At 9:02 AM CDT 15 years ago, 5000 pounds of explosives inside a rented truck were detonated by domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh near the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The explosion McVeigh set off was heard 30 miles away, but the emotional shock wave covered the entire country.
The terror attack killed 168 people including 19 children, destroyed half of the building and injured another 800 people.
The anti-government hate that fueled it is alive and well. It's only increasing in intensity since an African-American moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with his family.
Domestic terrorists in this country are disproportionately part of one ethnic group, and the terrorism as pointed out in a 2009 Homeland Security report is predominately coming from the right wing.
We need to be cognizant of that fact as we remember what happened 15 years ago today in Oklahoma City.The anti-government rhetoric is even more polarizing and more racist than it was during the Clinton administration.
We also need to spend as much time and effort cracking down on domestic anti-government terrorists as we do keeping an eye on al-Qaeda and breaking up their terror cells.
1 comment:
Wow, hard to believe it's been 15 years.
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