The State wants conformity.

New documents have come to light regarding the continued targeting of leftist groups and anti-war supporters by both the military and the government as a whole in the past week. A law suit that was filed in 2007, Panagacos v. Towery, alleged that under the direction of the army, Thomas Rudd assigned John Towery to infiltrate local leftist and anti-war organizations in Washington State for reasons of disseminating information to federal authorities as well as local law enforcement.

The new documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Towery targeted Students for a Democratic Society, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Port Militarization Resistance in an attempt to label activists as domestic terrorists. This information was then sent out to the FBI as well as the local law enforcement in the area. Towery, who was the mastermind behind the scheme, stated in an e-mail that it would be a “good idea to develop a leftist/anarchist mini-group for intel sharing and distro” [sic]. The Army acted accordingly and paid Towery to infiltrate the organizations mentioned above.

Now, with everything that is being spun about the NSA spying allegations, it is not that hard to believe that the Army, or any other branch of the military, is interested in boosting its budget by searching for, discovering and detaining domestic terrorists (DTs).

DTs are all the rage now as our country’s losing popularity on the international stage. As a veteran of the global war on terror, I know first hand that the game is not to actually stop terrorists in our country, but rather to create terror both at home and abroad.

As crazy as the story sounds, the Washington State Patrol has created a DT book based primarily off of the information gathered by Towery. Although Towery states that he was acting on his own and only spying on his off time, the e-mail in question left his military account at 10:16 a.m., while he was at his duty station.

Now what is the moral of the story? What is the main question that we the people need to ask ourselves? The State wants conformity because it is the easiest way to control the masses. The State understands and practices silencing elite groups of people based on protecting the status quo. Why would someone think that a group of students who want all people to have their basic needs met be classified as “domestic terrorists?” Why is it that veterans, who have actual first-hand experience with the war machine, or anarchists, who strive for all individuals to be free to make their own choices in all matters, are also targets of the label “domestic terrorists?”

The answer is that the State is the real domestic and foreign terrorist, and to maintain control for the ruling elite, they do what they can to protect the status quo, collecting the added capital from those who also seek to keep ruling under a state of fear and helping to reduce individualism among the American people and the people of the world.

ldaniel@mavs.coloradomesa.edu