FBI's Operation Vigilant Eagle To Target Nutbag Vets

Apparently, the DHS' asinine and worthless intelligence assessment (which required an embarassing apology from Napolitano) about garden-variety "right-wing extremism" was part of a broader law enforcement effort to round up veterans wrapped up in militant/white supremacy organizations. The WSJ has broken a major story on "Operation Vigilant Eagle" which was started late in the Bush organization:

The documents outlining Operation Vigilant Eagle cite a surge in activity by such groups. The memos say the FBI's focus on veterans began as far back as December, during the final weeks of the Bush administration, when the bureau's domestic counterterrorism division formed a special joint working group with the Defense Department.

A Feb. 23 draft memo from FBI domestic counterterrorism leaders, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, cited an "increase in recruitment, threatening communications and weapons procurement by white supremacy extremist and militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups."

I'm willing to give the FBI the benefit of the doubt for right now, since they have more information than the public is not privy to and I understand that law enforcement is an essential part of society (and am grateful for their service). And, certainly, if there's some shithead looking to commit violence against the President because he's part of the ZOG machine or some nonsense, take 'em down. But if the broadly-worded DHS intelligence assessment that could've been penned by Barney Fife is any indicator of how squared away this operation is being run, then there's reason to believe some veterans are going to get wrapped up in this dragnet. All the more impetuous for me to go be an ex-pat in T-land, but I'm a little concerned about everyone else who has worn the uniform.

It's a weird time to be a veteran, because the all-voluntary military lends itself to a fragmentation between civilian society. Also, the relative small percentage of this generation involved in Iraq or Afghanistan easily leads to misunderstandings. I wouldn't say that veterans are some kind of persecuted minority, because Americans have treated vets great on a personal level (at least in my lifetime). But being a such a small group can mean one jackass's actions tar an entire group of people (see Timothy McVeigh).