Naomi Wolf: Concerns about deployment of military on U.S. soil growing...

Concerns about deployment of military on U.S. soil growing -- while mainstream media buries its head in the sand: Naomi Wolf
Submitted by BuzzFlash on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 9:40am. Guest Contribution

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION
by Naomi Wolf


The following is the spin of military spokespeople in response to questions about the deployment of the First Brigade on US soil for the first time in over 200 years.

The Army Times initially reported that the First Brigade would handle domestic crowd control and subduing 'unruly individuals' and that they had 'lethal and nonlethal technologies' to do so. Then it issued a correction declaring that the 'nonlethal' package was not for domestic crowd control. Then after a hue and cry was raised by many citizens, Northern Command (NorthCom) offered a wholesale revision of their mission – and the mainstream media is eating it up. Here is an excerpt from the articled linked to in the previous sentence:



Not only does this entirely contradict the first Army Times reports, it also egregiously misrepresents to readers the status of US law in regards to this deployment. Yes, there are laws against military policing on US streets -- they are part of both the 1807 Insurrection Act and 1879's Posse Comitatus Act -- but the Defense Authorization Act of 2007 gutted them.

Congress restored some limitations on the President's ability to deploy troops to engage in military policing in 2008 -- but President Bush issued a signing statement declaring he did not feel bound by those limitations. He also can direct these troops -- and the National Guard, and Blackwater -- to engage in military policing of civilian populations simply by verbally and unilaterally declaring a national emergency of whatever kind he wishes.

Unfortunately, the US Army spokespeople are parsing their words and misleading us. And, whatever the stated mission is today, the fact remains that military up the chain of command report to the Commander in Chief -- not to Congress or to you and me, and not to the Governors as most of the National Guard do.

Why do I insist on raising an alarm about this deployment in spite of a great deal of opposition and criticism? (Though I am grateful, too, for a great deal of support.) I insist on raising an alarm because I am aware of world events and not just blinded by American recent history.

more...

http://buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1813

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praetorian_Guard

Ms Wolf's concerns are well founded. The complacent fuckwits in Congress would do well to become better aquainted with the history of this sort of thing. Imperial guards have a striking tendency to become Imperial rulers, and not particularly good rulers either.

take out the trash. Technically it would be the truth in their eyes.

So this has been going on awhile now. They're just taking it to the next level.

Actually, I think the chaos of St. Paul is one of the things that led to this decision to bring the troops home to patrol the streets. The scenes of anarchists tackling cops and freeing arrested demonstrators, of police car windows being smashed, and of the overall unruly defiance of the crowds there, has probably made more than a few leaders a little nervous. In typical military and Republican form, instead of listening to the words of those that are rising up, they attempt to meet them with more force. And why not? It worked so well in Iraq.

:eyes:

It seems they have everything in place to try and steal this election. Then put down any protests.


:kick:

As of 2008, these changes have been repealed in their entirety, reverting to the original 1878 wording of the Posse Comitatus Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act

"Congress restored some limitations on the President's ability to deploy troops to engage in military policing in 2008 -- but President Bush issued a signing statement declaring he did not feel bound by those limitations. He also can direct these troops -- and the National Guard, and Blackwater -- to engage in military policing of civilian populations simply by verbally and unilaterally declaring a national emergency of whatever kind he wishes."

How do you do that?

and what role they may or may not have in this 'mission'.

there are other reports that large quantities of opium are being stockpiled somewhere, since it has been in short supply while production is at all time highs. Morphine is derived from opium. The thinking is that some catastrophic event will require a large supply of morphine.

I want to see some "change" to undo this bullshit Bush as started.

For the first time ever, the head of the National Guard has been made a 4 star. And there's talk of including him on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Something's up...