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Ted Cruz ‘reached out to the Pentagon’ about martial law conspiracy theory
MSNBC ^ | May 2, 2015 | Emma Margolin

Posted on 05/02/2015 6:04:44 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Depending on whom you ask, “Jade Helm 15” is either a domestic military training exercise or a covert operation for the federal government to take over the state of Texas – and 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz just became the latest Republican to fan the flames of the latter theory.

Speaking at the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual convention Saturday, the Texas senator told Bloomberg’s David Weigel that his office had contacted the Pentagon about the exercise, which officially consists of a series of training drills throughout the Southwest for about 1,200 special operations personnel, including Green Berets and Navy SEALs. Conspiracy theorists operating on the fringes of the conservative blogosphere, however, have other ideas about what the exercise, known as Jade Helm 15, is intended to do – such as implement martial law, seize Americans’ guns, and imprison political dissidents.

Rather than squash those theories outright, Cruz apparently decided it was better to be safe than sorry.

“My office has reached out to the Pentagon to inquire about this exercise,” he said. “We are assured it is a military training exercise. I have no reason to doubt those assurances, but I understand the reason for concern and uncertainty, because when the federal government has not demonstrated itself to be trustworthy in this administration, the natural consequence is that many citizens don’t trust what it is saying.”(continued)

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Foreign Affairs; Government; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; election2016; jadehelm; martiallaw; obama; tedcruz; texas
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To: Norm Lenhart

Yup.
I recall Clinton having a similar question quietly asked around.
Agenda 21 isn’t new, it has been around in one form or another for awhile.
And in the Clinton years the question went something like, “if the UN told the american people to disarm and they refused, would you fire on them if told to do so by the UN?”
Most of the soldiers asked responded something like, “the guy in the blue bonnet dies”.
The scary part was the soldiers that seemed to think the UN trumped the Constitution and said yes.
That number should have been zero.
It wasn’t.


361 posted on 05/02/2015 11:11:16 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

bfl


362 posted on 05/02/2015 11:12:45 PM PDT by TEXOKIE (We must surrender only to our Holy God and never to the evil that has befallen us.)
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To: unixfox

We have about 200+ soldiers in a little town called Doucette Texas, just north of Woodville Texas. The whole county has less than 4000 people. They have taken over the airport and brought in combat helo’s. No city fathers have a clue other than it’s a training mission. Frankly I’m glad to hear someone is asking questions, and as for Abbot calling out the state guard to watch them,....Amen. Can’t hurt.


363 posted on 05/02/2015 11:18:06 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: chuckles

Who owns the airport? The city? How can city leaders not know about that?


364 posted on 05/02/2015 11:20:18 PM PDT by GeronL (Clearly Cruz 2016)
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To: Norm Lenhart
Pretty pathetic when an ex journo can figure out what Mr. Im’a Officer can’t on his own turf.

You were a journalist? … Or do you mean Clancy?
(According to Wikipedia, Clancy worked for an insurance agency before doing novels.)

365 posted on 05/02/2015 11:20:26 PM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: Vermont Lt

I’m over halfway through this thread and I keep laughingly hearing how they chose Bastop to simulate ME conditions.

Bastop County is timberland.

Here’s a wiki entry on the devastating forest fire in Bastop County in 2011.

What part of the ME is susceptible to huge economic losses related to forest fires?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastrop_County_Complex_fire


366 posted on 05/02/2015 11:20:55 PM PDT by ziravan (Choose Sides.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Emma Margolin is a reporter at msnbc.com, where she covers politics with a particular focus on LGBT equality. …
Just the right kind of unbiased mind to report on Jade Helm. Or Ted Cruz.


367 posted on 05/02/2015 11:23:39 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Darksheare

My understanding is that it’s now WELL into the double digits. I have heard several stories from ex military that a lot of them will do whatever Barry demands because...RACIST!.

Seriously, look at the general population. over 60% are liberal, including our favorite RINO backers and people who spout the things they do fly in the face of factual information and reality. Such people are quite literally insane. They are beholden to the ‘idea’ of Barry’s divinity. They will not oppose him and have proven it repeatedly.

