WE MUST STOP BEING IN PERPETUAL REACTION MODE!

[Geolibertarian]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/cfr-proposes-using-army-to-enforce-domestic-law.html

CFR Proposes Using Army To Enforce Domestic Law

Elite group calls for blatant violation of Posse Comitatus Act

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
June 4, 2012



The Council On Foreign Relations, the elite think tank long associated with globalist policy making and subversion of the principles of the US Constitution, has published an article that proposes using the army to plan and carry out domestic law enforcement missions in the US.

An article in the May/June issue of the CFR official journal, Foreign Affairs, calls for the army to address “challenges in the United States itself” with the justification being to protect Americans from terrorist attacks.

The article, written by Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Raymond T. Odierno states:

“Where appropriate we will also dedicate active-duty forces, especially those with niche skills and equipment, to provide civilian officials with a robust set of reliable and rapid response options.”

Odierno suggests that major changes within the US now deem it necessary to use the military in such a way. The General points to “declining budgets due to the country’s worsened fiscal situation”;“a shift in emphasis to the Asia-Pacific region”; and a “broadening of focus from counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and training of partners to shaping the strategic environment, preventing the outbreak of dangerous regional conflicts, and improving the army’s readiness to respond in force to a range of complex contingencies worldwide.”

Odierno suggests that the army be “transitioned” into a more “flexible force” by deploying in situations normally reserved for domestic law enforcement officials. He argues that by doing so, troops will be better equipped to deal with conflict elsewhere.

Odierno also specifically singles out The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, noting “Today’s army also has an unprecedented level of integration between its active and its reserve components… Our reserve component soldiers are better than they have ever been, and we will dedicate resources to ensure that some of them will be either deployed or ready to deploy around the globe.”

The article presents a red flag to anyone who has followed the consistent push by the federal government to militarize the police and further integrate the armed forces into domestic law enforcement.

Of course, the use of U.S. troops in law enforcement duties is a complete violation of the Posse Comitatus Act and the Insurrection Act, which substantially limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement unless under precise and extreme circumstances.

Section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act states, “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

However, despite the constitutional protections outlined in these laws, there has been and is on ongoing push to blur the divisions between military and domestic law enforcement officials.

National Guard troops are routinely involved in ‘urban warfare training’ drills. Usually such drills take place within the confines of military bases, however, more recently heavily armed troops are increasingly seen patrolling residential neighborhoods and even the downtown areas of major US cities.



Such “invasions” are often reported on as nothing to worry about and even as “cool”.

Indeed, back in 2008 the Washington Post reported how 20,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq would be stationed inside America under Northcom for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011 onwards.

Northcom officials were forced to subsequently issue a denial after the Army Times initially reported that the troops would be used to deal “with civil unrest and crowd control.”

As Alex Jones exposed back in the late 1990’s, U.S. troops have been training to impose martial law for a considerable amount of time. During numerous urban warfare drills that Jones attended and reported on, troops were trained to raid, arrest and imprison U.S. citizens in detention camps as well as taking over public buildings and running checkpoints. During role playing exercises, actors playing prisoners would scream “I’m an American citizen, I have rights” as they were being dragged away by troops.

The fact that such drills are now set to involve Russian soldiers training on U.S. soil to hunt “terrorists” has also caused consternation.

Federal authorities in the United States have clearly been preparing for domestic civil unrest for a number of years. The Department of Homeland Security recently purchased a staggering 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets as well as bullet-proof checkpoint booths that include ‘stop and go’ lights.

In addition, worrying legislation such as the National Defense Authorization Act, has paved the way for the incarceration of American citizens under military laws, and numerous leaked and semi-secret documents position the army as partners to domestic federal agencies in quelling unrest in America and even engaging in missions involving the ”resettlement” of US citizens.

[Geolibertarian]

* Abolish the NSA. (See this and this.)

http://www.prisonplanet.com/nsa-refuses-to-admit-to-spying-on-americans.html

NSA Refuses To Admit To Spying On Americans

Agency says it would “further violate” everyone’s privacy if it wasn’t a secret

Steve Watson
Infowars.com
June 18, 2012



The National Security Agency has refused to provide details on its clandestine domestic spying program, as requested by two prominent Senators, suggesting that to do so would violate the privacy of Americans.

