Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Is the FBI Doing enough to combat domestic terrorism?

Twelve and counting.  That is the number of mass shootings which have occurred in these United States of America in 2019.  Somewhere, a person is planning to eclipse the carnage of October 1, 2017 when 58 people were killed and 422 others injured in one incident in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The FBI.  The vision of the "Bureau" is "Ahead of the threat through leadership, agility, and integration".

The priorities of the FBI:
- Protect the United States from terrorism attack;
- Combat significant violent crime;
- Protect civil rights

Based on the continued incidents of mass shootings, how well do you think the FBI is doing in fulfilling both their vision and priorities?  Is the FBI doing enough to gather information to paint a profile on the type of person most likely to commit these acts of domestic terrorism and then take proactive action to prevent them from occurring?

Most of these incidents have been committed by white males.  Most of these incidents have been related to use of weapons of mass destruction.  The American favorite, the assault weapon.  The assault weapon sold in the country with the self proclaimed best armed forces in the world.  An armed forces designed to protect us from attack by our external enemies.  But the armed forces is not designed to protect us from our neighbors.

That is where the FBI comes in.  The priorities of the FBI need to be redefined and clarified.  Protecting the United States from terrorist attack should be expanded and clarified to include acts of domestic terrorism.  In the 1960s and 1970s the FBI actively profiled, followed, and spied on civil rights activists, Native American activists, and members of the Black Panthers.  The redefined terrorists are now those who look like the  majority of FBI agents.  White and male.  Many of these domestic terrorists have an affinity to hate groups.  Hate groups consist of people who hide behind the United States banner of freedom of speech.  That same freedom of speech that condones and allows for hate, biases, and prejudice.

Now is the time for the FBI to have their priorities reset and their vision clarified.  Their is a serious domestic terrorism problem in the United States.  Regardless of whether the incidents are based on mental illness of the attacker, action must be taken to preempt the actions of would be mass shooters.

No, we should not take our eye off the prospect that a foreign terrorist act still can occur.  But, we now have ample evidence that our own citizens can cause more collective harm over a period of time than one foreign terrorist incident.  Our government needs to take action.  The FBI and our Department of Homeland Security need to revamp the approach to ensuring our safety.

We need protection now.  Otherwise just tell us that we are on our own.

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