Investigative Project on Terrorism demonstrates “acts of staged controversy”

I just yesterday reported about how Saul Alinsky’s strategy (Rule 13) in “Rules for Radicals” is being used to whip up a frenzy of anger against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  This effort is not just to ‘get Joe,’ it’s to move the political debate, using Joe, to plant the seeds in peoples’ minds that there is widespread prejudice, and law enforcement abuse, against immigrants.

Indeed one of the over-arching  principles of the Alinsky school of ‘community organizing’ is to create controversy (crisis!) in order to bring about change.   Sound familiar?   I realized as I began writing this today the word we heard so often when I was a kid was “agitator,”  and that is exactly what this is although somehow that word has been exorcized from public use by the political correctness crowd.  Regular folks don’t want to be agitated and when they are they demand political leaders to “change” something to relieve the stress created by the agitators.

So, now to the extremely enlightening report by Madeleine Gruen and Edward Sloan last week at the Investigative Project on Terrorism in which they ask  “Are Acts of Staged Controversy an Islamist Strategic Tactic?”    Think Alinsky and stealth jihad as you read this.

Through careful study of terrorist incidents and investigations and study of the histories of the terrorist groups, U.S. law enforcement officers, security officials, and intelligence analysts have developed an understanding of the tactics, techniques and procedures used by terrorists preparing for and conducting attacks. Professionals can usually distinguish between a truly suspicious incident and benign behavior. However, there is a third category of non-violent activities that is more difficult to identify, which we will refer to as “acts of staged controversy.”

There are some cases where witnesses describe actors’ behavior as “odd” yet very overt—behavior apparently designed to attract attention. Viewed under differing prisms, the behavior could be classified as either benign or as some type of terrorist activity. Decision makers and practitioners should consider the possibility that certain incidents are staged or that they are escalated by manipulation of the media and the legal system to create controversy and to provoke a response to serve strategic purposes.

It is very difficult to prove ulterior intentions behind what we are referring to as “acts of staged controversy.” Perhaps these acts are deliberately provocative. Or, it is possible these are innocent events that may be seized upon by advocacy groups for political gain. We present this hypothesis to provide an alternative way of analyzing these types of incidents.

The authors go on to discuss two cases in which CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) whipped a couple of incidents into a national political and media frenzy.

Last week I told you about how CAIR has written to Attorney General Holder to demand the Justice Department look into alleged acts of “Muslim bashing.”  Two of those cases are ones we have followed here at RRW.   Go back and check what they said in their letter and consider whether you are witnessing “Rules for Radicals” before your very eyes.   Was the letter an ‘act of staged controversy?’    You bet it was.

So what do Gruen and Sloan say the goal of such agitation is?

For example, acts of staged controversy could be used to:

*Cause Muslims to feel disaffection for the democratic system by promoting feelings of betrayal and abandonment.

*Convince Muslim Americans that they are not accepted as Americans. Acts of staged controversy provoke a response from authorities that can foment an “us vs. them” rift between Muslims and non-Muslims.

*Incite political divides that may ultimately cause political instability.

*Influence legislators to call for laws to outlaw profiling and/or repeal existing laws such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Patriot Act.

*Draw attention from foreign media in an attempt to show that the U.S. rhetoric about acceptance is hollow.

Acts of staged controversy could also be exploited by groups who seek to use violence. For example, acts of staged controversy could be used to:

*Desensitize security personnel by making activity that common sense would deem suspicious instead seem routine and not worth any special effort.

*Intimidate security personnel and citizens by threatening lawsuits; making them reluctant to report suspicious behavior.

Radical Islamists have learned their lessons well from their radical Leftwing compatriots.

All of our discussions on Alinsky’s radical teachings are archived, appropriately, in our community destabilization category.

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