An animal rights web site recently released the written testimony that Craig Rosebraugh submitted to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Forests and Forests Health in PDF form. Below is the testimony in HTML form. A fascinating look into the mind of a supporter of terrorism — note, among other highlights, that Rosebraugh describes the puppet regime imposed upon Afghanistan by the 1979 Soviet invasion as “progressive.”
Written Testimony Supplied to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Forests and Forests Health for the
February 12, 2002, Hearing on “Ecoterrorism”
Craig Rosebraugh
Submitted to the House on February 7, 2002
When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce [the people] under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. The oppressed should rebel, and they will continue to rebel and raise disturbance until their civil rights are fully restored to them and all partial distinctions, exclusions and incapacitations are removed.
Thomas Jefferson, 1776
On April 15, 1972, I came into this world as a child of two wonderful parents living in
Portland, Oregon. Growing up in the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States, I had the privilege of easy access to the natural world. Much of my childhood was spent in the fields and forested areas behind our home, playing and experiencing life in my time of innocence. I had no knowledge of societal problems, especially those pertaining to the natural environment.
Throughout my childhood and adolescent years, the education I received from my parents, schools, popular media and culture instilled in me a pride for my country, for my government, and everything the United States represented. I was taught about the great American history, our Constitution, Bill of Rights, and our legacy of being at the forefront of democracy and freedom. I considered myself to be just an average boy taking an active part in the popular American pastimes of competitive sports, consumer culture, and existing within a classic representation of the standard, middle-class suburban lifestyle.
Upon graduating from high school, I became exposed to new forms of education and
ideas. Resulting from my exposure to people from differing socio-economic backgrounds and
beginning college, I found my horizons beginning to widen. For the first time in my life, I was presented with the notion of political and social conflict coupled with the various issues contained within both categories. It was alarming yet, at the same time, invigorating as I began to feel passion burn within me.
George Bush, Sr. had just thrust the United States into what became known as the Gulf
War. Now, as I was raised with a certain absolutist support of my country and government, my first inclination was to wave the stars and stripes and support unconditionally this noble pursuit of “promoting democracy and freedom” in the “less fortunate” and “uncivilized” lands. Yet, as I began to look further into the matter, I found myself asking questions such as Why are we there?
Why are we killing civilians? What is the true motive behind the conflict? After extensive research, I came to the logical and truthful conclusion that natural resources and regional power were the primary motives.
As news from independent sources slowly filtered out, I became increasingly horrified at
the slaughter of Iraqi civilians by the U.S. military. With NO WAR FOR OIL as my personal
guiding statement, I joined the local anti-war protests and movement existing in Portland,
Oregon. Little did I realize that this first political activity would lead me to a life of devotion to true justice and real freedom.
While my anti-war involvement progressed, I also began to understand the disastrous
relationship our modern society has with the many animal nations. Out of an interest inspired both by independent reading and through early college courses, I became involved with a local animal advocacy organization. At first, I attended meetings to hear the numerous arguments for the rights of animals and further my own education. The more I learned, the more compelled I felt to involve myself fully in working for animal protection. My activities went from merely attending meetings, rallies, and protests to organizing them. Of all the issues I had learned about during the six years I spent with that organization, I focused the majority of my time, research, and interest on fighting against the use of animals in biomedical and scientific experimentation.
While a great percentage of the public in the United States had been convinced that
animal research progressed and continues to improve human health, I soon realized that this myth was not only untruthful and single sided, but the work of a slick public relations campaign by the pharmaceutical industry in coordination with federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health. I also learned that just like the factory farm industry, the use of animals for human entertainment and for the fashion industry, animal experimentation was motivated first and foremost by profits. Furthermore, I learned how the government of the United States not only economically supports these various institutions of exploitation and slaughter, but how it continues to perpetuate and politically support the dangerous lie that animal research saves human lives. My support for various governmental policies was slowly fading.
And then memories of innocence were torn away. In the early 1990s, I learned that the
lush natural acreage I used to play in as a child had been sold to a development firm. It intended to bulldoze the entire area and create a virtual community of homes for the upper middle class to wealthy. Within two years, the land as I knew it was no more. The visual reminder I used to appreciate, the one that would take me back to the years when the fields and trees were my playground, was stolen by a development corporation who saw more value in the land as luxurious houses than for its natural beauty and life.
