mill" "Most Wanted" fugitive.

Posted by: Confederate Yankee at April 21, 2009 12:57 PM

No it's like saying the Billboard R&B/Hip-hop list isn'the same thing as the Billboard Top 40 list.

Eminem may have been the first white guy on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop list, who knows, who cares, that doesn't mean he was the first white guy on the Top 40 list. The AP story is valid in the same who cares way.

Did Rudolph crack the FBI top ten terrorists list in 2002-2003? There were a lot of guys in Afghanistan and Pakistan who may have had him beat. Do you have a link to Rudolph being on the list in 02 or 03 or are you just guessing?


Posted by: Jim at April 21, 2009 01:08 PM

Rudolph was never on the FBIs Most Wanted Terrorists list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_Most_Wanted_Terrorists

Posted by: Jim at April 21, 2009 01:29 PM

The left has had numerous appearences on the FBI's Most Wanted list during the 70's and 80's. Members of the FALN, BLA and Weather Underground were all on it and most were captured. A few of the FALN are still out there.

Posted by: John at April 21, 2009 03:30 PM

Obama just added Daniel Andreas San Diego to his Top 10 Most Wanted to have babysit his kids...

cnredd
Political Wrinkles
http://www.politicalwrinkles.com

Posted by: cnredd at April 21, 2009 06:53 PM

FBI's traditional "Most Wanted"...

So Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn (SP?) don't count either then.

Posted by: Druid at April 21, 2009 09:37 PM

I think there's a more nefarious reason. San Diego is home to a major US Naval Base and home to many veterans. By putting SAN DIEGO at the top of the list the WH is reinforcing the false connection between domestic terrorists and San Diego, i.e. veterans. If there were a domestic terrorist named "Norfolk, Virginia" you could bet that name would wind up on the list as well. San Diego, how convenient for Janet Napolitano, a two fer.

Posted by: eaglewingz08 at April 23, 2009 06:08 PM

By what standard can Timothy McVeigh be considered a left-wing terrorist? He was a radical luddite who argued that industrial society was a failure; I doubt you'll find many (even self-identified) leftists that agree with that.

Posted by: Evan at April 24, 2009 12:38 AM