“Well, my point is guys, we HAVE taken down some Muslim groups that were plotting attacks. I personally don’t care who the group prays to: if they’re planning on killing cops and then bombing those funerals, bust ‘em before it happens instead of waiting until after-wards and saying “Oops.””
I know that was your point. None of the Muslim groups was taken down during an aggressive campaign against Muslims in general. In fact, quite the opposite. So we have no standard for comparison.
Dictators throughout history have created strawmen opponents who were terribly menacing. Noone had to create the Muslim terrorist threat.
And maybe these militia guys were real and were a threat. If so, kudos to the FBI.
And maybe not. Remember the huge right-wing terrorist threat during the Clinton administration, just when Bill was tanking in the polls? A lot of people died so that Bill could demonize everyone to the left of Olympia Snowe.
And maybe it’s something in between.
“Uh, we need to bust some Christians with uniforms, now. Do you have any bad ones under surveillance?”
“Well, yes sir. We have a group of guys we think are pretty bad guys. The have this goofy website, wear uniforms, and talk about the anti-Christ. Our four agents who have infiltrated the group say they talk big about what they want to do and some of it isn’t nice.”
“They’re perfect. Take ‘em down.”
So maybe the FBI’s suspicion these were bad guys was a genuine suspicion and all the drama was still entirely opportunistic.
Reality was probably that the four infiltrating agents suggested the attacks on LEO. Anyone in a an organization suggesting violence against a government that is virtually in a state of collapse, seriously has some issues. Just sit back, pop the popcorn, and watch the collapse. At the very least, plan for building a new country from the ashes of the old one. Because, as those Russian Hackers plainly state, GaMeOvEr. I could see a fascist state that was running a fiscal surplus needing some help to collapse. But this basket case run by these idiots ?