I remember asking myself, what would happen to the various wildlife who made the area
their home for so many years? Where would the deer, coyotes, skunks, wild cats, mice, raccoons, opossums, and others go? It was obvious that the developers had not even considered these questions. Rather, it appeared, the main pursuit of the corporation was working towards building incredibly large homes as close as possible to one another for maximum financial gain.
As the 1990s progressed, I became increasingly aware of the relationship between social
and political problems in the United States. No single issue was truly independent but rather was affected by many others. In my work with the local animal advocacy organization, I realized that exploitation and destruction at the hands of human domination over animals also involved much more. Economics, politics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, science, religion, and other disciplines all played a significant role in understanding this unhealthy and unbalanced relationship between humans and other animals. But, by far the most important realization I made was that the problems facing animals, the problems facing the natural environment, and those affecting humans all came from a primary source. Understanding this crucial connection, I co-founded a non-profit organization in 1996 dedicated to educating the public on this fundamental realization.
During the mid-1990s, through continued formal and informal education, I also began to
understand that the history I had learned growing up was only one story of many. I gained insight
into the fact that everything I had learned about the origins of the United States of America had
been purely from the viewpoint of the colonists and European settlers. Thus, the history I was
taught was from the perspective of the privileged white man, which not only told a mere fraction
of the story, but also provided an extreme amount of misinformation as well.
I was never taught that the origins of this country were based upon murder, exploitation,
and ultimate genocide. My teachers neglected to mention the fact that the white European settlers
nearly annihilated the various indigenous peoples who had existed on this land for ages. Instead,
I was taught about Thanksgiving and Columbus Day. I bought into this version of American
history so much that I vividly recall my excitement over creating a paper model of one of
Columbus’ ships years ago.
No one ever seemed to provide the insight to me that the settlers, immediately upon their
arrival, immediately enslaved the natives, and forced them to work and assist the European
powers in their quest for gold and spices. Likewise, I failed to ever have access to a true African-
American history that began when blacks were captured and shipped as property to this land to
work as slaves for white men.
While I was taught about the so-called “Great American Revolution,” it was never
mentioned that this war for independence against the European powers only served and benefited
the privileged white male. Of course, all white men were privileged to some degree; however,
many were enslaved initially just like the natives and blacks. Women, natives, blacks, and, to a
limited degree, poor whites were considered property, bought, sold, and owned by the affluent
white hierarchy.
In school, my teachers did explain to me the importance of the U.S. Constitution and the
Bill of Rights and how our forefathers drew up these documents to serve the people. This, I
learned, was the foundation of our supposed great democracy. Yet, in reality, these items were
created by the white power structure and only served to benefit the privileged members of white
society. Women, blacks, natives, and poor white men still were not enfranchised nor had any
accessibility to self-determination and freedom. Land ownership-a notion completely foreign
and absurd to most of the indigenous-became a deciding factor of power and privilege for white
men. Those without land lacked the opportunity for the vote, for ultimate power and respect.
As more and more settlers pushed westward through the country, the government
committed endless treaty breaches and violations, stealing land that whites had allotted to the
indigenous. Perhaps one of the most disturbing facts was that these original agreements made
between various indigenous nations and the United States government were supposed to have
international standing. Each of the indigenous populations was recognized at the time each
document was signed as being a sovereign nation and, yet, the U.S. government still exerted its
power and domination to steal land for eventual development and drainage of resources. This
genocide against the varied Native American nations by the United States continues today with
innocent people such as Leonard Peltier being imprisoned for years simply due to the
government’s perception of him as a political threat. Free Leonard Peltier!
On July 4 annually, U.S. citizens celebrate the founding of our country, most either
blatantly forgetting or ignorant of the true issues surrounding that date. The fact that the United
States as a nation systematically committed mass genocide against the indigenous of these lands,
to catastrophic extremities, is certainly no cause for celebration. Rather, it should be a time for
mourning, for remembrance, and, most of all for education of our children so we are not doomed
to repeat the mistakes of the past.
The plight of blacks and women throughout U.S. history, although perhaps not as overtly
catastrophic, still constituted outright mass murder, enslavement, exploitation, and objectification.
