Police Killed In Domestic Terrorist Bank Bombing

In an apparent outrageous and criminal act of domestic terrorism at a bank in Woodburn, Oregon two policemen were killed and the police chief seriously wounded in a bombing. Such attacks at banks including robberies are often part of right wing extremist terrorist attacks. In Washington state, right wing terrorists once attacked an armored car in an attempt to but more arms to create a race war in America. Programs such as AMERICA'S MOST WANTED have sometimes featured stories about such deadly acts of right wing terrorism in the U.S. that are every bit as deadly as Al Qaeda violence.

In the Woodburn, Oregon bombing, a shadowy caller apparently lured police first to a Wells Fargo Bank to investigate a device found to be harmless, but then made a second call to West Coast Bank. While attempting to investigate this second device, it blew up killing a Woodburn police office and an Oregon state bomb detail expert. The police chief of Woodburn remains in critical condition. In many ways this disgusting act of violence is so similar to Al Qaeda ambushes of police officers in Iraq that it should be taken very seriously as an act of domestic terrorism. The ATF is investigating this act of cowardly violence and a $35,000 dollar reward has been offered.

Right wing political extremists are freely allowed to distribute books and literature at gun shows such as those held at the Expo Center in North Portland that only encourage bomb making and domestic terrorist activities. Yet the managers of the Expo Center fail to act to stop this dangerous potential to instruct political extremists or the mentally ill in violence such as bomb making skills. And for legitimate gun collectors or dealers, such political extremists only undermine the quality of events meant for law abiding gun collectors or hunters.

Friends of the police victims of this violence have praised the officers for their wonderful character, sense of community and selfless roles of public safety promotion. It is very sad that such an act of violence was planned by a criminal in this holiday season when so many in the police and fire community are involved in programs to help the less fortunate. A female bank worker also suffered some injuries from this deliberate act of violence meant to kill persons ambush style.

State and federal authorities need to crack down hard on the persons responsible for this violence before they are allowed to create more acts of mayhem. Such lawless violence is not acceptable in a free and orderly society. And political violence undermines democracy as well.