I've been thinking a lot about the terrorist groups of the 60s-90s, groups like the Red Army Faction and their offshoots, eco-terrorists like the ALF and the like and wondering why the 'terrorist' groups of today are so fundamentally different. That's probably too general a topic until I get into it more, but it links into this:
https://www.oathkeepers.org/navyjack-operation-hypo-action-report/The Oathkeepers, essentially a constitutionalist militia, made an effort to join and investigate the activities of several prominent activist groups ranging from protesters to domestic terrorists. They found that groups are organised along ideological lines; socialists, communists and anarchists which interestingly also corresponds to their willingness and propensity for violence - the socialists tend to be academics who are interested in passive and nonviolent protests, communists are a mixed bag who are likely to participate in protests and low-level street violence, and the anarchists are involved almost exclusively with organised violence, property damage and personal attacks.
The most interesting thing I gleaned from that article is that the core anarchist groups are not the children throwing tantrums that they so often appear to be - while the 'foot soldiers' are often young and have no real ideology outside of fighting authority, the backbone of the movement is a large group of young men, largely ex-military or those that have spent time in prison. They're far better organised than they appear and as an organisation, have been very resilient.
Anyway, my question is, have any of you guys dealt with any of these groups? Any interesting stories, or even just leads for me to research.