Early on, white European settlers found that natives were much more difficult to enslave and
manage due to their ability to maintain at least partial elements of their cultures. When blacks
began to first arrive on slave ships, chained in the darkness below the decks, white settlers
theorized they would make better slaves because they would be further removed from their
cultures. Thus, the enslavement of blacks began in this land and would, in its overt form, last for
a couple hundred years. During this time and well beyond, blacks were considered property to be
bought, sold, traded, used, and disposed of at will.
Even after the abolitionist movement, which began in the 1820s, blacks continued to be
considered second-rate citizens, restricted from voting and experiencing the free life which whites
were accustomed. When the modern U.S. civil rights movement began in the 1940s, it took some
twenty years of constant hardship and struggle to achieve some reform in the fascist policies of
the United States. Even though blacks “won” the right to vote and exist in desegregated zones,
there still was an absence of overall freedom, never any actual resemblance of equality. Today,
the saga continues. While African Americans have made incredible progress in obtaining certain
rights and privileges, there continues to be a more hidden, underlying discrimination that is every
bit as potent. A clear example can be seen by taking an honest look at the prison industrial
complex and understanding who continues to be enslaved in mass to make that industry
financially viable. Free Mumia Abu Jamal! Free the Move 9! Free all the political prisoners in
the United States!
A similar and equally unfortunate history has and continues to haunt women in U.S.
society. Also once considered property, women were not even able to vote in this country until
the 1920s. Even after, they continued to be faced with a patriarchal society consisting of white
men in power. While women have made many wonderful advances for themselves, they still
exist today in the United States under that same sexist and patriarchal society. A quick glance at
the profiles of the federal government as well as top CEOs from U.S. corporations fully illustrates
this reality.
When I co-founded the non-profit organization in Portland, Oregon, in 1996, I was
becoming more aware that the similarities in the human, environmental, and animal advocacy
movements stemmed from this rich U.S. history, not of glory, freedom and democracy, but of
oppression in its sickest forms. I began to also realize that just as the U.S. white male power
structure put itself on a pedestal above everyone else, it also maintained that attitude toward the
natural environment and the various animal nations existing within it. As a society, we have
continuously acted towards these natural life forms as though we owned them, therefore giving us
the right to do whatever we wanted and could do to them.
Particularly, with the advent of the industrial revolution in the United States, the
destruction of the natural world took a sharp turn for the worse. The attitude, more so than ever,
turned to one of profits at any cost and a major shift from sustainable living to stockpiling for
economic benefit. This focus on stockpiling and industrial productivity caused hardship on
communities, forcing local crafters and laborers to be driven out of business by overly
competitive industries. Additionally, with this new focus on sacrificing sustainable living for
financial gain, natural resources were in greater demand than ever. Semi-automatic to automatic
machinery, production lines, the automobile, the roadway system, suburbs, and the breakup of
small, fairly self-sufficient communities all came about, at least in part, due to the industrial
revolution. This unhealthy and deadly transgression of course was supported and promoted by
the U.S. government, always eager to see growth in the domestic economy.
All of this set the stage for the threatening shortage of natural resources and the massive
environmental pollution and destruction present today in the United States. In cities such as Los
Angeles, Detroit, and Houston, the air and soil pollution levels are so extreme people have
suffered and continue to face deadly health problems. Waterways throughout the country,
including the Columbia Slough in my backyard, are so polluted from industries it is
recommended that humans don’t even expose themselves to the moisture let alone drink
unfiltered, unbottled water. The necessary and crucial forests of the Pacific Northwestern region
of the country have been systematically destroyed by corporations such as Boise Cascade,
Willamette Industries, and others within the timber industry whose sole motive is profits
regardless of the expense to the health of an ecosystem. In Northern California, the sacred old
growths, dreamlike in appearance, taking your breath away at first glance, have been
continuously threatened and cut by greedy corporations such as Pacific Lumber/Maxxam. The
same has occurred and still is a reality in states including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and
Colorado.
The first National Forests were established in the United States more than a century ago.
