We noted last year that WorldNetDaily had been fretting that “a U.S. Army anti-terrorism brief from Fort Liberty, North Carolina, identified various pro-life organizations as terrorist groups.” That continued in an October 2024 article by Bob Unruh:
The U.S. Army has issued a letter admitting it was wildly wrong when it used an “awareness training” program that falsely labeled the pro-life Operation Rescue, the National Right to Life and other organizations as “terrorist.”
“The terror awareness training presented to soldiers at Fort Liberty on July 10, 2024, inaccurately referenced non-profit public advocacy organizations National Right to Life, Operation Rescue, Earth First, Earth Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Front and PETA as terrorist groups, which is inconsistent with the Army’s antiterrorist policy and training,” confirmed a letter to Rep. Jim Banks, chief of the subcommittee on military personnel.
But Unruh omitted why the Army may have reasonably believed that Operation Rescue was linked to terrorism. Scott Roeder, who murdered abortion doctor George Tiller at his church in 2009, was found to have in his car after his crime a note that read “Cheryl” and “Op Rescue” with a phone number. That appears to be a reference to Cheryl Sullenger, a senior policy adviser for Operation Rescue. Sullenger told the media that Roeder had contacted her several times seeking information about court hearings involving Tiller, which she provided to him. Further, Sullenger herself spent time in prison for her role in plotting to blow up an abortion clinic, in which she provided gunpowder and other material for the bomb and gave a disguise to the man who actually planted it. Sullenger later called her link to terrorism a “mistake,” which seems insufficient to describe what she actually did.
Unruh returned to the issue again when the Army issued a formal apology in a July 17 article:
The Army, caught describing pro-life members of the famed pro-life Operation Rescue organization and others as “terrorists,” already had admitted it was wrong to do that.
Now it is apologizing.
OR announced, “The Secretary of the Army Dan Driscol has issued a formal apology to Operation Rescue for mischaracterizing the pro-life organization as a terror group during a counterterrorism and security training presentation that was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers at Fort Bragg.”
Driscol said, “This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate.”
His response came in a letter to the American Center for Law and Justice, which represented Operation Rescue and its president, Troy Newman.
“I am glad to accept the Army’s apology, but the harm this has caused Operation Rescue has been incalculable,” said Newman. “Being labeled a terrorist in these troubled times has carried with it a heavy burden on my staff and me.”
[…]Newsom [sic] confirmed the damage.
“For years Army trainers falsely told thousands of soldiers that Operation Rescue posed a terror threat to our country. The damage this has caused our nonviolent organization is something that cannot be undone with a simple apology, no matter how sincere.
“Operation Rescue works tirelessly through all peaceful, legal means available to end the violent act of abortion, expose abortion abuses, and call for accountability to those who harm pregnant women and their babies. This work has saved countless lives and helped promote new laws that provide greater protection for the women and children for whom we advocate. Hopefully, this apology will help to finally clear our name.”
Again, Unruh failed to report Operation Rescue’s links to Roeder or Sullenger’s jail stint for plotting to bomb an abortion clinic, meaning that it was not inaccurate or inappropriate to link Operation Rescue to terrorism. He also failed to disclose that WND published a book by Newman and Sullenger on their anti-abortion activism that whitewashed Operation Rescue’s links to Roeder — or that WND hired a lawyer to threaten us for telling the truth about Operation Rescue.