June 4, 2009
FBI backing off investigating 'Lone Wolf' Muslim extremists
This story comes to us from the usually reliable Stratfor and paints a disturbing picture of law enforcement priorities under the Obama admininstration.
So called "lone wolf" terrorists like the killer of the recruiter in Arkansas may be much harder to track in the future because higher ups in the FBI, sensitive to what they see as changing political winds in Washington, might curtail their investigation and monitoring of "Muslim converts" who might be likely to commit terrorist acts:
Several weeks ago, STRATFOR heard from sources that the FBI and other law enforcement organizations had been ordered to "back off" of counterterrorism investigations into the activities of Black Muslim converts. At this point, it is unclear to us if that guidance was given by the White House or the Department of Justice, or if it was promulgated by the agencies themselves, anticipating the wishes of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder.
As STRATFOR has previously noted, the FBI has a culture that is very conservative and risk-averse. Many FBI supervisors are reluctant to authorize investigations that they believe may have negative blow-back on their career advancement. In light of this institutional culture, and the order to be careful in investigations relating to Black Muslim converts, it would not be at all surprising to us if a supervisor refused to authorize a full-field investigation of Muhammad that would have included surveillance of his activities. Though in practical terms, even if a full-field investigation had been authorized, due to the caution being exercised in cases related to Black Muslim converts, the case would most likely have been micromanaged to the point of inaction by the special agent in charge of the office involved or by FBI headquarters.
Admittedly, it is a huge challenge for the feds to keep track of these potential terrorists. But the fact that political considerations would enter into decisions on how much in resources and man hours should be devoted to tracking these potential killers should raise alarm bells on Capitol Hill and in local law enforcement circles. The local police do not have the resources to do the job themselves, depending as they do on the FBI for intelligence on these dangerous men.
The country just got a little more dangerous thanks to political correctness.
Hat Tip: Doug Ross