One hundred fifty-five of them exist today spread across 191 million acres. Over the years, the
forest products industry has decimated publicly owned National Forests in this country, leaving a
horrendous trail of clearcuts and logging roads. Commercial logging has been responsible for
annihilating nearly all of the nation’s old growth forests, draining nutrients from the soil, washing
topsoil into streams, destroying wildlife habitat, and creating an increase in the incidence and
severity of forest fires. Only an estimated 4percent of old growth forests in the United States are
remaining.
The National Forests in the United States contain far more than just trees. In fact, more
than 3,000 species of fish and wildlife, in addition to 10,000 plant species, have their habitat
within the National Forests. This includes at least 230 endangered plant and animal species. All
6
of these life forms co-exist symbiotically to naturally create the rich and healthy ecosystems
needed for life to exist on this planet.
The benefits of a healthy forest cannot be overrated. Healthy forests purify drinking
water, provide fresh clean air to breathe, stabilize hillsides, and prevent floods. Hillsides clearcut
or destroyed by logging roads lose their ability to absorb heavy rainfall. If no trees exist to soak
up moisture with roots to hold the soil, water flows freely down slopes, creating muddy streams,
polluting drinking water, strengthening floods, and causing dangerous mudslides. Instead of
valuing trees and forests for being necessary providers of life, the U.S. Forest Service and
commercial logging interests have decimated these precious ecosystems.
The timber corporations argue that today in the United States more forests exist than
perhaps at any time in the last century or more. It doesn’t take a forestry specialist to realize that
monoculture tree farms-in which one species of tree, often times non-native to the area, is
grown in mass in a small area for maximum production-do not equate to a healthy forest.
Healthy forests are made up of diverse ecosystems consisting of many native plant and animal
species. These healthy ecosystems are what grant humans and all other life forms on the planet
with the ability to live. Without clean air, clean water, and healthy soil, life on this planet will
cease to exist. There is an overwhelming battery of evidence that conclusively shows that we are
already well on our path toward massive planetary destruction.
The popular environmental movement in the United States, which arguably began in the
1960s, has failed to produce the necessary protection needed to ensure that life on this planet will
continue to survive. This is largely due to the fact that the movement has primarily consisted of
tactics sanctioned by the very power structure that is benefiting economically from the
destruction of the natural world. While a few minor successes in this country should be noted, the
overwhelming constant trend has been the increasingly speedy liquidation of natural resources
and annihilation of the environment.
The state sanctioned tactics, that is, those approved by the U.S. government and the status
quo and predominantly legal in nature, rarely, if ever, actually challenge or positively change the
very entities that are responsible for oppression, exploitation, and, in this case, environmental
destruction. Throughout the history of the United States, a striking amount of evidence indicates
that it wasn’t until efforts strayed beyond the state sanctioned that social change ever progressed. In the abolitionist movement, the Underground Railroad, public educational campaigns, in
addition to slave revolts, forced the federal government to act. With the Suffragettes in the
United States, individuals such as Alice Paul acting with various forms of civil disobedience
added to the more mainstream efforts to successfully demand the vote for women. Any labor
historian will assert that in addition to the organizing of the workplace, strikes, riots, and protests
dramatically assisted in producing more tolerable work standards. The progress of the civil rights
movement was primarily founded upon the massive illegal civil disobedience campaigns against
segregation and disenfranchisement. Likewise, the true pressure from the Vietnam anti-war
movement in this country only came after illegal activities such as civil disobedience and beyond
were implemented. Perhaps the most obvious, yet often overlooked, historical example of this
notion supporting the importance of illegal activity as a tool for positive, lasting change, came
just prior to our war for independence. Our educational systems in the United States glorify the
Boston Tea Party while simultaneously failing to recognize and admit that the dumping of tea
was perhaps one of the most famous early examples of politically motivated property destruction.
In the mid-1990s, individuals angry and disillusioned with the failing efforts to protect
the natural environment through state sanctioned means, began taking illegal action. At first,
nonviolent civil disobedience was implemented, followed by sporadic cases of nonviolent
property destruction. In November 1997, an anonymous communiqué was issued by a group
called the Earth Liberation Front claiming responsibility for their first-ever action in North
America.
