Terrorism report

From Azuwiki

Report - Intro to Army of God

The Army of God is a radical, primarily Christian anti-abortion terrorist conglomerate who believes that violence is a viable option for combatting abortion. They believe in the use of force to "defend innocent life (born and unborn)", and have targeted abortion clinics and murdered abortion doctors to achieve their ends. According to the declaration in the Army of God manual, the conglomerate officially "declared war on the entire child-killing industry". They justify their tactics through "one life for one life" - that is, to take the lives of those who perform abortions and those who advocate abortion. According to their declaration, these acts are not performed due to a hate of those who perform these abortions, but rather out of a love for the victims of abortion. A few terrorists who have attacks abortion clinics have linked themselves to the Army of God, including Clayton Waagner and Eric Rudolph.

conclusion -

2. I do not believe the Army of God has a legitmate excuse for the acts that they have committed - in fact, I find that their actions are hypocritical. They kill in order to stop killing, and perform their acts to "save innocent lives". Their actions, however, have resulted in the deaths of people not even linked to abortion, from receptionists to off-duty police officers. Even without the hypocrisy, it is hard to justify murdering another person, period. They are able to show their beliefs in other, non-violent ways, but have chosen to cross the line.

3. I think it's not exactly a factor of where one lives that determines one's stance on terrorism - rather, it's whether my people are being terrorized, or are the ones doing the terrorist acts. But since these groups pose a possible threat to the United States, I can say it shades the way I percieve their beliefs. I have never been one to agree with extreme beliefs and actions, and these terrorists are no exception. MY problem is not with their beliefs, but what they do in under the banner of their beliefs - actions that are more often than not unnecessary, and taken way too far.

The Army of God has condoned and carried out high profile attacks over the years. Eric Rudolph, apprehended in May of 2003, carried out the bombings in Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996, killing one person and wounding over 100 others, as well as for the bombings of a known abortion clinic and a gay bar, where secondary bombs were placed to go off after emergency teams arrived. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in July of 2005 to five consecutive life sentences, to avoid the death penalty. Another case involving a member of the Army of God was that of Clayton Waagner, who in November of 2001 was involved in a hoax involving white powder sent to over 500 abortions clinics with notes that claimed that they had been exposed to anthrax. He was apprehended in December of 2001 and was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison for those and other crimes.

Annotated Bibliography

"Army of God Letters Support Accused Bomber Eric Rudolph." CNN.Com. 18 Mar. 2002. 02 Sept. 2006 <http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/03/18/army.god.letters/index.html>. The group, Army of God, support Eric Rudolph who bombed abortion clinics and a lesbian club. People were killed and injured.

"Army of God." Wikipedia. 02 Sept. 2006. 08 Sept. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_God>. The actual beliefs of the Army of God group and a list of the people they support.

"Anti-Abortion Extremists | Army of God." NAF - National Abortion Federation. 12 Sept. 2006 <http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/violence/army_god.html>. A summary of what the Army of God is, and a few of their core beliefs.