An interesting article in The Conversation published on 27 January assesses the the Oath-Keepers in the USA and its recruitment drive among military veterans.
What was also of interest is the way women are being used by this group to recruit, disseminate propaganda, and raise funds. This, as the article notes,
While some believe that with with indictments the appeal of this group may decline it nonetheless is of concern that although the leaders may end up in jail, the recruitment of men and women to this organisation may well continue.
In the UK a group known as Alpha Men Assemble [a predominantly anti-vax organisation] is likewise turning to recruiting former military personnel and promoting violence. In the UK anti-vaxxers have targeted many schools and at least one Covid testing site
That article also notes:
That such extreme organisations are appealing to former military personnel [and their skills] in their attempts to challenge democratic governments has some very disturbing historical parallels.
One wonders if Rhodes going to write his very own Mein Kampf if he ends up behind bars.
https://theconversation.com/behind-t...ilitary-175322
The Oath Keepers were founded by Rhodes in 2009 as an anti-government group in response to the Obama presidency. [...]
The group’s name implies a mandate to honor their oath to the U.S. Constitution, and in particular to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
But its founding inspiration was precisely the opposite: challenging a legitimate president and commander in chief out of animosity toward what Barack Obama stood for. Since then, the Oath Keepers have armed and broadcast plans to mobilize.
The Oath Keepers may number in the thousands, yet we believe they present a greater threat than their membership suggests. This is partly because the Oath Keepers actively recruit current and retired members of the armed forces.
As UMass Lowell terrorism expert and our research collaborator, Arie Perliger, has shown in his work, Oath Keepers members are likely better trained militarily than other extremist groups because of the group’s composition.
About 10% of the Oath Keepers are active-duty military, and around two-thirds are retired military or law enforcement, according to analysis of the group’s membership by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Several Oath Keepers present at the Jan. 6 attack were veterans, such as Larry Brock, the so-called “zip-tie guy” due to his being photographed with the makeshift handcuffs.
According to an analysis of court and Pentagon records by CNN, as many as 14% of those charged with crimes related to storming the Capitol served in the military. This is double the proportion of veterans in the general American adult population.
Military members are desirable to extremist groups because they bring special skills such as experience with weapons, targeting and combat experience. According to the indictment, the Oath Keepers used a “stack,” or staggered military formation, to breach the Capitol.
As our previous research demonstrated, the processes of radicalization in an extremist group movement is in many ways similar to military training. Those with military backgrounds possess not only the skills that radical groups seek, but also the psychological readiness for violent conflict that is rare among civilians.
The rise in radicalization within the ranks of the military can be observed in the increasing proportion of domestic terrorism acts in the U.S. involving active-duty and reserve personel, from 0% in 2018 to 1.5% in 2019 and 6.4% in 2020, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The number of Americans with military ties classified as extremists quadrupled in recent years, according to Michael Jensen and other researchers at the University of Maryland’s Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism center. An increase in radical ideology among members of the U.S. military makes it a fertile ground for recruiting by groups such as the Oath Keepers.
A 2019 poll of active-duty troops found that around 1 in 3 (36%) reported personally witnessing “White nationalism and ideologically-driven racism” among their peers. This included the use of racist language, but also swastikas drawn on service members’ cars and stickers supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
This high proportion reflects a significant increase from the previous year: In a 2018 poll, 1 in 5 (22%) active military troops had reported witnessing such behavior. As well as posing a risk due to their weapons training, active and former military personnel pose a greater threat as members of right-wing militia groups. Unlike civilians, military people must take an oath, pledging allegiance to their country and the institutions of democracy enshrined in the Constitution.
When they align with groups like the Oath Keepers and plan an attack on the U.S. government, these military personnel betray their oath. This kind of hypocrisy is known in psychology as cognitive dissonance – an uncomfortable psychological state that arises when one’s actions contradict one’s self-image, causing a motivation to “double-down” to justify one’s actions. It is the reason that painful, embarrassing or humiliating initiation rites are often effective in radicalizing new members. The additional psychological cost of cognitive dissonance may mean military members of the Oath Keepers are more committed to their new allegiance after they turn away from their old one.
The Oath Keepers were founded by Rhodes in 2009 as an anti-government group in response to the Obama presidency. [...]
The group’s name implies a mandate to honor their oath to the U.S. Constitution, and in particular to “defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
But its founding inspiration was precisely the opposite: challenging a legitimate president and commander in chief out of animosity toward what Barack Obama stood for. Since then, the Oath Keepers have armed and broadcast plans to mobilize.
The Oath Keepers may number in the thousands, yet we believe they present a greater threat than their membership suggests. This is partly because the Oath Keepers actively recruit current and retired members of the armed forces.
As UMass Lowell terrorism expert and our research collaborator, Arie Perliger, has shown in his work, Oath Keepers members are likely better trained militarily than other extremist groups because of the group’s composition.