Immediately, the label of ecoterrorism appeared in news stories describing the actions of
the Earth Liberation Front. Where exactly this label originated is open for debate, but all
indications point to the federal government of the United States in coordination with industry and
sympathetic mass media. Whatever the truth may be regarding the source of this term, one thing
is for certain-the decision to attach this label to illegal actions taken for environmental
protection was very conscious and deliberate. Why? The need for the U.S. federal government
to control and mold public opinion through the power of propaganda to ensure an absence of
threat is crucial. If information about illegal actions taken to protect the natural environment was
presented openly to the public without biased interpretation, the opportunity would exist for
citizens to make up their own minds about the legitimacy of the tactic, target, and movement. By
attaching a label such as “terrorism” to the activities of groups such as the Earth Liberation Front,
the public is left with little choice but to give into their preconceived notions negatively
associated with that term. For many in this country, including myself, information about
terrorism came from schools and popular culture. Most often times, the definition of terrorism
was overtly racist associated frequently in movies and on television shows with Arabs and the
others our government told us were threatening. Terrorism usually is connected with violence,
with politically motivated physical harm to humans.
Yet, in the history of the Earth Liberation Front, both in North America and abroad in
Europe, no one has ever been injured by the group’s many actions. This is not a mere
coincidence, but rather a deliberate decision that illustrates the true motivation behind the covert
organization. Simply put and most fundamentally, the goal of the Earth Liberation Front is to
save life. The group takes actions directly against the property of those who are engaged in
massive planetary destruction in order for all of us to survive. This noble pursuit does not
constitute terrorism, but rather seeks to abolish it.
A major hypocrisy exists when the U.S. government labels an organization such as the
Earth Liberation Front a terrorist group while simultaneously failing to acknowledge its own
terrorist history. In fact, the U.S. government by far has been the most extreme terrorist
organization in planetary history. Some, but nowhere near all, of the examples of domestic
terrorism were discussed earlier in this writing. Yet, further proof can be found by taking a
glimpse at the foreign policy record of the United States even as recently as from the 1950s.
In Guatemala (1953-1990s) the CIA organized a coup that overthrew the democratically
elected government led by Jacobo Arbenz. This began some 40 years of death squads, torture,
disappearances, mass executions, totalling well over 100,000 victims. The U.S. government
apparently didn’t want Guatemala’s social democracy spreading to other countries in Latin
America.
In the Middle East (1956-1958) the United States twice tried to overthrow the Syrian
government. Additionally, the U.S. government landed 14,000 troops to purportedly keep the
peace in Lebanon and to stop any opposition to the U.S. supported Lebanese government. The
U.S. government also conspired to overthrow or assassinate Nasser of Egypt.
During the same time, in Indonesia (1957-1958), the CIA tried to manipulate elections
and plotted the assassination of Sukarno, then the Indonesian leader. The CIA also assisted in
waging a full-scale war against the government of Indonesia. All of this action was taken
because Sukarno refused to take a hard-line stand against communism.
From 1953 to 1964, the U.S. government targeted Cheddi Jagan, then the leader of
British Guiana, out of a fear he might have built a successful example of an alternative model to
the capitalist society. The U.S. government, aided by Britain, organized general strikes and
spread misinformation, finally forcing Jagan out of power in 1964.
In Cambodia (1955-1973), Prince Sihanouk was severely targeted by the U.S.
government. This targeting included assassination attempts and the unpublicized carpet
bombings of 1969 to 1970. The U.S. government finally succeeded in overthrowing Sihanouk in
a 1970 coup.
The examples continue. From 1960 through 1965, the United States intervened in
Congo/Zaire. After Patrice Lumumba became Congo’s first Prime Minister following
independence gained from Belgium, he was assassinated in 1961 at the request of Dwight
Eisenhower. During the same time in Brazil (1961-1964), President Joao Goulart was
overthrown in a military coup which involved the United States. Again, the alleged reasoning for
U.S. participation amounted to a fear of communism or, more importantly, anything that
threatened this country’s way of life. In the Dominican Republic (1963-1966), the United States
sent in 23,000 troops to help stop a coup which aimed at restoring power to Juan Bosch, an
individual the U.S. government feared had socialist leanings.
Of course, no one should forget about Cuba. When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959,
the United States immediately sought to put another government in place, prompting some 40
years of terrorist attacks, bombings, a full-scale military invasion, sanctions, embargoes,
isolations, and assassinations.
