* Environmentalist writer and activist
* Former editor of the “Earth Island Journal”
* Believes that the U.S. should “give up its position as the world’s reigning Superpower”
Gar Smith is an environmental journalist. He is the former editor of Earth Island Journal, and currently edits Earth Island Institute‘s weekly “eco-zine” The-Edge. A radical environmentalist organization based in San Francisco, Earth Island Institute (EII) contends that “life on earth is imperiled by human degradation of the biosphere.” In response, the group “develops and supports projects that counteract threats to the biological and cultural diversity that sustain the environment.” EII’s agenda includes numerous measures aimed at crippling or destroying entire industries and capitalism itself. EII’s website features an online voter-registration service sponsored by Working Assets – a long-distance, wireless, and credit card company that gives financial support to such leftwing organizations as Alternet, the American Civil Liberties Union, Grassroots International, Peace Action, People For the American Way, and TomPaine.com.
Smith is also a co-founder of Environmentalists Against War – a group that, according to Smith, is “not [only] opposed to this one [Iraq] war, [but is] opposed to all wars,” regardless of the circumstances. Smith previously worked for Friends of the Earth, a group whose stated goal is to pursue “smart, effective strategies to protect the planet from one of the greatest threats ever to our environmental laws – the Bush administration.”
Since the start of the War on Terror, Smith has stressed that it was the U.S. and its dependency on foreign oil that caused the attacks of 9/11. Advising that America should “give up its position as the world’s reigning Superpower,” Smith characterizes the Bush administration’s military response to 9/11 as “self-righteous arrogance.” He further suggests that President Bush will go down in history as “another ruthless leader who ‘killed his own people’ in a mad bid for power.”
Following the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security (OHS), Smith published an article titled, “Now, That’s Real Homeland Security: 16 Ways Americans Can Feel Truly Safe Again.” The piece is filled with recommendations that would not only overhaul and likely destroy America’s capitalist economy, but would severely compromise U.S. national security. These include the following:
Smith also suggests that the U.S. government should “put a member of the American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] in the OHS [Office of Homeland Security].” This recommendation is notable because the ACLU, which ranks among the leading opponents of the USA Patriot Act, has been in the vanguard of the movement to protect and expand the civil rights and liberties of terrorists, be they on the loose or already in custody. Moreover, the ACLU is part and parcel of the open borders movement, advocating the effective dissolution of American borders, unchecked mass immigration, and amnesty and expanded rights for illegal aliens already residing in the United States.