U.S. Military Ignored Early Reports of Racist Infiltrators

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the Defense Department failed to investigate a nationally televised appearance by a Special Forces sergeant who claimed an extremist movement had infiltrated the U.S. military.

Just days after former soldiers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were arrested for conspiring to blow up the Alfred E. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Special Forces Sgt. Steven Barry appeared on "60 Minutes" claiming to lead an army of military trained extremists. Barry appeared anonymously, with his face and voice electronically obscured.

On May 4, 1995, U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder wrote to Defense Secretary William Perry requesting a formal investigation into the appearance.

Documents obtained by INTELWIRE through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that, although the request was treated as a political priority, the Defense Department and the Special Operations Command did not specifically investigate the case in any way.

Defense Department Inspector General Documents

Special Operations Command Documents

Instead, the Defense Department brushed off Schroeder's request with a series of so-called "sensing sessions" in which random soldiers were asked generally about any possible extremist leanings. The "sensing sessions" found that there were "no widespread problems" with extremist activity in the military.

The Department ignored the 60 Minutes report, as well as separate reports indicating that Barry had been publishing classified and sensitive material in an extremist newsletter known as "The Resister."

The documents obtained by INTELWIRE state that no investigation was launched into the specific problem of the Special Forces Underground and the Resister.

The Defense Department, Army, Air Force, Navy, FBI and Special Operations Command were all sent FOIA requests by INTELWIRE for documents dealing with the Special Forces Underground.

Only the Defense Department Office of the Inspector General and SOCOM provided or even confirmed the existence documents in response to these requests, despite the fact that other sources clearly indicate such documents exist. Both of those responses appear to be incomplete, failing to address, for instance, an official investigation launched under intense congressional pressure in late 1996.

The failure to investigate or disclose information about the Special Forces Underground was thrown into sharp relief earlier this month when the New York Times reported that Barry was behind a recent surge in white supremacist enrollment in the U.S. Army. The white power movement is exploiting U.S. military recruiting shortfalls to enroll rank and file members to receive military training from the government.

The Times quoted a recent issue of The Resister written by Barry:

''Light infantry is your branch of choice because the coming race war and the ethnic cleansing to follow will be very much an infantryman's war. It will be house-to-house, neighborhood-by-neighborhood until your town or city is cleared and the alien races are driven into the countryside where they can be hunted down and 'cleansed.' ... As a professional soldier, my goal is to fill the ranks of the United States Army with skinheads. As street brawlers, you will be useless in the coming race war. As trained infantrymen, you will join the ranks of the Aryan warrior brotherhood.''

External links on the Special Forces Underground:

Rotten Library Profile

Southern Poverty Law Center

Labels: American-Terrorists, INTELWIRE-Exclusive, OKBOMB

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Zawahiri Video Could Provide Clues To An Attack

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com

The latest video from top al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri contains unusual stylistic features which may point to an imminent attack.

Typically, videos from Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden since September 11 are filmed against a neutral backdrop, usually a brown blanket or black screen designed to provide little clue as to their whereabouts.

In the latest release by al Qaeda's As-Sahab media relations branch, however, Zawahiri appears before a backdrop with three elements - a photograph of deceased al Qaeda military commander Mohammed Atef, a photo of the World Trade Center attack, and a previously unseen photograph of Mohammed Atta, operational leader of the September 11 hijackers.



The scene is reminiscent of a 1998 video of Osama bin Laden which featured the al Qaeda leader posing in front of a map featuring East Africa. Just a few months later, al Qaeda bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Similarly, a video released before the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in a Yemeni harbor featured bin Laden wearing a ceremonial Yemeni dagger.



If Zawahiri's video is warning of an attack, it would seem to be related to Egypt. Both Atef and Atta are Egyptian. Alternatively, both men's names begin with "A," possibly suggesting some other component of an attack (such as American Airlines, speaking purely speculatively). Both men are dead, perhaps suggesting a martyrdom operation.

Or perhaps it means nothing at all. The new visuals are extremely sophisticated, in keeping with a recent and notable upgrade in as-Sahab's production values. Since "Azzam the American" (California native Adam Gadahn) joined as-Sahab, the media company's productions have become notably more professional.

The addition of these graphics could simply represent a stylistic flourish. However, the choice of Atef -- and the release of a new picture of Atta -- are not especially consistent with the topic of the speech, the crisis between Israel and Hezbollah, although Zawahiri does tell an anecdote featuring both men.

The choice of Palestinian Abdullah Azzam, for instance, would seem more apropos (and maintain the "A" theme). There are many options. The choice of two Egyptians seems to demand closer examination.

Labels: INTELWIRE-Exclusive

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink