British police issued public warnings this week about the possibility of a major neo-Nazi terrorist attack in England. Various extremist groups are suspected of plotting attacks in order to fuel tensions between different racial and religious groups. Muslims and Jews are among the groups that have been warned to be on the alert. Several ethnic and religious minorities also could be at risk, senior police officials say.
Neo-Nazis “are not choosy about which community” they target, explained Commander Shaun Sawyer of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism command (SO15). Whichever group they target, they will hope to cause serious injury or loss of life, he said. Police believe British neo-Nazi groups are more likely to target Muslims than Jews, whose communities have reported an increase in the frequency of neo-Nazi style attacks on their institutions in recent years.
The warnings were issued shortly after police announced that they had uncovered a major extremist network. Officers in a counter-terrorism unit found that a group of far-right extremists had access to 80 bombs and hundreds of other weapons. Dozens were questioned in connection to the affair, which police believe involved a plot to bomb mosques.
Senior police detectives said departments would need to channel more funds towards preventing neo-Nazi attacks. The money is likely to come from funding currently used to monitor Islamic extremism, although detectives warned that Muslim terrorist groups remain a threat as well. "The big bad wolf is still the Al-Qaeda threat,” said senior police official Norman Bettison. “But my people are knocking over right-wing extremists quite regularly.”
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Dolce & Gabbana
Weird. Neo-nazi attacks have been on the rise all over the EU and now they put out a warning. I think its a diversion to move money from the terrorism watch group. The Islamic terrorists are more of a threat (IMO).
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"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
It will be interesting to see just how large of a threat this becomes, especially since we have seen this growing trend throughout Europe in the last ten years. While I frankly share their frustration at our modern inability to distinguish right from wrong, I certainly cannot approve of either their general belief system or their methods. On the other hand, one tends to wonder whether belonging to a large group is the only way to make oneself heard... and in that same manner, ensure that you have very little voice.
2"On the other hand, one tends to wonder whether belonging to a large group is the only way to make oneself heard... and in that same manner, ensure that you have very little voice."
-Very deep and insightful. And true.
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"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
It doesn't matter if you belong to the PETA, Operation Rescue, al Qaeda, part of a neo Nazi movement or any group in between - if you threaten or use violence to make your voice heard, you're a criminal and your voice and your a$$ belong in jail.
4Having dealt with prosecution of extremist, Neo-Nazi type organizations in the US when I worked for DOJ, I can say that I find them just as frightening as Islamic terrorist groups. Also, as there has been a huge upswing in Neo-Nazi group activity, I would say that they have taken advantage of the nearly exclusive focus on Islamic terrorist to build their numbers and strength.
I feel that all terrorist groups need to be monitored, and second Steph's comment that if you threaten or use violence, no matter what your affiliation, you are criminal.
5Agreed. I just find it weird that it is being warned about now with all the previous attacks across the EU by them.
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"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
If a 'major' attack is thought to be in the works, that suggests the neo-nazis may be ready to step up their effort.
7"Major" in this case might be in the eyes of the person who wrote the report or who is looking for more funding.
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"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
9I just thought of something: if each of the Nazis registered as a pedophiliac, then if they were captured, no matter how heinous their crime, the max they would get would be a year in jail, in addition to the free behavioral reorientation!
10Yeah killing innocent people is killing innocent people and it would be ridiculous to leave yourself open to domestic terrorist threats to protect yourself from foreign ones.
11Both threats mentioned in the piece above are domestic.
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"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
Ugh, where's UnderDog when you need him.
I think what is so sad about this kind of hate is that more often than not the seed must be planted and cultivated at a very young age and passed on from generation to generation. Yes you have your teen converts but they are just as susceptible as the innocent child but for different reasons.
I wonder if there is an anthropological answer to this preoccupation with differences and being threatened by them. Could it be an archaic tribal instinct?
13Hypno, I tend to believe that it's stress relief. If your situation in life, or the situation of the group you belong to becomes so bad that you feel almost helpless against it, instead turning all that anxiety, pain and negative esteem inward it gets thrust outward. Generally onto the "other", not necessarily the people or the situation that's oppressing you. It's easier to blame and harm people we can't easily understand due to superficial differences like race, nationality, language or religion. Also the other, due to being the outside group, is generally weaker in numbers and influential power.
As harmful and hateful as it is to place all the negative feeling on the "other" it's even less adaptive to place it on yourself...and rarely is it ever the fault of the oppressed or the "other" so neither choice is fair. There is a third choice of course, ya know working together, revolution etc., but I think it can be hard to see or have the patience or hope to work on the bigger picture when you are a depressed group, be it a person who's never had enough food or resources or work pulled into a Muslim terrorist group or a person who's never had a parent or a home pulled into a Neo Nazi group.
There is a interesting study on the factor of hope in depressed patients, between those that suffer from depression and those who attempt to commit suicide. You might be able to google it if you were interested. It's not exactly the same, but I do think depression and learned helplessness are key factors in hate.