In Chile, the U.S. government sabotaged Salvador Allende’s electoral campaign in 1964.
In 1970, the U.S. government failed to do so and tried for years later to destabilize the Allende
government particularly by building up military hostility. In September 1973, the U.S. supported
military overthrew the government with Allende dying in the process. Some 3,000 people were
executed and thousands more were tortured or disappeared. In Greece during the same period
(1964-1974), the United States backed a military coup that led to martial law, censorship, arrests,
beatings, torture, and killings. In the first month, more than 8,000 people died. All of this was
executed with equipment supplied by the United States.
Back in Indonesia in 1965, fears of communism led the United States to back multiple
coup attempts which resulted in a horrendous massacre against communists. During this time the
U.S. embassy compiled lists of communist operatives, as many as 5,000 names, and turned them
over to the Army. The Army would then hunt down and kill those on the list.
The U.S. government also has had its dirty hands connected to East Timor (1975 to
present). In December 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor using U.S. weapons. By 1989,
Indonesia had slaughtered 200,000 people out of a population between 600,000 and 700,000.
In Nicaragua (1978-1989), when the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza dictatorship in
1978, the U.S. government immediately became involved. President Carter attempted diplomatic
and economic forms of sabotage while President Reagan put the Contras to work. For eight
years, backed by the United States, the Contra’s waged war on the people of Nicaragua.
Continuing on with Grenada (1979-1984), the United States intervened to stop a 1979
coup led by Maurice Bishop and his followers. The United States invaded Grenada in October
1983, killing 400 citizens of Grenada and 84 Cubans. Of course the Libya example (1981-1989)
must be mentioned. In the 1980s, the United States shot down two Libyan planes in what Libya
regarded as its air space. The United States also dropped bombs on the country killing more than
people including Qaddafi’s daughter. Yet that wasn’t enough as the U.S. government engaged in
other attempts to eradicate Qaddafi. This included a fierce misinformation campaign, economic
sanctions, and blaming Libya for being responsible for the Pan Am flight 103 bombing without
any sound evidence. The U.S. government, also in 1989, bombed Panama, leaving some 15,000
people homeless in Panama City. Thousands of people died and even more were wounded.
Prior to the October 7, 2001, invasion of Afghanistan by the United States, the U.S.
government had intervened there from 1979 to 1992. During the late 1970s and most of the
1980s, the U.S. government spent billions of dollars waging a war on a progressive Afghani
government, merely because that government was backed by the Soviet Union. More than one
million people died, three million were disabled, and five million became refugees.
In El Salvador (1980-1992), the United States supported the government which engaged
in electoral fraud and the murder of hundreds of protesters and strikers. These dissidents, who
had been trying to work within the system, took to using guns and declared a civil war in 1980.
The U.S. government played an active role in trying to stop the uprising. When it was over in
1992, 75,000 civilians had been killed and the United States had spent six billion dollars.
In Haiti, from 1987 through 1994, the United States supported the Duvalier family
dictatorship. During this time, the CIA worked intimately with death squads, torturers, and drug
traffickers. Yugoslavia must also be mentioned, as no one should ever forget the United States’
responsibility for bombing that country into annihilation.
In the early 1990s, the U.S. government continuously bombed Iraq for more than 40 days
and nights. One hundred seventy-seven million pounds of bombs fell during this time on the
people of Iraq. The remaining uranium deposits from weapons resulted in massive birth defects
and incidences of cancer. Between 1990 and 1995, the United States was directly responsible for
killing more than 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of five due to economic sanctions.
Additionally, due to these sanctions, coupled with the continuous U.S. bombing that has occurred
on Iraq since the Gulf War, more than 1.5 million innocent Iraqi people have been killed.
These few examples since 1950 of U.S.-sponsored and organized terrorism are
horrendous, and, unfortunately, these massive murderous tactics continue today. On October 7,
2001 the U.S. government began a full-scale military invasion of Afghanistan without even
providing a shred of factual evidence linking Osama Bin Laden or Al Qaida to the attacks in this
country on September 11. To date, well over 4,000 innocent Afghani civilians have been killed
by the U.S. government in this massive genocidal campaign. All along, U.S. government
officials have claimed to possess concrete evidence proving the guilt of both Bin Laden and Al
Qaida, but repeatedly said they cannot release this “proof” as doing so may endanger the lives of
U.S. military personnel. This simply makes no sense, as there could not be any justifiable threat
to U.S. personnel if they weren’t already in inexcusable positions, violating the sovereignty of
internationally recognized nations.
