The American Al-Qaeda

They seek to force their will upon those they feel are not following the laws in which they believe. They will not hesitate to use violence as a means to publicly assert their cause.

They spread their vitriolic messages utilizing the Internet. The horror of their assaults invades our homes on nightly newscasts.

However, unlike their middle east counterparts, these terrorists are on our soil. This terrorist is home grown and they operate under the guise of the moniker "eco-terrorist". meet the American Al-Qaeda, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF).

"The time has come to decide what is more important: the planet and the health of its population or the profits of those who destroy it."

Around 4AM on Monday March 3, 2008, the quiet tranquility of the Seattle area night was interrupted by the sounds of sirens. Many sirens.

Four multimillion-dollar homes along a Street of Dreams in Snohomish County, Washington were ablaze. Three were lost and two were saved. The fifth home, while set for destruction, did not ignite.

The FBI is investigating the fires as a possible "domestic terrorism act", said FBI spokesman Fred Gutt in Seattle. The Snohomish County sheriff's Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives also are participating as part of the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Authorities estimated that Monday's fires did over $7 million in damage to the Street of Dreams. Named the Street of Dreams, this developmental project was comprised of a row of luxury model homes.The homes were promoted and designed to be eco-friendly.

These so called "green" houses were to include such features such as formaldehyde-free materials, energy-efficient appliances and landscaping that included idiginous plants.

Whether or not they were indeed green really does not matter. Acting as judge, jury and executioner, the ELF denied that the homes were indeed green and for that crime against the environment, their sentence was death. Death in the form of destroying these beautiful homes.

The ELF left behind a sign that read, "Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green. ELF." An RCD is a building code designation referring to a project in a rural cluster development.

The homes destroyed on the Street of Dreams, ranged between 4,200 and 4,750 square feet in size. They were selling at prices around $2Million dollars each.

Let's go ahead and drop the prefix "eco" from the eco-terrorist. Make no mistake, these environmental Jonestownians have partaken of the worst kind of Kool-Aid. They believe that capitalism infringes upon Mother Earth, and they will use any means necessary to spew their hate and inflict their economic sabotage.

It is believed that The ELF was founded in the England in 1992. They quickly grew and spread throughout Europe by 1994. It is now an international terrorist group with operations reported in over a dozen countries. ELF members, like their cultural Jihadist brethren, have pledged their lives to their cause.

They are maniacal in their mission to destroy the profitability of residential development and industrial progress. They shroud themselves in the cover of darkness to wreak havoc in their war against Capitalistic advancement that, in their sole discretion, causes environmental destruction.

The ELF operates in cells embedded in communities across the world. Sound familiar?

How dangerous is this organization? The ELF was classified as the top domestic terror threat in the United States by the FBI in March 2001. The United States Department of Homeland Security concurred that the Earth Liberation Front is the most serious threat to our nation.

Not convinced that the Earth Liberation Front are true terrorists? Here is some information taken from their published mission statement explaining what their cause is:

a. To inflict maximum economic damage on those profiting from the destruction and exploitation of the natural environment.

b.To reveal to, and to educate the public about the atrocities committed against the earth and all species that populate it.

c. To take all necessary precautions against harming any animal - human and nonhuman.

Sounds fanatical to me. This is eerily reminiscent of the same hatred we have heard from Islamic extremists. The foundational basis for these organizations is clear. They seek to eradicate anything they deem contrary to their beliefs.

Just as you can not negotiate with Islamic extremists, you can not negotiate with the ELF. While a great deal of their attention is focused on real estate developments, the ELF will attack any business in any industry that they judge to be guilty of exploiting Mother Earth.

In a 2001 incident, ELF members burned 35 SUVs at a Eugene, Ore., car dealership. This attack was reportedly executed as a show of solidarity and support for a fellow anarchist elf who was standing trial on a previous arson incident.

Monkeywrenching, described as economic warfare by means of sabotage, is the ELF's main avenue of choice for imposing their will. This monkeywrenching can be carried out upon everything from the logging industry, to genetic research, to automobile manufacturing and sales...and of course, real estate development.

The FBI's most recent report in 2005 noted that there had been over 1,200 "criminal incidents" amounting to tens of millions of dollars worth of damage.

We are not talking about you're average group of treehuggers here. We are speaking about cold-hearted ruthless terrorists who have a insatiable desire for economic bloodletting and who revel in the use of explosives and incendiary devices. A suburban IED if you will.

"While innocent life will never be harmed in any action we undertake, where it is necessary, we will no longer hesitate to pick up the gun to implement justice, and provide the needed protection for our planet that decades of legal battles, pleading, protest, and economic sabotage have failed so drastically to achieve."

Somewhere, somebody knows where this evil lurks. It eats, it walks, and it lives among us. Unfortunately in this instance it is not a half a world away.

It's here, in America, and it wants to take away our freedom and our streets of dreams.

As a Nation, as an individual American and as a real estate industry professional, we can not let them succeed.