14Sounds interesting. Thanks.
15Why is it far right extremists and not just crazies?? I don't know anyone who is far right that is for any kind of ethic cleansing of sorts. I mean dang the KKK was created by democrats for goodness sake. Either way I think it is smart to keep their eye on them, but the big problem is that they haven't done anything yet. So I have a big problem with labeling people simply because they have ideologies different then yours. I also didn't get from the article that there were specific plans, just that they had access to bombs. So I think it is good to be on the safe side, because you definitely don't want an attack on their soil again, but to tread carefully and not step across the line.
16Hainan they do that for everyone though. Muslim extremist groups are called "Muslim Extremist groups", though being an extremist has nothing to do with being Muslim. In fact they do that in this very article..."Muslim terrorist groups remain a threat as well...". I don't see how they are specifically labeling the far right. They also say it once, maybe twice and refer to them as a Neo Nazi group the rest of the time.
Also the KKK formed when the Republican party was liberal and the Democratic party was conservative. I forget exactly when that flip flop happened though...
17"Muslim extremist groups are called "Muslim Extremist groups", though being an extremist has nothing to do with being Muslim. "
Jessie, of course it has something to do with being Muslim. Those groups take Muslim ideas and push them to an extreme point (murder, terrorism, etc.). They use ideas based in Islam to justify their actions.
18Mich, I mean you can be an extremist for anything and labeling the kind of extremist isn't attacking the base group who isn't.
And as someone whose read the Qu'ran...let me tell you it's a pretty weak justification.
19I think Hain's point was that there's nothing particularly right wing about being in the KKK.
20Their justification is racism and white-supremacy philosophy, not right-wing politics.
21Ahhh, but I do think they consider themselves right wing, as far as who they alley themselves with politically.
22First of all, that's a big assumption. And second of all, those political views are not what they're taking to the extreme. That's not what we're categorizing them based on, so it doesn't make any sense to call them "right wing extremists". That's not how we name things.
It doesn't make sense to call them "white extremists" or "male extremists", just as it wouldn't make sense to call a Muslim woman who blows up a building in the name of Islam a "female extremist".
23I'm not assuming, at least in America anyways. I read the book A Hundred Little Hitlers by Elinor Langer and if I remember correctly the Neo Nazi movement do consider themselves a=the far right.
Wait aren't they hurting people in the name of white racial superiority so wouldn't White Extremist be correct according to the label system? I think the label is flawed in general, but I don't think there is anymore connection between being a Muslim and a Muslim extremist and there is between being White and a White Extremist.
24Jessie, there are many different factions of the Neo Nazi movement, and some of them hate both the right and left wing, and many of them consider themselves anarchists. So while there are probably a significant number of them that do consider themselves white wing, it is by no means all of them.
"Wait aren't they hurting people in the name of white racial superiority so wouldn't White Extremist be correct according to the label system?"
No, because there is not a single "white" value system or "white" philosophy. The word before "extremist" tells you what philosophy or idea the group/person is taking to an extreme. "Muslim" extremist tells you they're taking Muslim ideas to an extreme. How do you take "white" to an extreme?
25Ethnicity can have ideology and history behind it. I don't think people realize how extreme Muslim extremist are taking Islam ideology. It's not even very recognizable as Islam and is more of a social creation.
26Sorry so the taking national or ethnic pride to the extreme, which is to hate others of a different national or ethnic origins.
27Jessie, we're talking about race not ethnicity. I completely reject the idea that there is a "white" philosophy. Can you tell me what the "black" ideology would be? What exactly would a "black extremist" be?
When you name something you're supposed to base it on something relevant enough so that you can hear the name and know what you're talking about. A "right-wing extremist" can mean somebody who blows up an abortion clinic (but could care less about racism, or might even be non-white), or it could mean somebody who shoots a Holocaust museum guard (but could care less about abortion). Can you see why the name is problematic?
28I can see why it's problematic, but I can see why all the names are problematic. There are different factions and reasons within Muslim extremists. All I'm saying is that I don't think there is a big difference.
I agree , but are Neo Nazis separating race from ethnicity? In those ethnic terms one might call a Black Panther a black extremist. Anyone, within the context of black people in the US, who believes that White Americans owe us something or deserve to be punished for crimes that happened in the past, etc.
Ok I take that back I guess they would be separating race and ethnicity...most of the time. Hmmm you may have won, let me get back to you on that one.
29It's fascinating to read the reactions at any reference to right-wing extremist, neo-Nazis etc. People who regularly label others (not referring to you Mich) become positively defensive.
30My 2 cents on this, and why I thought the labelling was incorrect, is that when an green peace activist goes and does damage to a place they think is not environmentally friendly, I call them an environmental extremist. When peta damage an animal testing facility, I call them animal rights extremist. I do not however call them left wing extremists even though the usually lean to the left.
31Fair enough Hainan, I was just saying the media mis labels everyone IMO, for the sake of conflict and sensationalism.
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