By Madison Ruppert | Editor of End the Lie

A newly released document, originally published by the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group in 2011, reveals that the Army has guidelines just as insane as other government agencies that consider ordinary bodily movements and just about everything else an indicator of potential terrorist activity.

From the U.S. Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group’s “Radicalization into Violent Extremism” document (Click Image for bigger version)

At this point, it is almost comical how many things can be considered an indicator of terrorism including bumper stickers, boisterous groups of Middle Eastern males and even educational or trade school information.

The nearly endless list of indicators just got longer with documents (PDF courtesy of Danger Room) uncovered by Danger Room which reveal that the U.S. military actually considers having “peculiar discussions” a sign that you might suddenly murder your colleagues along with “believ[ing] in government conspiracies to the point of paranoia.”

Other warning signs include recently changing your “choices in entertainment,” “complain[ing] about bias,” being “socially withdrawn” and being frustrated with “mainstream ideologies.”

The Army claims that “Risk Factors for Radicalization” include “youth” and “social networks,” both of which are so common that one might conclude that the vast majority of young people are potential terrorists.

Of course, some of the warning signs they include are somewhat legitimate, although still hardly conclusive, including “inquir[ing] about weapons of mass effects,” “attempt[ing] to recruit others to extremist causes,” and “stor[ing] or collect[ing] mass weapons or hazardous materials.”

However, none of these are necessarily criminal and some of the “Actions conducted by the subject that would indicate violent or terroristic planning activities that warrant investigation” are outright laughable.

One of the more insane indicators includes “suddenly acquir[ing] weapons,” which could mean that anyone who goes out and buys a gun could be seen as possibly planning terroristic activities.

Others are “organiz[ing] protests inspired by extremist ideology,” “establish[ing] website/blog to display extremist views” and “visit[ing] extremist websites/blogs.”

The glaring issue here is that these documents don’t specifically describe what “extremist” views are, which means just about anyone can be included under this troublingly large umbrella.

The Army’s “’indicators’ of radicalization are vague enough to include both benign behaviors that lots of people safely exhibit and, on the other end of the spectrum, signs that someone is so obviously a terrorist they shouldn’t need to be pointed out. It’s hard to tell if the group is being politically correct or euphemistic,” writes Spencer Ackerman for Danger Room.

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