The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Tuesday that he has ordered an investigation into how a unit of the Virginia State Police arrived at its conclusion that the state's colleges and universities are potential breeding grounds for terrorism.
The 2009 Virginia Terrorism Threat Assessment, produced by the Virginia Fusion Center, described Virginia campuses as "a radicalization node for almost every type of extremist group." The report singled out the state's historically black schools and Regent University, a Christian school in Virginia Beach, for special mention.
"Virginia is especially proud to be home to a number of faith-based and historically black colleges and universities," Kaine said Tuesday in a statement issued by his office.
The Fusion Center report "could be read to suggest a connection between terror or extremist groups and these universities," Kaine said. "This report is required by law and was illegally distributed to the public. However, I find the depictions in the report misleading and believe it improperly implicates these fine academic institutions."
In the absence of specific evidence of a link to potential terrorist activity, he said, "it is improper to single out these institutions for special mention."
Kaine said he has initiated an investigation of the "methodologies and process" that led to the report, "and I expect these concerns to be resolved in the near future."
The Virginia Fusion Center is an intelligence-gathering clearinghouse funded in part by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It operates out of State Police headquarters in Chesterfield County.
Disseminating information received from the Fusion Center is a misdemeanor.
The 2009 terrorism assessment was intended for distribution to law enforcement, intelligence and military organizations, not the general public, but it wound up being widely circulated on the Internet. Its contents were described Sunday in The Virginian-Pilot.
The American Civil Liberties Union has said the report makes unwarranted assumptions based on race, religion and other demographic data and could have a chilling effect on Virginians' First Amendment rights.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com
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The same
I agree MrBen that it's not partisan. It's Bi-Partisan,it's the GOVERNMENT. That's the problem! Republicans and Democrats are the same now a day's after all. All they are concerned about is power and keeping control of that power. Read, getting re-elected.
Mr.Pratt, what do you call a police force that the people it is tasked with protecting are prohibited from knowing anything at all about what or how it operates, what it knows, or what it plans to do with the information it collects about the people? Now I never called it a "secret police" force but that sounds accurate to me now that YOU mention it. Domestic terrorist no doubt do exist, but not to the degree in the USA that the wide net the fusion centers are casting is helpful in identifying them. They only muddy the water. It's like searching ALL the little old ladies at the airport along with all the Middle Easterners. Also remember that this was leaked. It makes me wonder what else they are up to and in light of the recent leaks here and in other states along with Napolitano's attitude towords the whole thing, I believe a little suspision is not an over reaction but entirely reasonable and warranted.
Attn: TR
If you'd read my comment more carefully, you'd have noticed that it is conspicuously devoid of finger-pointing at any particular political party. I called Kaine's public outrage a farce, but I did not call it a farce simply because he is a Democrat. I did not state that one should keep a watchful eye on the Government because Democrats control the legislative branch at the federal level. Let me make myself clearer. It used to be that the Government targeted people with bombs strapped to their chests, now they're targeting veterans, college students, and folks that support certain political candidates (see previous leaks from other states), tomorrow any one of us could be targeted for performing any of a number of legal activities.
Domestic Terror happens in the real world
Short of omniscience or burying our heads in the sand, some real world preventative measures are wanted. The fusion center seems one reasonable preventative measure in that it seeks to provide law enforcement with greater awareness of possible threats to our region. It is fair to disagree with that assessment but to claim they are one step away from the secret police is plainly nonsense.
Paranoia in Bizarro World
Only in Bizzaro World would the inhabitants PAY , to form a group of investigators , to collect information against the inhabitants and then pass a law to make it illegal to release the collected information to the inhabitants who pay for the collection. That's like city council paying for a study and then asking not to be told the results. That's stupid not paranoia. Besides my point was that the report was in itself stupid and that if, IF ,it were taken as written, then it could be considered that Bob McDonald COULD be a POSSIBLE terrorist because of his association with Regent University. Which, as I attempted to point out is STUPID. Just like the report. Just like the Fusion Centers and just like the opinion that we shouldn't be alarmed. I guess I am paranoid in this Bizarro World. For good reason's it appears. Anybody seen my tin hat?
Mr Ben: "Farce" is illustrated by ...
... posters with their NaziGermanyHitler = DemsObama comparisons. Surely you found the confused & frightened elderly red-sweatered woman at the McCain rally who comandeered the mic to spout out nonsense about Senator Obama being an "untrustworthy Arab" ferner both shrill and bizarre. Yet you too post equally shrill and bizzare opinions on the internets. Tis another example of in-the-weeds hysteria thats pervasive in the ranks of the hystericals that comprise an imploding political party.
cheapened through mis use
The Martin Niemöller bit you folks love to quote has been permanently degraded and made a cliche through over use and mis-use. When you use a sentiment like that to mean everything it doesn't mean anything. Concratualations, through you hyerpbole and hysteria, you cheapened another formerly geniune thing. The quote is now ripe for parady. Watch for it appearing as a Faux news tag line or perhaps a jingle for an investment bank . . .
and give us back that flag you've wrapped yourself in. You're soiling it too!
The color of the sky?
But, going by the implication of the report, I would say it's not that far of a streach.
only in bizarro world is your little paranoid dance "not much of a stretch." The report says, in essence, our area has a large number of attractive areas in which terrorists can hide and foment-- think of them like potentially high crime areas. Let law enforcement officials deal with it. The rest of us should be vigilent but go back to our lives, with or without tin foil hats as is our preference
Farce...
The only reason Kaine's pissed is because the information was leaked to us normal folk. He can feign anger at the contents of the report all that he wants, but he'll never convince me that he truly has a problem with the reports the Fusion Center is generating. Wake up folks, the Government is conspiring at every level to rob us of our liberties.
In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
- Martin Niemöller
Curious
I'm curious. Since Regent is mentioned as a possible terrorist breeding ground and then you read the article in the paper the next day about how Bob McDonald graduated from Regent and has been the recipient of over 80K in campaign contributions over the years from Regent, is he now considered as a possible terrorist or to having been known to associate with possible terrorist? I would think obviously he's not a terrorist. But, going by the implication of the report, I would say it's not that far of a streach. They need to dissolve the Fusion Centers and start paying attention to real threats like border control and Muslim extremist.
The Real Idiots
The real idiots are the likes of Tim Kaine. These socialist wacko nuts do nothing but investigate anything that will get them in the headlines. Tim Kaine is the worst VA Governor this state has ever seen. Good riddance.