Last month Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall of the intelligence oversight committee once again asked the NSA to divulge how many innocent Americans have had their communications monitored under the expanded Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, counterterrorism powers put into place four years ago.

The expansion of powers in 2008 eliminated the need for the NSA to have probable cause to intercept any American’s phone calls, text messages or emails.

Now Wired Magazine blog DangerRoom has acquired a letter (PDF) from the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which notes that “NSA leadership agreed that an IG review of the sort suggested would further violate the privacy of U.S. persons.”

The letter, written by I. Charles McCullough, also claims that the NSA, which has as many employees as the FBI and the CIA combined, does not have the man power to collate and reveal such details, and that to attempt to do so would jeopardize the program.

“I defer to [the NSA inspector general's] conclusion that obtaining such an estimate was beyond the capacity of his office and dedicating sufficient additional resources would likely impede the NSA’s mission,” McCullough wrote.

Senator Wyden responded with a statement Monday, noting “All that Senator Udall and I are asking for is a ballpark estimate of how many Americans have been monitored under this law, and it is disappointing that the Inspectors General cannot provide it.”

“If no one will even estimate how many Americans have had their communications collected under this law then it is all the more important that Congress act to close the ‘back door searches’ loophole, to keep the government from searching for Americans’ phone calls and emails without a warrant,” Wyden added.

Describing the NSA’s response as “disappointing and unsatisfactory,” Legal secrecy expert Steve Aftergood, of the Federation of American Scientists, believes it is unacceptable for any intelligence agency to refuse to address such an “entirely legitimate oversight question.”

“If the FISA Amendments Act is not susceptible to oversight in this way,” Aftergood said, “it should be repealed, not renewed.”

Last year, the NSA tacitly admitted that it has an active domestic spying program when the general counsel testified to a Senate hearing, overseen by Wyden and Udall, that he believes the agency has the authority to track Americans via cell phones.

“There are certain circumstances where that authority may exist,” said Matthew Olsen the Director of The National Counterterrorism Center.

Wyden and Udall have been pressing the NSA for some time to reveal whether or not the agency is collecting sensitive data on Americans such as cell site data, which would allow for tracking the location of anyone using a cell phone in the US.

Along with Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R., Utah), Wyden introduced a joint bill last year that would force any government agency to secure a search warrant and show probable cause before tracking the location of any American.

Wyden has consistently expressed concern that the law relating to surveillance is unclear, and is being “secretly interpreted by the executive branch.”

Last week, Wyden blocked the Senate from a unanimous consent vote on a bill that would extend the FISA for a further five years. He was the only Senator to take action against the proposal, which was secretly approved for a floor vote last month [.pdf], and would have otherwise passed through a virtually empty Senate chamber without objection.

In his statement, Wyden said he objects to the extension of the law because it does not contain protections against warrantless “back door” searches of Americans.

“I believe that there should be clear rules prohibiting the government from searching through these communications in an effort to find the phone calls or emails of a particular American, unless the government has obtained a warrant or emergency authorization permitting surveillance of that American,” he said.

As a candidate for president in 2008, Barack Obama promised to revisit and revise the rules of FISA to protect Americans’ rights, after he had voted for the bill as a Senator. However, as president, Obama has continued where president Bush left off in calling for extending the legislation and even actively preventing any judicial oversight of the wiretapping program.

The FISA provision, introduced in 2008, was merely a confirmation of activity that government spy agencies, including the NSA, have been engaging in for years.

The ACLU recently released an infographic (below) detailing how the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program has grown in gargantuan proportions and now intercepts 1.7 billion US electronic communications every single day. Those communications will soon all be funneled through the top secret $2 billion spy center in the Utah desert, which the NSA has refused to provide Congress with details of.

[Continued...]