About 10% of the Oath Keepers are active-duty military, and around two-thirds are retired military or law enforcement, according to analysis of the group’s membership by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Several Oath Keepers present at the Jan. 6 attack were veterans, such as Larry Brock, the so-called “zip-tie guy” due to his being photographed with the makeshift handcuffs.
According to an analysis of court and Pentagon records by CNN, as many as 14% of those charged with crimes related to storming the Capitol served in the military. This is double the proportion of veterans in the general American adult population.
Military members are desirable to extremist groups because they bring special skills such as experience with weapons, targeting and combat experience. According to the indictment, the Oath Keepers used a “stack,” or staggered military formation, to breach the Capitol.
As our previous research demonstrated, the processes of radicalization in an extremist group movement is in many ways similar to military training. Those with military backgrounds possess not only the skills that radical groups seek, but also the psychological readiness for violent conflict that is rare among civilians.
The rise in radicalization within the ranks of the military can be observed in the increasing proportion of domestic terrorism acts in the U.S. involving active-duty and reserve personel, from 0% in 2018 to 1.5% in 2019 and 6.4% in 2020, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The number of Americans with military ties classified as extremists quadrupled in recent years, according to Michael Jensen and other researchers at the University of Maryland’s Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism center. An increase in radical ideology among members of the U.S. military makes it a fertile ground for recruiting by groups such as the Oath Keepers.
A 2019 poll of active-duty troops found that around 1 in 3 (36%) reported personally witnessing “White nationalism and ideologically-driven racism” among their peers. This included the use of racist language, but also swastikas drawn on service members’ cars and stickers supporting the Ku Klux Klan.
This high proportion reflects a significant increase from the previous year: In a 2018 poll, 1 in 5 (22%) active military troops had reported witnessing such behavior. As well as posing a risk due to their weapons training, active and former military personnel pose a greater threat as members of right-wing militia groups. Unlike civilians, military people must take an oath, pledging allegiance to their country and the institutions of democracy enshrined in the Constitution.
When they align with groups like the Oath Keepers and plan an attack on the U.S. government, these military personnel betray their oath. This kind of hypocrisy is known in psychology as cognitive dissonance – an uncomfortable psychological state that arises when one’s actions contradict one’s self-image, causing a motivation to “double-down” to justify one’s actions. It is the reason that painful, embarrassing or humiliating initiation rites are often effective in radicalizing new members. The additional psychological cost of cognitive dissonance may mean military members of the Oath Keepers are more committed to their new allegiance after they turn away from their old one.
What was also of interest is the way women are being used by this group to recruit, disseminate propaganda, and raise funds. This, as the article notes,
The hidden face of extremism is often female, as our previous research on the subject has shown. In Jihadi groups, women were crucial for fundraising, disseminating propaganda and recruiting men for the cause. Women in Jihadi organizations, like al-Qaeda recruiter Malika el Aroud, were able to shame men into participating in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
On her website, minbar.sos, Aroud exhorted men to step up to prove that they were real men.
We see comparable dynamics in American right-wing extremist groups and the ways in which women weaponize toxic masculinity.
On her website, minbar.sos, Aroud exhorted men to step up to prove that they were real men.
We see comparable dynamics in American right-wing extremist groups and the ways in which women weaponize toxic masculinity.
While some believe that with with indictments the appeal of this group may decline it nonetheless is of concern that although the leaders may end up in jail, the recruitment of men and women to this organisation may well continue.
In the UK a group known as Alpha Men Assemble [a predominantly anti-vax organisation] is likewise turning to recruiting former military personnel and promoting violence. In the UK anti-vaxxers have targeted many schools and at least one Covid testing site
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...style-militias
The AMA is also openly seeking UK veterans, an approach that overlaps with US militia activities. Telegram messages suggest a number of ex-service personnel have already joined. One, referencing a scene from the dystopian film The Matrix, calls himself a “red pilled veteran”. Another states: “I’m English. Ex RAF. My mission statement was a ‘force for good’. I believed in that.”
The AMA is also openly seeking UK veterans, an approach that overlaps with US militia activities. Telegram messages suggest a number of ex-service personnel have already joined. One, referencing a scene from the dystopian film The Matrix, calls himself a “red pilled veteran”. Another states: “I’m English. Ex RAF. My mission statement was a ‘force for good’. I believed in that.”
That article also notes:
Recent posts from the AMA’s official Telegram channel, which has 7,000 subscribers, encourage members to adopt anti-surveillance techniques by using “burner phones” and advise people to “communicate off line” with CB and ham radios.
Other posts seen by the Observer promise supporters that “you will be taught self-defence at each AMA meeting” with “professional men” and told to “aquire [sic] a black style uniform”.
Other posts seen by the Observer promise supporters that “you will be taught self-defence at each AMA meeting” with “professional men” and told to “aquire [sic] a black style uniform”.
That such extreme organisations are appealing to former military personnel [and their skills] in their attempts to challenge democratic governments has some very disturbing historical parallels.
One wonders if Rhodes going to write his very own Mein Kampf if he ends up behind bars.
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