Problem is, alot of folks are taking the start of the year 2000 and the subsequent anxiety very seriously. And we, the responsible ones (ie - the people who are not looking to fart around with those who are not farting with us) may be caught in the middle.
Jeff
Address:http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Oct/31/national/FBI31.htm
October 31, 1999
As 2000 nears, FBI sees added risk of violence
The agency's "Project Megiddo" found some extremist groups were acquiring weapons and picking targets. By David A. Vise
and Lorraine Adams
WASHINGTON POST
The FBI is warning police chiefs nationwide that it has discovered evidence of religious extremists, racists, cults and other groups preparing for violence as New Year's Eve approaches. The agency is urging law-enforcement agencies to view the dawn of the year 2000 as a catalyst for criminal activities. The FBI says those most likely to perpetrate violence are either motivated by religious beliefs relating to the Apocalypse or are New World Order conspiracists convinced the United Nations has a secret plan to conquer the world. A 34-page report from the FBI domestic-terrorism unit says some members of militias and racist groups, including "Christian Identity" and "Odinism," are acquiring weapons and surveying targets. FBI officials plan to brief law-enforcement officials Tuesday about the threat at a closed-door meeting of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in North Carolina. The report, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post, says local law-enforcement officials should monitor radical groups for behavior such as stockpiling weapons and food that may indicate they are preparing for violence. Neil Gallagher, head of the FBI's national security division, said in an interview that the bureau was not predicting that terrorism or violence would occur on or around Jan. 1. Instead, he said, the report is aimed at making local law officials "more sensitive" to heightened security risks posed by the year 2000. He also said the public should be "aware but not scared" of such threats. The report says the risks will increase as Jan. 1 approaches. "If a cult sells its property and personal effects and purchases guns and explosives, we need to be more concerned about what that cult will do on January 1," he said. Computer problems brought on by Y2K glitches could trigger a response from some groups, the FBI believes. While most people understand that power outages or other problems resulting from Y2K problems can be explained rationally, the report notes that some radical groups or individuals may view these events either as signs that the end of the world is near or as part of a larger conspiracy. "The threat posed by extremists as a result of perceived events associated with the Year 2000 (Y2K) is very real," the report says. "The volatile mix of apocalyptic religious and [New World Order] conspiracy theories may produce violent acts aimed at precipitating the end of the world as prophesied in the Bible." The report is the result of a nine-month effort called "Project Megiddo" by the domestic-terrorism unit, which also used field agents. It is intended to serve as a "strategic assessment" of potential domestic terrorism linked to the coming millennium, rather than a general assessment of the terrorist environment. The agents found that certain individuals tied to these groups have been acquiring weapons, storing food and clothing, raising funds, procuring safe houses, preparing compounds, surveying potential targets and recruiting converts. The report describes several groups it says have some members who pose a violent threat. Christian Identity followers, comprising loosely knit groups nationwide, are "ardently opposed to race mixing" and believe the "white Aryan race is God's chosen race." Christian Identity provides the "unifying theology" for several "right-wing" groups that pose a threat, the report says. Odinists, also white supremacists, can be dangerous because many believe in becoming "martyrs" for the cause, the report says. Fringe members of the Aryan Nations white supremacist group could be a threat because they won't necessarily adhere to leader Richard Butler's public renunciation of violence, the FBI says. Radical U.S. members of the "Black Hebrew Israelites," who advocate "an extreme form of black supremacy," also pose a threat. "Current intelligence from a variety of sources indicates that extreme factions of [Black Hebrew Israelites] groups are preparing for a race war to close the millennium," the FBI report says. While most of the report focuses on domestic threats, one portion is devoted to Jerusalem, where the FBI says an influx of tourists making pilgrimages and millennial cults will increase the danger. The study also says violence in Jerusalem, a holy city for Christians, Jews and Muslims, could lead to problems in the United States and worldwide. The Project Megiddo report is named after a hill in northern Israel that has been the site of many battles. The Hebrew word Armageddon means "hill of Megiddo," the study says. The FBI report said potential targets of domestic violence include military facilities, U.N. buildings and personnel, homosexuals, foreign military units residing on U.S. bases, and institutions associated with the African American and Jewish communities and other racial and religious minorities.