Pentagon shooter was 9/11 Truther: Washington Post portrays beliefs as "from the radical left"

Experts: Pentagon shooter, others strike symbols of 'power for the powerless'

By Joby Warrick and Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 6, 2010; A01

The setting was seemingly random: an outer gate at the Pentagon at evening rush hour. But John Patrick Bedell's violent rampage Thursday made him only the latest in the growing ranks of the disaffected and disturbed to take aim at a symbol of official Washington.

The shooting contained jarring echoes of other recent attacks, from last month's plane crash at an IRS building in Texas to the shooting last June of a museum guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in the District. Although the circumstances differ greatly, all were acts of rage by men who blamed their personal misfortunes on what they perceived to be sinister forces within the government.

All three also appear to have drawn ideological nourishment from the same well: online communities of like-minded people who validate and amplify extreme views. Today, more than in recent years, such communities are tapping into a broad undercurrent of anti-government discontent fueled by economic recession, joblessness and concern over the growing federal deficit, according to experts who have studied the phenomenon.

For Bedell and others like him, Washington and its institutions are an irresistible target -- the "ultimate symbol of power for the powerless," said Jerrold Post, a professor of political psychology at George Washington University.

"We've always had individuals who strike out at the giant 'system' when they're feeling a sense of powerlessness and insignificance," said Post, author of "Political Paranoia: The Psychopolitics of Hatred," a book on extremist movements. "Now we see an alarming tendency in which these same individuals can find substantiation online for almost any point of view."

Researchers who track violent groups see Bedell's rampage as a distorted manifestation of the anti-Washington view that has driven the rise of right-wing militias. A report last week by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the number of such organizations jumped 244 percent since the election of President Obama, from 149 groups to 512, including 127 militias. At the same time, the number of extremist attacks in the United States that resulted in deaths has fallen since the 1990s.

White House officials declined to comment for the record about increased militia activity and noted that the two most recent incidents, at the Pentagon and in Austin, were perpetrated by men who had specific gripes with the government that appeared to be unrelated to the president personally.

But current and former officials privately acknowledge that the toxic political climate has heightened concerns about increased attacks. "Are we headed into a climate similar to Oklahoma City? It isn't clear," said one former administration official, referring to the 1995 attack on a federal building that killed 168 people.

A similar surge in militias and hate groups occurred during the mid-1990s, but this time the groups are interlinked to a much greater degree by the Web and mainstream radio and TV talk shows that echo many of the same viewpoints, said Mark Potok, author of the Southern Poverty Law Center report.

"People are bringing completely groundless conspiracy theories into the mainstream, and they are doing it for purely opportunistic reasons," Potok said. "To some, it may be only a ratings game, but the danger is that some people actually believe these tall tales and a few will actually act on them."

Yet the motivations for the attacks differ greatly. Joseph Stack, who flew a small plane into an IRS building in Austin, was inspired in part by the anti-tax movement. Bedell's anti-government views were more libertarian, and some were from the radical left, such as his belief that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a U.S. government conspiracy. Conservative bloggers Friday sought to label Bedell as leftist extremist, noting his online tirades against President George W. Bush's administration.

"Tea party" leaders reject the notion that their movement fosters violence. "It is extremely unfortunate that certain elements are trying to malign, distort and misrepresent a movement that supports fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets," said Jenny Beth Martin, a national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots.

Although concern about anti-government groups has grown, the number of ideologically motivated attacks by extremists that led to deaths in the United States has not.

Between 1990 and 2009, there were about 120 attacks in the United States by far-right extremists that led to deaths, according to a study funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the University of Maryland's National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. The number of incidents has hovered around three per year since 2002, down from an average of eight annually from 1990 to 2001 and a peak of 16 in 1999, according to the U.S. Extremist Crime Data Base.

About 45 percent of incidents were motivated by white supremacist, neo-Nazi, anti-immigrant or other racist ideologies, and 15 percent by extreme anti-government views, the top two categories, according to researchers Joshua D. Freilich of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York and Steven M. Chermak of Michigan State University.

Federal agencies discount attacks by "lone wolves" as terrorism. By law, the FBI, State Department and National Counterterrorism Center define terrorism as politically motivated violence committed by "subnational groups and clandestine agents."

U.S. counter-terrorism officials say lone attackers pursuing a personal political agenda pose a different kind of threat than organized domestic groups or international entities such as al-Qaeda.

White House and administration officials have stepped gingerly around the subject of politics and domestic attacks, mindful of how conservative groups condemned Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano when her department issued a report on right-wing extremism April that said the return of military veterans could feed the emergence of terrorist groups.

