Leftwing Terrorism

LEFT-WING EXTREMISM: The Current Threat (2001)
 
“Leftist extremists were responsible for three-fourths of the officially designated acts of terrorism in America in the 1980s… Between 1988 and 1998, 13, 858 people died in attacks committed by the 10 most active terrorist organizations in the world… When all of the deaths attributed to these groups are compared, leftist organizations were responsible for 10,198 or 74 percent of all people killed by the 10 major terrorist groups during this time period (Omestad, et al., 1999). From an international perspective, leftist terrorism is alive and well…
 
At present, the black liberation movements in the United States are following a political and community-based agenda, unlike the 1970s when the agenda also included terrorist activities. However, the nationalist movement of the 1970s, which initially had the same agenda, resulted in extremists within the movement forming several terrorist groups including the Black Liberation Army and the Republic of New Africa. Some of the members of those groups are still incarcerated or living in Cuba…
 
Citizens in the United States have a right to their beliefs and to express those beliefs even if they advocate creating a new nation within the boundaries of the United States.

However, recent history proves there is always a possibility that a few extremists may be attracted to these causes, left and right, who decide to use terrorist tactics to achieve their goals. The challenge to law enforcement and security is not to interfere with the rights of individuals to express their beliefs while also providing a means for the early identification of extremists who are planning criminal actions…
 
The threat to the United States government from leftist extremists has decreased
considerably in the past decade, but it has not disappeared. There are individuals and organizations within the United States who maintain the same ideology that resulted in the growth of left-wing terrorism in this country in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the leaders from that era are still communicating from Cuba with their followers in the United States, and new leaders and groups are emerging.”