Terrorism: more than just al-Qaeda may be in your back yard Published May 2, 2006 By Senior Airman Travis Edwards 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFPN) -- In the wake of the attacks that took place on Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Defense implemented new initiatives to thwart future attacks on U.S. soil. These measures were called “threat conditions.” It wasn’t until 2004 that the Defense Department revamped threatcon procedures into what are now known as Force Protection Conditions, or FPCONs. The old threat conditions were just not specific enough, said an anti-terrorism official. “We needed these new measures to not only prevent attacks from foreign terrorists, but domestic ones as well. “These might not be the terrorists you’re thinking of,” he said. While not al-Qaeda or Hamas, domestic extremist groups can include white-supremacist groups like the National Alliance, or animal activist groups like the Animal Liberation Front. These domestic extremist groups, among others, have been linked to such terrorist acts as arson, racial beatings, vandalism and murder. Domestic terrorist groups can be placed into three categories. The first category is right-wing terrorism, which means, adhering to principles of racial supremacy and antigovernment, anti-regulatory beliefs, such as hate groups and militia movements. The second category is left-wing terrorism, which follows revolutionary socialist doctrine, and is against capitalism and imperialism. Anarchists are seen as potential terrorists here. The third category is special-interest terrorism, which is the influencing of specific issues rather than affecting broad change. “As Americans, we are ignoring these domestic extremist groups because of the huge influence the mass media in our country is putting on international terrorists,” the official said. There are five force-protection conditions that help keep installations at home safe from foreign and domestic terrorists: Normal, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. Each of the conditions denotes a different level of security for the base. All of these steps are essential to the protection a base and our country, the official said. There are also some steps people can take at home to possibly prevent terrorist action. If you see suspicious activity or are confronted by an extremist group, the official said, disassociate yourself from the situation and call authorities. When you do that, try to remember who the people were, how many were in the group, who the leader was, whether they were male or female, what message they were trying to convey and other pertinent information, he said. “The worst thing anyone can do is not report a suspicious activity,” he said. “Because that one thing you don’t report could mean all the difference. “Remember, we have to be lucky all the time. The terrorists, have to be lucky only once.”