Crossing the Rubicon II-Militarized Police

8/14/2019 Crossing the Rubicon II-Militarized Police

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Rubicon in the Rear-View, Part II:

Perpetual War, Here and Abroadby William Norman Grigg

by William Norman Grigg

We have entered an era of persistent conflict.... [We face] face new security challenges influenced by

the effects of globalization, especially in failing states and in ungoverned areas.... Radicalism

influenced by extremist ideologies and separatist movements will remain attractive to those who feelthreatened and victimized by the cultural and economic impacts of globalization...."

~ From the 2008 Army Modernization Strategy

We are entering the age of "persistent conflict," advises the Army's 90-page official report onmodernization and strategy. Dr. Tom Clonan, the international security analyst for theIrish Times,

usefully peels away the thin veneer of euphemism applied to that phrase, rendering it "perpetual

warfare."

The Army document is an admission that our rulers intend to divest us of what few tangible liberties westill enjoy.James Madison's warning resonates again: "No nation could preserve its freedom in the

midst of continual warfare."

Had the Billionaire Bailout, aka the Mother of All Swindles, been consummated in the teeth of nearly

uniform public opposition, the Regime ruling us would have achieved a Platonic ideal of plutocraticcorruption. The Army's strategic preview still seems to anticipate this development, given its

astonishing candor in expressing the ethics of the Robber State.

In describing the mission of the military over the next generation or two, the document dutifully refers

to the threat of a "radical, ideology-based, long-term terrorist threat...." Additionally, insists the report,Washington faces "a potential return to traditional security threats posed by emerging near-peers as we

compete globally for depleting natural resources and overseas markets."

What proper role can the military play in "competing" for "natural resources and overseas markets"?

The military embodies the refined essence of the murderous ugliness to which we've given the name"government": It is an instrument employed to kill and destroy, not to "compete." It can conquer

territory, but it cannot create a market except in the crudest corporatist sense of reducing a country to

rubble as a prelude to taxpayer-subsidized "reconstruction" efforts of the kind that have succeeded somarvelously in Iraq.

The vision expressed in the Modernization Strategy is a more elegantly phrased version of the familiar

Ditto-head bumper-sticker sentiments, like "Kick their ass and take their gas," or "What is their sand

doing on top of our oil?" (Another variation of that trope we may soon see: "Begin the slaughter seize

control of their water.") Of course, that approach engenders terrorism, rather than pacifying it but thisis an entirely suitable outcome for our rulers, since it relieves them of the trouble of dreaming up new

pretexts for the wars they desire.

Seizing resources through military force is one of the best ways to destroy a market: Military controlover a given resource is, after all, nationalization in its bluntest form. The truly remarkable and

terrifying aspect of the Army's new strategy is the evidence it provides that our rulers have now

embraced, without qualification, the socialist premise that the government's role is to administer an

economy based on scarcity.
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Here we collide with one of the defining ironies of our age. At a time when Washington now candidly

admits its intention to acquire vital resources through military pillage, Russia and China, the "near-

peers" clumsily alluded to in the document, are acquiring resources through commerce, rather than

conquest.

A case can be made that a modest, mobile military establishment is necessary in order to protect

freedom of commerce abroad; at least, that was the view of those who wrote the constitutional

provision requiring Congress to "maintain" a Navy. But the Framers who composed that provision weresteadfastly opposed to a standing Army, quite properly fearing that an establishment of that kind wouldbe used precisely as the new Army strategic document describes: To carry out perpetual war abroad,

and regiment society here at home.

Granted, the latter half of that formulation domestic regimentation is not made explicit in theModernization document. But it becomes very clear when key strategic considerations from thatdocument are viewed in the light of the increasingly overt role played by the military in domestic law

enforcement.

The implosion of America's financial system is now all but a moral certainty. The increasingly panicked

corporatist elite have abandoned any pretense of acting on behalf of the public good, seeking to

preserve their own power and plundered wealth by any means.It is this corporatist financial elite that ultimately controls the legions deployed both here and abroad.