The Taliban, which the United States help put into power in 1994, have stated repeatedly
to the U.S. government and the world that it would hand over Bin Laden to an international court
if the United States provided proof of his guilt. The United States refused and instead claimed the
Taliban was not cooperating and was therefore harboring terrorists.
Can you imagine what would have happened if, prior to September 11, 2001, a structure
in Kabul was bombed and the Taliban immediately suspected CIA director George Tenet as the
prime suspect? Would the United States hand over Tenet to the Taliban if requested if there was
not substantial evidence provided of his guilt? Even if the Taliban supplied any shred of
evidence, the United States still would refuse to hand over Tenet or any privileged citizen to an
international court because the United States does not abide by them or agree to them.
Regardless, the U.S. government believes that it has the right to provide no evidence of Bin
Laden’s or Al Qaida’s guilt to the Taliban or the world before launching a massive genocidal
campaign against Afghanistan civilians.
The true motives and the identities of those involved both in September 11, 2001 and
October 7, 2001 are known only to a select few in power. However, evidence does exist in media
sources as mainstream as the BBC (reported on September 18, 2001) that suggests the U.S.
government was planning a military invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban as early as
March 2001. Furthermore, the intended deadline for the invasion was set for not later than
October of the same year. The October 7, 2001, invasion by the United States into Afghanistan
appears to have been right on schedule.
This war against terrorism, otherwise known as Operation Enduring Freedom, is the
latest example of U.S. based terrorism and imperialism. It is clear that the events of September
11, 2001, were used as a chance for the U.S. government to invade Afghanistan, to attempt to
increase U.S. regional and global power in addition to open up the much-sought-after oil reserves
in the Middle East and Central Asia. The bonus, of course, was that this mission has given the
United States the opportunity to target and attempt to annihilate any anti-U.S. sentiment within
that region. As the war against terrorism expands, so does the possibility of more U.S. military
bases and more security for the global economic powers.
If the U.S. government is truly concerned with eradicating terrorism in the world, then
that effort must begin with abolishing U.S. imperialism. Members of this governing body, both
in the House and Senate as well as those who hold positions in the executive branch, constitute
the largest group of terrorists and terrorist representatives currently threatening life on this planet. The only true service this horrific organization supplies is to the upper classes and corporate elite.
As an innocent child, I used to have faith in my government and pride in my country.
Today I have no pride, no faith, only embarrassment, anger, and frustration. There are definite
and substantiated reasons why the U.S. government is not only disliked but hated by populations
in many nations around the globe. The outrage and anger is justified due to the history of U.S.
domestic and foreign policies.
Here in the United States, the growth of the empire, of capitalism, and of industry, has
meant greater discrepancies between the wealthy and poor, a continued rise in the number of
those considered to be a threat to the system, as well as irreversible harm done to the environment
and life on the planet. Corporations in the United States literally get away with murder, facing
little or no repercussions due to their legal structures. The U.S. government, which sleeps in the
same bed as U.S. corporations, serves to ensure that the “business as usual” policies of
imperialism can continue with as little friction as possible. Anyone questioning the mere logic of
this genocidal culture and governing policy is considered a dissident and, more often than not,
shipped off to one of the fastest growing industries of all, the prison industrial complex.
Internationally, U.S. policies have amounted to the same, often times worse, forms of
violence. As I demonstrated herein with examples since 1950, the foreign policy track record has
included genocide, assassinations, exploitation, military action, and destruction. Disguised as
promoting or protecting freedom and democracy, U.S. foreign policies aim to directly control and
conquer, while gaining power, finances, and resources.