Napolitano, who helped prosecute Timothy McVeigh after the Oklahoma City bombings, apologized for the report, which was revised and reissued, and later clarified that the administration does not -- "nor will we ever -- monitor ideology or political beliefs."

In February, she testified that there has been an increase in "lone wolf type" attacks and more ideologically driven attacks from U.S. citizens who have become radicalized, including incidents involving al-Qaeda-trained operatives or sympathizers.

Staff writers Anne E. Kornblut and Jerry Markon and staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.

they must be getting desperate ...

"acts of rage by men who blamed their personal misfortunes on what they perceived to be sinister forces within the government... online communities of like-minded people who validate and amplify extreme views... bringing completely groundless conspiracy theories into the mainstream, and they are doing it for purely opportunistic reasons... but the danger is that some people actually believe these tall tales and a few will actually act on them."

To stoop to such utter nonsense in their campaign to discredit and discourage debate about 9/11 reveals an extreme state of fear and panic in the ranks of the criminal clique that sponsored the 9/11 false flag terror crime.

I agree, but their campaign may backfire.

There have been many campaigns to demonize 9/11 Truth over the years. Often in the past, especially following the summer of 2006, the campaign was to equate the movement with "loonie, crazy, tin foil hatters". With the addition of the bankers / New World Order now well exposed through many other groups, along with the rapid decline of mainstream media; the dark side is losing its grip on controlling the culture.

We saw this with the swine flu vaccine campaign being yawned at by so many. During the swine flu campaign, the media put tremendous attention on the subject. However, evidently, people must have researched the alternative media to gain more information about the flu vaccine.

I suspect that this recent rash of "incidents" trying to demonize the 9/11 Truth Movement (e.g. this incident, the Texas governor's race, etc.) will only succeed in putting people's attention on the topic of 9/11. This might lead to more people investigating the subject of 9/11. In some respects, their campaign might backfire.

Also, it is interesting to note that within a 3 month period, the U.S. has had a series of domestic 'terror type incidents'. (Ft Hood, Xmas Day bomber, Austin IRS, this Pentagon incident, etc.)

I'm sure it will backfire ...

their attempts to discredit the 9/11 truth movement are becoming increasingly bizarre - this serves to expose their desperation and calls into question their real motivation for wanting to stifle discussion about 9/11.

Similar / related to these observations

We know they're paying attention to us. But do they fully appreciate how WE are paying attention to the attention that they pay us?

Might they be 'misunderestimating' us?

(What follows is copied from my comment in an earlier thread; sorry for the repetition, but it does belong here.)

I cannot help but think of:

1) the recent report about the advisor to Obama (whose name escapes me at the moment) who spoke about the need to infiltrate and disrupt 9/11 truth groups,

and

2) the 'violent radicalization' bill that was before Congress in 2007, which attempted to link terrorism with 'violent radicalization'--an alleged phenomenon linked, in turn, to pretty much any citizen who thinks for themselves and questions what the government and media tell them. That bill stalled in Congress, but the mentality behind it is very much alive.

That this follows so closely on the heels of the Joseph Stack suicide attack on the IRS building also strikes me as pretty weird.

Cass Sunstein ...

is the Obama advisor who accuses us of being "conspiracy theorists" with "crippled epistemologies" who need "cognitive infiltration" in order to discourage and discredit discussion about 9/11 ... I mean, how ridiculous, what a joke, these people are out of their little minds ...they're trying to make out that questioning the official dogma is dangerous, potentially lethal ... in other words we should all just shut up and stop questioning the authorities, we should blindly trust our leaders... even though everyone knows they lied about WMD to sell us the war on Iraq and a whole host of other examples that prove the authorities cannot be trusted.

When propaganda loses credibility.

The more bizarre the propaganda becomes the more it loses credibility with even supporters. This is partly why Soviet Russia eventually collapsed. People were intelligent enough to see through the lies. We may be better educated in general but there is still a lot of mass denial.

Ahmadinejad calls Sept. 11 attacks a 'big lie'

Just in today, Sat, Iran's Ahmadinejad is quoted as saying Sept. 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan," according to state TV. He called the attacks a 'complicated intelligence scenario and act.

Is this another 'guilt by associaton' propaganda stunt? I actually agree with the comments, but since everyone sees Ahmadinejad as a holocaust deniar and crazy person, I'm sure a concerted effort will be made by our pundits to try and paint anyone who agrees with the statements as being a holocaust denier and anti-semitic.

This is assuming that he actually made the comments that our media says he made. He is also quoted as questioning the death toll of around 3,000. Since this number is in fact pretty close, his being wrong on this point is supposed to "bathwater" the rest-- in addition to providing a ready-made smear against 9/11 Truth.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100306/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran (What's with all the dead links?)

