Veterans a Focus of {Earlier} FBI Extremist Probe

Veterans a Focus of FBI Extremist Probe
WSJ Online ^ | 17 Apr 09 | CAM SIMPSON and GARY FIELDS

Posted on Friday, April 17, 2009 9:07:41 AM by SkyPilot

WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year launched a nationwide operation targeting white supremacists and “militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups,” including a focus on veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to memos sent from bureau headquarters to field offices.

The initiative, dubbed Operation Vigilant Eagle, was outlined in February, two months before a memo giving a similar warning was issued on April 7 by the Department of Homeland Security.

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A Feb. 23 draft memo from FBI domestic counterterrorism leaders, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, cited an “increase in recruitment, threatening communications and weapons procurement by white supremacy extremist and militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups.”

The FBI said in the memo that its conclusion about a surge in such activities was based on confidential sources, undercover operations, reporting from other law-enforcement agencies and publicly available information. The memo said the main goal of the multipronged operation was to get a better handle on “the scope of this emerging threat.” The operation also seeks to identify gaps in intelligence efforts surrounding these groups and their leaders.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com …

Ref:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2231389/posts

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