Fight eco-terrorism with law, and reason

The first, most responsible reaction to fires that charred three Street of Dreams homes in Snohomish County is condemnation of a reprehensible act. Perpetrators must be located, prosecuted and punished.

There can be no lenience for wanton acts of arson or domestic terrorism.

Beyond that, the response grows murkier. Condemnation of whom? It is not entirely clear who torched the homes. A spray-painted banner left at the scene contained the initials of the Earth Liberation Front, a group of radical environmentalists who have conducted arson before in our region.

But proving the latest case can be difficult and time-consuming.

Remember, it took nearly a decade of tenacious groundwork before investigators were able to crack a cell of ELF that was responsible for more than a dozen arsons beginning in 1996.

The FBI is investigating the fires as possible "domestic terrorism." Housing developments on urban fringes have become a target of the group.

Solving this crime will take painstaking work. The challenge is exacerbated by the fact that ELF is not a hierarchical organization. It is more ideological, thus more difficult to pinpoint and track.

Matters are not helped by dragon-breathing. One overzealous radio host, KIRO-AM's Dori Monson, foolishly said there was not much difference between the alleged eco-terrorists and law-abiding public officials who advocate environmentally-oriented public policy.

Earth-friendly laws and policies of King County Executive Ron Sims and the Metropolitan King County Council, whom Monson smeared, can be debated by reasonable people.

Monson was not reasonable. He chuckled as he said he did not consider arson that far from certain policies of Sims and the council.

Torching houses, even unoccupied ones, is a dramatic and dangerous act. It makes sense to patiently and calmly solve the crime the old-fashioned way — with careful and meticulous investigative work.