U.S. urged to probe extremists in military

MONTGOMERY, Ala., July 10 (UPI) -- A prominent U.S. civil rights organization Friday urged Congress to investigate reports of "racial extremists" serving in the military.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Montgomery, Ala., sent a letter to congressional committee chairmen with jurisdiction over homeland security and the armed services saying its own investigation had uncovered dozens of personal profiles on a neo-Nazi Web site, posted by members who listed "military" as their occupation. The letter, written by SPLC founder Morris Dees, calls attention to FBI and Department of Homeland Security reports suggesting right-wing extremists might target members of the military as prospective members.

In a release posted on its Web site, the SPLC said it had urged Congress "to take steps to ensure that the armed forces are not inadvertently training future domestic terrorists."

"Evidence continues to mount that current Pentagon policies are inadequate to prevent racial extremists from joining and serving in the armed forces," Dees wrote. "Because the presence of extremists in the armed forces is a serious threat to the safety of the American public, we believe congressional action is warranted."

The center said it had discovered about 40 personal profiles on the Internet forum New Saxon listing "military" as an occupation. The site is operated by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, the SPLC said.

One poster who said he was serving in Afghanistan said his favorite book was "The Turner Diaries" by neo-Nazi leader William Pierce. Another said he was about to be deployed overseas where he hoped to kill "all the bloody sand niggers."