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[Geolibertarian]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/dont-be-alarmed-army-trains-mps-to-drive-tanks-on-u-s-st

“Don’t Be Alarmed”: Army Trains MPs To Drive Tanks On U.S. Streets

Sightings of vehicles provokes fears of martial law

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, June 22, 2012

St Louis City residents have been warned to not be alarmed at the sight of U.S. Army tanks rolling down residential neighborhoods after sightings of the vehicles provoked fears of martial law.

[Embedded video omitted - see original article]

The exercise is part of a U.S. Army program run by military police from Fort Meade, Maryland focused around training MPs from St. Louis how to drive heavily armored tanks “on highways and on city streets.”

Sightings of the tanks prompted hundreds of residents to flood news channel KSDK’s Facebook page, with some expressing fears that martial law had arrived with others promising to “stop and salute” the tanks as they rolled by.

Reporting that he was told by the Army not to disclose the location of where the exercise was operating out of for “security reasons,” KSDK reporter Casey Nolan downplayed the exercise as “not such a big deal.”

U.S. Army Sergeant Cornelius Ivory discouraged citizens from taking video and photographs of the tanks and urged them not to get too close.

“They need to know to stay away from it,” Ivory told KSDK.

The exercise will run from June 21-28 in St. Louis, with the presence of the tanks being most noticeable in the area of the sixth district.

As we have exhaustively documented, the increasing shift towards domestic militarization of law enforcement is part of the acclimation process to get Americans comfortable with the idea of troops and tanks on the streets as a routine occurrence.

Earlier today we reported on how scores of paramilitary troops and soldiers appearing to be from the National Guard were deployed onto the streets of Hartford, Connecticut to break-up a recent annual Puerto Rican-American cultural event.

This is just the latest of scores of examples of how the military and National Guard is increasingly being deployed domestically to target the American people.

National Guard and U.S. Army troops are routinely involved in ‘urban warfare training’ drills. Usually such drills take place within the confines of military bases, however, more recently heavily armed troops are increasingly seen patrolling residential neighborhoods and even the downtown areas of major US cities.

Such “invasions” are often reported on as nothing to worry about and even as “cool” by the mainstream media.

Back in 2008 the Washington Post reported how 20,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq would be stationed inside America under Northcom for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011 onwards.

Northcom officials were forced to subsequently issue a denial after the Army Times initially reported that the troops would be used to deal “with civil unrest and crowd control.”

An article published in the May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, the mouthpiece for the influential Council on Foreign Relations, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Raymond T. Odierno, advocates the army be “transitioned” into a more “flexible force” by deploying in situations normally reserved for domestic law enforcement officials. He argues that by doing so, troops will be better equipped to deal with conflict elsewhere.

Domestic deployment of troops for purposes of law enforcement is a clear violation of section 1385 of the Posse Comitatus Act, which states, “Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”

[Geolibertarian]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/army-manual-outlines-plan-to-kill-rioters-in-america.html

Army Manual Outlines Plan To Kill Rioters, Demonstrators In America

“Warning shots will not be fired”

Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Friday, July 6, 2012

A newly leaked US Army Military Police training manual for “Civil Disturbance Operations” outlines how military assets are to be used domestically to quell riots, confiscate firearms and even kill Americans on U.S. soil during mass civil unrest.



The document (PDF), which is dated 2006 and was used for a self-learning course at the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan, makes it clear that the operations described in the manual apply to both “CONUS and OCONUS,” meaning inside the Continental United States and outside the Continental United States.

The document outlines how military assets will be used to “help local and state authorities to restore and maintain law and order” in the event of mass riots, civil unrest or a declaration of martial law.

The primary function of military assets will be focused around, “breaking up unauthorized gatherings and by patrolling the disturbance area to prevent the commission of lawless acts,” states the document, adding, “during operations to restore order, military forces may present a show of force, establish roadblocks, break up crowds, employ crowd control agents, patrol, serve as security forces or reserves, and perform other operations as required.”

The manual also describes how prisoners will be processed through temporary internment camps under the guidance of U.S. Army FM 3-19.40 Internment/Resettlement Operations, which as we reported earlier this year, outlines how internees would be “re-educated” into developing an “appreciation of U.S. policies” while detained in prison camps inside the United States.

