A Leak Just Revealed The Counterterrorism Tactics Used Against Standing Rock Pipeline Protestors

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http://washingtonjournal.com/2017/05/28/leak-just-revealed-counterterrorism-tactics-used-standing-rock-pipeline-protestors/


The Washington Journal
A Leak Just Revealed The Counterterrorism Tactics Used Against Standing Rock Pipeline Protestors

By Brian Tyler Cohen
Politics
Published on May 28, 2017


Energy Transfer Partners, the company responsible for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, came under fire almost immediately for employing vicious tactics to suppress protestors, known as “water protectors.” These tactics were carried out by a private mercenary and security firm known as TigerSwan. According to over 100 leaked documents obtained by The Intercept, TigerSwan used the same “military-style counterterrorism measures” against the water protectors as the government used when it originally hired the firm as a U.S. military and State Department contractor.

TigerSwan’s internal communications describe the “No DAPL” (No Dakota Access Pipeline) movement in the same terms as they use to describe jihadists in the global war on terror: “an ideologically driven insurgency with a strong religious component.”

An internal report suggested that since the movement “generally followed the jihadist insurgency model while active, we can expect the individuals who fought for and supported it to follow a post-insurgency model after its collapse. While we can expect to see the continued spread of the anti-DAPL diaspora … aggressive intelligence preparation of the battlefield and active coordination between intelligence and security elements are now a proven method of defeating pipeline insurgencies.”

The reports further suggest that TigerSwan not only employed a “sweeping and invasive surveillance” program aimed at the protestors, but shared information with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials, including the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, the U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.