Large Metro terror drills took place days before Pentagon shooti

Drill will simulate shooting at Metro station 24 Feb 2010 (MD) If you see lots of police and hear commotion at the Friendship Heights Metro station late Wednesday night, relax. It's just a drill. But it is a drill that will simulate gunfire between two shooters in the station, with multiple passengers injured or killed. Metro says its police department's special response team will respond to the incident, along with the police, fire and emergency medical services personnel from D.C., Montgomery County and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1896373

Article

Drill will simulate shooting at Metro station
February 24, 2010 - 8:07am
FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS, Md. - If you see lots of police and hear commotion at the Friendship Heights Metro station late Wednesday night, relax. It's just a drill.

But it is a drill that will simulate gunfire between two shooters in the station, with multiple passengers injured or killed.

Metro says its police department's special response team will respond to the incident, along with the police, fire and emergency medical services personnel from D.C., Montgomery County and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"It's important to test and practice our response to this type of crisis that would impact Metro's ability to provide safe and essential transportation services," says Metro Transit Police Acting Chief Jeff Delinski.

Emergency responders will start gathering around 11:30 p.m.

The exercise begins 12:30 a.m. Thursday and will run until 3:30 a.m.

(Copyright 2010 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS, Md. - If you see lots of police and hear commotion at the Friendship Heights Metro station late Wednesday night, relax. It's just a drill.

But it is a drill that will simulate gunfire between two shooters in the station, with multiple passengers injured or killed.

Metro says its police department's special response team will respond to the incident, along with the police, fire and emergency medical services personnel from D.C., Montgomery County and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"It's important to test and practice our response to this type of crisis that would impact Metro's ability to provide safe and essential transportation services," says Metro Transit Police Acting Chief Jeff Delinski.

Emergency responders will start gathering around 11:30 p.m.

The exercise begins 12:30 a.m. Thursday and will run until 3:30 a.m.

Drills...

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Metro-Plans-Emergency-Drill...

Metro Police Unleash Blue TIDE at Union Station
No service disruptions expected
By JACK HEINBAUGH
Updated 11:40 AM EST, Tue, Feb 2, 2010

A Metro bus explosion, shooters at a subway station and a blast in a subway tunnel -- staged scenarios, but Metro wants to be ready just in case.

The transit agency is planning a series of tactical drills to prepare for emergencies. The drills include all regional partners and will test the coordination and response needed for three different emergencies.

The first exercise was conducted from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Tuesday at Union Station. Metro called Tuesday's show of force Blue TIDE (Terrorism Identification and Deterrence Effort).

Metro said Blue TIDE included a number of security sweeps and patrols at Union Station by officers from a number of units, including the anti-terrorism, special response and K-9 explosives detection teams, Metrobus enforcement and criminal investigations divisions, bomb technicians, emergency management, mobile and foot patrols, auto theft unit, bicycle squad, crime prevention and police communications.

WATCH
Metro terror drill by police.

On Feb. 12, there will be a simulated explosive blast on a Metro bus in the parking lot at RFK Stadium and another bomb found on another bus.

The next day, the drill will involve an explosion on a Metrorail train in the tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom.

And on Feb. 24, the final scenario will involve gunmen at the Friendship Heights Metrorail Station.

The drills will take place on closed tracks and during off hours so there'll be no impact to service, Metro said.

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View more news videos at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video.

Russia Today Again Again More & More BRAVO!

The RT campaign of exposing the US lies makes sense...

The RT campaign of exposing the US lies makes more sense to me. If countries like Russia wanted to wage against the US foreign domination, an effective campaign would be to expose the corrupt nature of the US government to its own citizens. Like "radio free Europe" during the cold war, we now have the paradox of "internet free Americas" during the PNAC war.

majority

If 80%+ believe 9/11 was an inside job, then 80% of ALL crimes are committed by a 9/11 truther…

I bet the guy drank orange juice too… stop the presses!!!

good post

stop lying.

Yes, RM.

We're watching them watching us. ;)

Behavioral Sciences Journal

We need to remind people of this piece, but use the actual link to the journal itself. When trying to talk sense to folks, and they call you nuts, remind them of this....

http://911blogger.com/node/22774

The most severe form of learning disorders are owned by those that "already know everything."

mental instability

could it be that the persons doing these acts are just instable and the spin the government puts on it is just opportunist, as they see an ideal opportunity to diss normal people who question the faults of authority by making out that we're all instable?

...and I hasten to tell you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOHBkhFt5Eg

mentally unstable?