Recall again Madison's warning that wars beget "armies, and debts, and taxes; and armies, and debts,

and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many beneath the domination of the few." Yes, asMachiavelli noted in chapter ten of hisDiscourses, it is iron rather than gold that is the "sinew of war."

But it is gold, or whatever prevailing substitute, that buys and bridles those who deploy iron in

wartime. The creators and exploiters of public debt the FED and the nomenklatura it serves also

created, and remain in control of, Washington's sprawling military establishment and rapidly catalyzingsystem of internal repression.

Acting through Henry Paulson soon to be our first economic dictator the oligarchy threatened,

bribed, bullied, and extorted from Congress a measure permitting them to plunder the wealth of theembattled remnants of the Middle Class. According to a visibly and audibly overwrought TexasRepublican Congressman Michael Burgess, this was achieved by effectively holding Congress hostage

in a condition he referred to as "martial law."

Whether or not Comrade Pelosi's expression was intended metaphorically, we have to believe that

extraordinary duress was required to compel congressmen to support, or at least to countenance, theMega-Swindle in the face of ferocious public oppositionjust weeks before those same congressmen

stand for re-election.

It is relatively easy to neutralize the rebellion of a relative handful of politicians. But the public can

expect no deference or delicacy when the time comes to deal with the social upheaval that will (not

"would," mind you will) accompany the full-orbed economic collapse our rulers have now arrangedfor us.

Recall the excerpt from the Modernization Strategy document that was used above as an epigram, and

note the reference to "those who feel threatened and victimized by the cultural and economic impactsof globalization." The imponderably huge heist being carried out on behalf of Wall Street is a splendid

example of the globalization of corporatist crony capitalism, and its impact on our standard of living

will be immense.

A large and ideologically heterogeneous movement has taken shape that opposes "globalization," as the
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term is variously defined and understood. We can expect to see this opposition become much larger,

much better organized, and much more militant. And we can also expect to see these developments

over-matched by an even more dramatic escalation in the tactics used by the domestic arm of the

Empire's military.

Here is the caption supplied by the US Army for this photograph: "Minnesota National Guard Soldiers withthe 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor stand guard to assist police in maintaining order during an

overly-aggressive demonstration Sept. 1, in St. Paul, Minn. The demonstrators were protesting during day oneof the Republican National Convention."

There are elements of the anti-globalization movement that, either out of ignorance or (more likely)ideological malice, target private enterprise as the enemy, and act out their rage against private

property. Protesters of that persuasion have made their unwelcome presence felt at every significantanti-globalist event since the much-romanticized 1999 "Battle in Seattle." When they destroy privateproperty and imperil innocent people, such protesters are criminals, not activists, and should be dealt

with accordingly.

However, in recent years the prevailing "security" model treats the act of public protest itselfas an

assault on public order. That model embraces the use of "non-violent" means of crowd control suchas the use of pepper spray, tasers, clubs, bean-bag rounds, and "rubber bullets" and the mass arrest of

anyone found in a targeted area, whether or not any particular detainee was actually involved in a

protest.

An independent journalist covering a Labor Day demonstration in St. Paul that coincided with the

beginning of the Republican National Convention captured a striking example of this tactic: Militarizedriot police detained nearly 300 people, without probable cause of any kind, who were sitting peacefully

in a public park. In carrying out these arrests, the police were provided with on-site support by theNational Guard. The reporter had to bury the video record of this event in order to prevent its

confiscation by the police.

As I've commented before, the recently concluded national nominating conventions by the two retail

outlets for the Ruling Party served as a coming-out party for the Homeland Security State'senforcement apparatus. It was also a foretaste of what we can expect to see as the economic collapse

accelerates, if public resistance solidifies.
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The Strategic Modernization document makes it plain that the ground-based military will be fighting

amongtargeted populations, with "commanders employing offensive, defensive and stability or civil

support operations simultaneously." This is the kind of hybrid mission we've seen in Iraq, Afghanistan,

Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia, in which soldiers are also required to behave as beat cops.

