> 1. Who/what are they?
FATF
> 2. Can they  hurt  us?
Yes, globally
> 3. If so, in what way?
Will enforce through laws in each country
> 4. How can we protect ourselves?
Go deep into anonymous networks
> 5. How can we make peace?
Might be in the far future, but only if bitcoin will gain wide adoption under pressure from the pp.3, 4
> 6. Who and/or what can help us in doing so?
Some worldwide mafia (armed force)

Carrots


Yeah. They can. The are Bitcoins arch-nemesis.


Ever got hit by one?


Rabbits!


Never! We will conquer them!


Teh rabbits!

If you do a google search, you will see that a lot of sites that handle money has been ddosed, the common scenario is this:

1. Bad guy ddos target.
2. Bad guy sends a note to target asking for nnn dollars to make the attacks stop.
3. Target either pay or strengthen his setup.

This has been done against many bookies for instance in the past.

So in my mind, the attackers that attacked mt.gox is simply criminals looking for a profit, nothing else.

More reading: http://www.silicon.com/technology/networks/2004/02/24/denial-of-service-extortion-threat-for-online-bookies-39118605/