F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - Who will be next?

F.B.I. Watched Activist Groups, New Files Show - New York Times

Some people may thought I was joking with yesterday's story comment. Apparently not.

Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

Groups like PETA, Greenpeace, and the Catholic Workers group have all been targeted by the FBI. Why?

One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to conduct surveillance as part of a "Vegan Community Project." Another document talks of the Catholic Workers group's "semi-communistic ideology." A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

I am particularly intrigued by the equation of Catholic Workers with Communists. Catholic Workers group is anti-poverty. Communists are anti-poverty. Therefore, Catholic Workers group is Communist!

No, they're really not.