In its new strategy, the Pentagon envisions the deployment of a new generation of soldier, a "Future

Force Warrior" digitally interconnected not only with his command base and fellow troops, but also

with a large and sophisticated array of remote, unmanned weapons, both aerial and ground-based. Hewould have access to intelligence provided by both aircraft and satellites.

Through the use of such "force-multiplying" technology, the military would be able to deploy small

brigade combat teams (remember that term "brigade combat team") to carry out challenging missions

within a targeted population.

Granted, the technology behind this vision isn't yet widely available. But elements of this approachhave already been used domestically, this year, for the purpose of enforcing "public order."

Support your local paramilitary bullies: This commemorative T-shirt, featuring a caricature of an abusive cop,was not produced by an anti-police group. It was created by the Denver police union, which gave one to eachmember of the Denver PD and expects to sell 2,000 more at $10 a copy.When the police who in this case

were backed up by the military actuallycelebratethe abuse of civilians, it's time to admit that the governmentis at war with the American public. (Thanks to StrikeTheRoot.)

During the recent Democratic National Convention, a specialized National Guard unit of 1,700 troops,

"Joint Task Force-DNC" (JTF-DNC) was deployed in Denver. Ostensibly there for the exclusive

purpose of backstopping "civilian" law enforcement in the event of a terrorist event, JTF-DNC also
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provided "information such as satellite imagery to assist law-enforcement authorities, the Colorado

Department of Transportation and the U.S. Secret Service," boasted an all-but-buried press release.

"About 40 Guard Soldiers assigned to the 1st Space Brigade's 117th Space Battalion have been

preparing for the convention by monitoring computer images, uploading data and reviewing mapprintouts," continued the account.

These Guard troops weren't there merely to stand sentinel against terrorist attacks. JTF-DNC was sent

to Denver following several months of specialized training, including weeks of practice in riot gear at a

MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) at Fort Carson.

"If there are [violent] demonstrations, these National Guard Soldiers will have to protect people andbusiness from protests that could get out of hand," explained Lt. Col. Don Laucirica.

There were no "violent" protests in Denver. Yet the National Guard JTF-DNC was there, along with its

array of cutting-edge weaponry and intelligence-gathering assets, to provide defense in depth to a

contingent of militarized police.

The same configuration was on display a few weeks later at St. Paul,where the Secret Service and locallaw enforcement agencies liaised with the National Guard's JTF-RNC. Some 150 soldiers were

deployed in St. Paul on the first day of the convention when the local police complained that protesterswere becoming "increasingly aggressive."

That was the day, recall, when 284 people were arrested for the supposed crime of "aggressively"enjoying a late summer day without harming anyone.

"Our main mission is to support law enforcement," explained 1st Lt. T. Zdon, an armor officer with the

Minnesota National Guard. "Soldiers in their uniform and gear provide a strong presence, or show of

force, for local law enforcement, if they need us."

Spc. Ben Doran, an infantryman with the same unit, elaborated that the Guardsmen were there to use"shields and batons to keep crowds back. We want to use the minimum amount of force necessary to

complete the mission."

"The mission." That's the language of a military occupier, not a peace officer in a free society.

In his video-recorded remarks to troops before the convention, Brig. Gen. Joseph Kelly, commander ofJTF-RNC, pointed out that the task force was composed of members of the U.S. military from all

branches of the service, including some who had been brought back to the "homeland" from overseas.

"Our primary mission," he told the troops, "is to conduct military operations in support of civil

authorities.... [W]e are working for the law-enforcement organizations responsible for the security ofthe convention."

While the Secret Service was the lead agency, and local police exercised operational control, some

Soldiers would be expected to carry out routine security duties "to free up police officers for higher-

level law enforcement tasks."

"As during any other operation, you must take care of yourself, each other, and your equipment. Please,

be safe," intoned Kelly, as if preparing his troops for D-Day rather than an operation on their home soil

in which they would confront unarmed fellow citizens.

In hispost-convention message congratulating his troops, Gen. Kelly strained to extract drama andheroism from a "mission" that was little more than an exercise in adolescent posturing and gratuitous

bullying.