Yes, they could be mentally unstable...but perhaps it's worse than this? A shooter at the Holocaust Memorial Museum and a shooter at the Pentagon? Sounds like a pair of bookends to me. Recall the fraudulent anthrax letter: Death to Israel, Death to America. As Michael Fury has said elsewhere: could be Manchurians.

Of course, it is necessary to keep hammering away at Islam, so we have the Underwear Bomber and we have Ft. Hood. I actually have no idea how many of these incidents have been "set up" deliberately--the Underwear Bomber is pretty certain--but we would be idiots to dismiss the possiblity of set-ups in any of these cases. By the way, the lawyer of the alleged shooter at Ft. Hood has established a blog, and it is worth visiting:

http://forthoodattorney.com/

This is a public relations war, folks

Whatever the true nature of the "Pentagon shooter" incident, it is being used to smear our movement. We need to respond intelligently and creatively.

I believe that there is no better time to start calling ourselves the "9/11 Truth, Peace and Justice" movement. Yes, it's not as short and sweet, but for more people identify with the search for peace and justice at a time when we are working hard to build bridges with the anti-war movement. Plus, it emphasizes our non-violence.

Of course, imo, that's just the start of it. I would love to see all of our best organizations issue a joint statement denouncing violence and hate while emphasizing that we are NOT fringe.

Good idea turboglo

In case you haven't seen them, the statements against violence and racism adopted by Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice can be found here:

http://stj911.org/nonviolence.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-5

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-6269989-504083.html

"John Patrick Bedell may have left red flags all over the internet, including blog posts about 9/11 being a hoax, and YouTube videos ranting about a complex system of "information currency," but it seems that no one was listening. Or at least no one that would do anything to prevent his alleged rampage at the Pentagon Thursday night.

A Wikipedia entry apparently linked to Bedell, posted under the name JPatrickBedell, says that he intended to "see that justice is served in the death of Colonel James Sabow, as a step toward establishing the truth of events such as the September 11 demolitions and institutions such as the coup regime of 1963 that maintains itself in power through the global drug trade, financial corruption, and murder, among other crimes."

Col. Sabow's 1991 death was ruled a suicide but has long been referenced by 9/11 conspiracy theorists, and his own family, as a precursor to the "9/11 demolitions" and an effort to cover-up the government's involvement with the attacks."

Call me a delinquent Truther, but I have not heard of Sabow before this story.

Ya know....

You know, this may just start getting more people to look at what is going on. Some may look at 9-11-01 Truth sites looking to see if we do initiate violence, and then actually learn some realities, besides realizing we are non-violent.

Psy-ops are so commonplace now in our government, I don't doubt that it was just that. Has anyone heard anything about the "victims", if there were really any?

The most severe form of learning disorders are owned by those that "already know everything."

Hmm ...

That'd be two of us, then. Where are they getting this stuff?

Dylan

do you have any idea what this "Sabow" name is supposed to mean in this context? Who is out there pimping this info?

Look up

Col. James E. Sabow on the www.veteranstoday.com websight. There IS a spooky trail and it is related to 9/11. And while you're there check out Gordon Duff's article from today, 3/6.

"Internet free Americas"

Well said, TomT:
"Like "radio free Europe" during the cold war, we now have the paradox of "internet free Americas" during the PNAC war."

And we need to advocate PEACEFUL, Constitutional means at every opportunity. We decry violence.
(Cf Mahatma Ghandi.)

So what did Glenn Beck know? And why did he not pass along info?

Alex Jones has done quite a bit of reporting on how certain people in the mainstream media such as Glenn Beck were saying 9/11 truth activists were dangerous and they were going to commit acts of violence, before any acts had actually occurred such as this one as well as the pilot that flew into the IRS building. Since there was actually no evidence that 9/11 truth activists were going to do these types of things at that time, this is like Chicken Little saying the sky is going to fall and then right on queue it falls. I would like to see some of these people grilled on camera on who tipped them off that 9/11 truth activists were going to be violent and how this seems more than just a little bit suspicious in how it is a convenient way to demonize anyone who questions the official 9/11 story. Also would be good if we could make some sort of time line showing WHO said WHAT and WHEN they said it, and then also include when any of these real life events actually occurred after the fact. Then this information can be presented to them in an on camera confrontation. Also to any of you who are good at making videos I'm sure a great video could be made documenting this entire time line of events. I think this is big. If we expose the people who are trying to cover up 9/11, prevent the truth from coming out, or smear activists, then we get closer to exposing those who perpetrated the actual 9/11 event.

Mr. Fuyujita gettng trashed at Wapo

UGH....another nasty attack on individuals who are standing up for 9/11 truth...
Go here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/07/AR201003...
to read the disgusting "editorial" which consists of puerile name calling and insinuations of insanity.