U.S. imperialism is a disease, one that continues to grow and become more powerful and
dangerous. It needs to be stopped. One of the chief weapons used by those protecting the
imperialist policies of the United States is a slick, believable propaganda campaign designed to
ensure U.S. citizens do not question or threaten the “American way of life.” Perhaps the
strongest factor in this campaign is the phenomenon of capitalism. By creating a consumer
demand for products, corporations, greatly aided by the U.S. government, can effectively
influence people’s dreams, desires, wants, and life plans. The very American Dream promoted
throughout the world is that anyone can come to the United States, work hard, and become happy
and financially secure. Through the use of the propaganda campaign designed, promoted, and
transmitted by the U.S. ruling class, people are nearly coerced into adopting unhealthy desires for,
often times, unreachable, unneeded, and dangerous consumer goods. Through impressive
societal mind control, the belief that obtaining consumer products will equal security and
happiness has spread across the United States, and much of the planet at this point, like some
extreme plague. The fact that the policies of the United States murder people on a daily basis is
unseen, forgotten, or ignored, as every effort is made by people to fit into the artificial model life
manufactured by the ruling elite.
A universal effort needs to be made to understand the importance and execution of
abolishing U.S. imperialism. This by no way refers to simply engaging in reformist efforts,
rather, a complete societal and political revolution will need to occur before real justice and
freedom become a reality. The answer does not lie in trying to fix one specific problem or work
on one individual issue, but rather the entire pie needs to be targeted, every last piece looked upon
as a mere representation of the whole.
If the people of the United States, who the government is supposed to represent, are
actually serious about creating a nation of peace, freedom, and justice, then there must be a
serious effort made, by any means necessary, to abolish imperialism and U.S. governmental
11
terrorism. The daily murder and destruction caused by this political organization is very real, and
so the campaign by the people to stop it must be equally as potent.
I have been told by many people in the United States to love America or leave it. I love
this land and the truly compassionate people within it. I therefore feel I not only have a right, but
also an obligation, to stay within this land and work for positive societal and political change for
all.
I was asked originally if I would voluntarily testify before the House Subcommittee on
Forests and Forest Health at a hearing focused on “ecoterrorism.” I declined in a written
statement. U.S. Marshals then subpoenaed me on October 31, 2001 to testify at this hearing on
February 12, 2002, against my will. Is this hearing a forum to discuss the threats facing the
health of the natural environment, specifically the forests? No, clearly there is not even the
remotest interest in this subject from the U.S. government or industry. The goal of this hearing is
to discuss methodologies to improve the failed attempts law enforcement have made since the
mid-1990s in catching and prosecuting individuals and organizations who take nonviolent, illegal
direct action to stop the destruction of the natural environment. I have no interest in this cause or
this hearing. In fact, I consider it a farce.
Since 1997, the U.S. government has issued me seven grand jury subpoenas, raided my
home and work twice, stealing hundreds of items of property, and, on many occasions, sent
federal agents to follow and question me. After this effort, which has lasted nearly five years,
federal agents have yet to obtain any information from me to aid their investigations. As I have
never been charged with one crime related to these so-called ecoterrorist organizations or their
activities, the constant harassment by the federal government constitutes a serious infringement
on my Constitutional right to freedom of speech. This Congressional Subcommittee hearing
appears to be no different, harassing and targeting me for simply voicing my ideological support
for those involved in environmental protection.
I fully praise those individuals who take direct action, by any means necessary, to stop
the destruction of the natural world and threats to all life. They are the heroes, risking their
freedom and lives so that we as a species as well as all life forms can continue to exist on the
planet. In a country so fixated on monetary wealth and power, these brave environmental
advocates are engaging in some of the most selfless activities possible.
It is my sincere desire that organizations such as the Earth Liberation Front continue to
grow and prosper in the United States. In fact, more organizations, using similar tactics and
strategies, need to be established to directly focus on U.S. imperialism and the U.S. government
itself. For, as long as the quest for monetary gain continues to be the predominant value within
U.S. society, human, animal, and environmental exploitation, destruction, and murder will
continue to be a reality. This drive for profits at any cost needs to be fiercely targeted, and those
responsible for the massive injustices punished. If there is any real concern for justice, freedom,
and, at least, a resemblance of a true democracy, this revolutionary ideal must become a reality.
ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE. LONG LIVE THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT. LONG
LIVE THE ANIMAL LIBERATION FRONT. LONG LIVE ALL THE SPARKS
ATTEMPTING TO IGNITE THE REVOLUTION. SOONER OR LATER THE SPARKS WILL
TURN INTO A FLAME!