"There were some long, hard days," Kelly warbled, as if his subject were the Siege of Stalingrad, rather

than a four-day deployment in the warm, placid, and comfortable setting of St. Paul, Minnesota.
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"Monday, September 1 Labor Day was a day of special challenge, and you all met that demand with

skill, determination, professionalism, and in some cases, personal courage."

Once again, Gen. Kelly is referring to the episode referred to previously, in which police and

Guardsmen surrounded and incarcerated hundreds of people who had done nothing, and who put up noresistance. Kelly's account makes me suspect that at least some of the Soldiers who participated in that

event will be receiving service commendations.

Some might contend that the role played by the Guard JTFs in Denver and St. Paul were exceptional,

given that the conventions were "National Special Security Events." But this is to concede the fact thatit is now routine for nominating conventions and similar events to take place amid an atmosphere of

martial law.

Furthermore, the behavior of Guard JTFs at the conventions underscores the real significance ofthe

permanent Homeland Security response unit that will begin operations this Wednesday (October 1).

The 3rd Infantry Divisions 1st Brigade Combat Team, which has spent three of the last five "in Iraqpatrolling in full battle rattle," has been "training for the same mission with a twist at home,"

reported theArmy Times. Remember the Pentagon's new Modernization Strategy emphasizes the role

of brigade combat teams (or BCTs) in deployments among targeted populations. In the case of the 3ID

1BCT, the new mission for the next year will be serving under the US Army North as an "on-callfederal response force" to deal with contingencies ranging from natural disasters to terrorism to ...

widescale civilian rebellion.

No, the third contingency is not explicitly stated. In fact, the official posture of the Army is that the"response force" would be devoted entirely to dealing with contingencies beyond the competence of

local law enforcement natural catastrophes or unconventional weapons attacks.

Patti Bielling, Chief of Media Operations for the US Army North, informedPro Libertate that the force

would be on call to deal with "a catastrophic incident and in support of a civilian agency. PosseComitatus applies [meaning that the military personnel would not be directly involved in law

enforcement]. The role of federal DOD forces in a civil support mission is to save lives, reduce human

suffering and mitigate great property damage. Likely ... missions would be air evacuation, medicalresponse, decontamination, logistics support, and transportation."

However, the commander of the unit has a very different perception of

the mission.

As noted by theArmy Times, "the 1BCT's soldiers also will learn how to

use `the first ever nonlethal package that the Army has fielded,' 1st BCTcommander Col. Roger Cloutier said, referring to crowd and traffic

control equipment and nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or

dangerous individuals without killing them. `It's a new modular package

of nonlethal capabilities that they're fielding. They've been using pieces

of it in Iraq, but this is the first time that these modules were consolidatedand this package fielded, and because of this mission we're undertaking

we were the first to get it.' The package includes equipment to stand up ahasty road block; spike strips for slowing, stopping or controlling traffic;

shields and batons; and, beanbag bullets."

None of this has any necessary connection to post-WMD incident

response. All of it would come in quite handy in dealing with civil unrest.When I pointed this out to Capt. Carla Gleason, a very earnest, helpful, and professional information

officer for Northern Command's Joint Task Force-Civil Support, she noted that the training and non-
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lethal hardware being provided to this unit will be used in Iraq, once the 1 BCT's domestic deployment

ends and they're rotated overseas once again.

Here's why no solace can be found in that explanation: The skills and hardware in question can, and

most likely will, be employed both in Iraq andhere at home, as theNational Command Authority seesfit. They can be used to subdue unruly Iraqis who display their lack of "gratitude" for the occupation of

their country, or unruly Americans who object to the destruction of their economic future in order to

preserve the perquisites of the Power Elite.

It is impossible to maintain a republic at home while supporting an empire abroad. Imperialcommitments abroad inevitably mean the corruption of the currency, the destruction of the rule of law,

the liquidation of the middle class, and a descent into national bankruptcy, undisguised oligarchical

rule, and the imposition of some variety of martial law.

We are likely to learn, very soon, in very painful ways, we enjoy no happy immunity to theconsequences of the policies we have permitted our rulers to impose on us.

Dum spiro, pugno!
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Crossing the Rubicon II-Militarized Police

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