On page 20 of the manual, rules regarding the use of “deadly force” in confronting “dissidents” are made disturbingly clear with the directive that a, “Warning shot will not be fired.”

The manual includes lists of weapons to be used against “rioters” or “demonstrators,” including “antiriot grenades.” It also advises troops to carry their guns in the “safe port arms” stance, a psychological tactic aimed at “making a show of force before rioters.” Non-lethal weapons and water cannons are also included.

The document also explains how the military will be involved in spying on and gathering information on dissidents to identify the, “Existence of persons, groups, or organizations which have distinctively threatened or are creating disturbances.”

“Crowd control agents” will also be deployed for the purpose of “reducing resistance,” states the manual, which also implies that troops will be used to confiscate firearms.

“Restrictions on the sale, transfer, and possession of sensitive material such as gasoline, firearms, ammunition, and explosives will help control forces in minimizing certain forms of violence,” states the document on page 40.

“Consideration may be given to evacuating sensitive items, such as weapons from stores,” the manual also states on page 27.

The document emphasizes how troops should make every effort, “to avoid appearing as an alien invading force and to present the image of a restrained and well-disciplined force whose sole purpose is to help to restore law and order with a minimum loss of life and property.”

This 115 page manual represents a shocking new insight into how the U.S. military will be used domestically to violently quell unrest in the aftermath of a total economic collapse or other national emergency.

Preparations for using troops to deal with mass civil unrest on U.S. soil have been in the works for years.

Back in 2008, U.S. troops returning from Iraq were earmarked for “homeland patrols” with one of their roles including helping with “civil unrest and crowd control”.

In December 2008, the Washington Post reported on plans to station 20,000 more U.S. troops inside America for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011 onwards, an expansion of Northcom’s militarization of the country in preparation for potential civil unrest following a total economic collapse or a mass terror attack.

A report produced that same year by the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Institute warned that the United States may experience massive civil unrest in the wake of a series of crises which it termed “strategic shock.”

“Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security,” stated the report [.pdf], authored by [Ret.] Lt. Col. Nathan Freir, adding that the military may be needed to quell “purposeful domestic resistance”.

Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was established under the pretext of a “mass exodus” of illegal aliens crossing the Mexican/US border.

During the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987, however, it was revealed that the program was a secretive “scenario and drill” developed by the federal government to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, assign military commanders to take over state and local governments, and detain large numbers of American citizens determined by the government to be “national security threats.”

With many Americans now becoming “pre-revolutionary” as a result of their fury at the Obama administration and equally unpopular lawmakers in Washington, potential civil unrest could spring not just from a poverty-stricken underclass, but also the shrinking middle class.

Perhaps that’s why the Department of Homeland Security is increasingly focusing its anti-terror apparatus on white middle class Americans, portraying them as domestic terrorists in a series of PSA videos. In addition, ‘Occupy’ protesters are also now being characterized as terrorists.

[Geolibertarian]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/14-incredibly-creepy-surveillance-technologies-that-big-brother-will-be-using-to-spy-on-you.html

14 Incredibly Creepy Surveillance Technologies That Big Brother Will Be Using To Spy On You

Michael Snyder
The American Dream
July 10, 2012

Most of us don’t think much about it, but the truth is that people are being watched, tracked and monitored more today than at any other time in human history.  The explosive growth of technology in recent years has given governments, spy agencies and big corporations monitoring tools that the despots and dictators of the past could only dream of.  Previous generations never had to deal with “pre-crime” surveillance cameras that use body language to spot criminals or unmanned drones watching them from far above.  Previous generations would have never even dreamed that street lights and refrigerators might be spying on them.  Many of the incredibly creepy surveillance technologies that you are about to read about are likely to absolutely astound you.  We are rapidly heading toward a world where there will be no such thing as privacy anymore.  Big Brother is becoming all-pervasive, and thousands of new technologies are currently being developed that will make it even easier to spy on you.  The world is changing at a breathtaking pace, and a lot of the changes are definitely not for the better.

