I am writing to elaborate on your Jan. 16 editorial “The real victims of ecoterrorism.” ELF insists that it is a legitimate wing of the environmental movement, pointing out that any successful social movement has included a variety of tactics. But mainstream environmentalists disavow these tactics and see ELF for what it is–an organization of (literally) garden-variety terrorists. Those of us working to change policy in this field have our work cut out for us with the Bush administration, and the “help” of ELF only hinders us, no matter how we feel about its purpose.
Furthermore, as an observer of the links between environmental resources and international security, I know that environmental resources themselves are a vulnerable target for any sort of terrorist, especially those calling themselves “environmentalists.” Wait until they decide that torching homes, offices and trucks is no longer sufficient to deter development, and decide to wash out a whole subdivision by blowing up a dam.
