'Rise of India can trigger violence in U.S.'

Friday, 17 April 2009, 21:08 IST   |    15 Comments
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New York: After protests against Indian steel and a right-wing radio show host calling Indians "slumdogs" for doing outsourced American jobs, India's rise could be a factor in triggering radical violence in the US, warns an intelligence report. Prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, the report says that Barack Obama's election as the first black president, rising unemployment because of the economic crisis, and resentment against rising India and China could revive right-wing radical extremism in the US. Granite City in Obama's home state of Illinois had witnessed protests this week over the use of Indian steel to build 1,600-mile (about 2570 km) pipeline from Canada to Oklahoma. Earlier this week, right-wing radio show host Rush Limbaugh called Indians handling outsourced jobs "slumdogs". The pugnacious conservative talk show host outraged Americans some time ago by saying that he wanted President Obama to fail. The latest intelligence report, circulated among state authorities, warns that various factors could lead to a violent backlash by conservative groups. Citing the case of 1995 Oklahoma City bomber and Gulf War hero Timothy McVeigh, who killed 165 people to avenge government clampdown on a right-wing religious sect in Texas and rural militias, the report warns that some disgruntled veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could join conservatives to "boost the capabilities of extremists... to carry out violence". Citing a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report, the intelligence document warns that some troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq had already joined extremist groups. Like McVeigh, any trained US military veteran could carry out independent attacks or help form terrorist cells, thus posing "the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States", according to the report quoted in the US media. It says the current situation has "similarities to the 1990s, when right-wing extremism experienced a resurgence fuelled largely by an economic recession, criticism about the outsourcing of jobs, and the perceived threat to US power and sovereignty by other foreign powers". Obama's election as the first black president and his proposed legislation for tighter gun controls have not gone down well with conservative groups. "The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for right-wing radicalisation and recruitment," according to the report. Apart from these domestic factors, the rising economic clout of China, India and Russia could also trigger right-wing radicalisation in the US, the intelligence report cautions.
Source: IANS
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