The following are 14 incredibly creepy surveillance technologies that Big Brother will be using to watch you....

#1 “Pre-Crime” Surveillance Cameras

A company known as BRS Labs has developed “pre-crime” surveillance cameras that can supposedly determine if you are a terrorist or a criminal even before you commit a crime.
Does that sound insane?

Well, authorities are taking this technology quite seriously.  In fact, dozens of these cameras are being installed at major transportation hubs in San Francisco….

In its latest project BRS Labs is to install its devices on the transport system in San Francisco, which includes buses, trams and subways.

The company says will put them in 12 stations with up to 22 cameras in each, bringing the total number to 288.

The cameras will be able to track up to 150 people at a time in real time and will gradually build up a ‘memory’ of suspicious behaviour to work out what is suspicious.

#2 Capturing Fingerprints From 20 Feet Away

Can you imagine someone reading your fingerprints from 20 feet away without you ever knowing it?

This kind of technology is actually already here according to POPSCI....

Gaining access to your gym or office building could soon be as simple as waving a hand at the front door. A Hunsville, Ala.-based company called IDair is developing a system that can scan and identify a fingerprint from nearly 20 feet away. Coupled with other biometrics, it could soon allow security systems to grant or deny access from a distance, without requiring users to stop and scan a fingerprint, swipe an ID card, or otherwise lose a moment dealing with technology.

Currently IDair’s primary customer is the military, but the startup wants to open up commercially to any business or enterprise that wants to put a layer of security between its facilities and the larger world. A gym chain is already beta testing the system (no more using your roommate’s gym ID to get in a free workout), and IDair’s founder says that at some point his technology could enable purchases to be made biometrically, using fingerprints and irises as unique identifiers rather than credit card numbers and data embedded in magnetic strips or RFID chips.

#3 Mobile Backscatter Vans

Police all over America will soon be driving around in unmarked vans looking inside your cars and even under your clothes using the same “pornoscanner” technology currently being utilized by the TSA at U.S. airports….

American cops are set to join the US military in deploying American Science & Engineering’s Z Backscatter Vans, or mobile backscatter radiation x-rays. These are what TSA officials call “the amazing radioactive genital viewer,” now seen in airports around America, ionizing the private parts of children, the elderly, and you (yes you).

These pornoscannerwagons will look like regular anonymous vans, and will cruise America’s streets, indiscriminately peering through the cars (and clothes) of anyone in range of its mighty isotope-cannon. But don’t worry, it’s not a violation of privacy. As AS&E’s vice president of marketing Joe Reiss sez, “From a privacy standpoint, I’m hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be.”

You can see a YouTube video presentation about this new technology right here.

#4 Hijacking Your Mind

The U.S. military literally wants to be able to hijack your mind.  The theory is that this would enable U.S. forces to non-violently convince terrorists not to be terrorists anymore.  But obviously the potential for abuse with this kind of technology is extraordinary.  The following is from a recent article by Dick Pelletier....

[Continued...]

[Geolibertarian]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/video-hundreds-of-dhs-armored-trucks-on-the-move.html

Video: Hundreds Of DHS Armored Trucks On The Move?

More footage of military vehicles being delivered surfaces online

Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Mar 25, 2013

Footage of hundreds of armored trucks, similar to ones reportedly purchased recently by the Department Of Homeland Security has appeared online, raising more questions over their intended use.

The video was uploaded to YouTube last week by a user who stated that it was shot in the middle of the desert between Hackberry and Peach Springs, Arizona.

It shows hundreds of military style trucks loaded on to a train, presumably in the process of being delivered domestically for law enforcement or military purposes.

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTHb1M5S3K0

The video raises significant questions in the wake of reports that the Department of Homeland Security, headed by Janet Napolitano, recently purchased around 2,700 MRAP trucks that many believe are to be deployed to local law enforcement agencies around the country.

It is clear that the DHS does have fleets of armoured vehicles intended for use in the US.

Here is a demonstration video of such a vehicle by ICE agents:

[Continued...]