Barry replaced everyone he could in govt and business with sycophantic fellow travelers and he did it to the military. Is there anyone stupid enough to say in public that he didn’t? Probably...probably his sycophantic fellow travelers.


368 posted on 05/02/2015 11:25:40 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: OneWingedShark

Me. Over a decade in print and internet journalism. Regional paper/3 state coverage.


369 posted on 05/02/2015 11:27:49 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: UnwashedPeasant

Finally, somebody “get’s it. These morons that think it’s a training mission and aren’t upset should ask themselves, “What training is needed for breaking down doors and arresting and confiscating in America by Federal troops?” Posse Comitatus prevents all of that. If they said it was to break down doors in Syria or Iraq, maybe you could sell it, but here in the US, it’s illegal. I used to count on the soldiers refusing the order, but now Obama has fired all the true military and put his goons in high places. Refusing a direct order has got to be one of the most harrowing things for someone and I think he is counting on people just saying, “I was following orders”. One a couple of refusnicks are court martialed, the rest will have to think hard. Remember the guy that refused to wear the UN uniform back in the 90”s? Michel New I think was his name. His life was ruined over an obvious illegal order. Politicizing the military is the first step to a coup.


370 posted on 05/02/2015 11:28:51 PM PDT by chuckles
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To: Norm Lenhart

Yes, the numbers have skewed in the intervening years.
Then there are the people who say yes just to mess with the numbers.
I’m wondering how many good guys pulled the last one once they figured out what was going on.


371 posted on 05/02/2015 11:33:37 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: Darksheare

Some I’m sure but those people have also been force fed the Obama brainwashing via constant threat of their job for 7 years now. The social engineering has been massive.

I would ask how many once normal people went the other way.


372 posted on 05/02/2015 11:40:26 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart
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To: Norm Lenhart

We used to run thought experiments and challenge each other in uniform.
One we ran through went this way: we are sworn to protect, uphold, and defend the Constitution from any and all enemies both foreign and domestic, what happens when our political leaders act as domestic enemies of the Constitution?
Very few answered it, most stood around looking as if they were being asked to eat heated thumbtacks.
That was 1998.
It was also one of the last times we ran something like that on our own.

The last time we ran such a thought exercise, it was about combat stress suicide, survivor guilt, and how the NCO and officer cadre would handle it.
(Spoiler alert: they failed as we had nothing set up to deal with such in 1999.)
We now have ACE cards and suicide prevention, but it is implemented weird/wrong.


373 posted on 05/02/2015 11:48:20 PM PDT by Darksheare (Those who support liberal "Republicans" summarily support every action by same.)
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To: Vermont Lt
You got it ass backwards mate. Anyone who still thinks the Kenyan communist is not capable of doing the most outrageous, unlawful, unconstitutional and downright illegal and criminal acts, has his head buried in the sand. Obama has REPEATEDLY demonstrated that he has no respect whatsoever for the rule of law, and is moreover by far the biggest criminal to have ever occupied the White House.
Ted Cruz was right to ask about these exercises. I have ZERO trust in Obama. He is pure evil.
374 posted on 05/03/2015 12:50:14 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Vermont Lt

Yeah? Are you aware that Obama has ALREADY used drones to kill Americans, without ANY trial or due process of any kind whatsoever and moreover, he and Holder insist they have the right to do so? Obama should be in jail right now for that alone amongst other crimes.


375 posted on 05/03/2015 12:59:28 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Vermont Lt
Exactly where were you when the federal government under yet another Democratic Party president, sent federal government forces to go and slaughter women and children at Waco? And Obama is like a million times more evil than Clinton ever was. He thinks and believes he is the Supreme Leader and is above the law. He has repeatedly shown total disregard and contempt for the law and the constitution.
376 posted on 05/03/2015 1:10:11 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Vermont Lt

You are yet to make even a single point that makes any sense. And you have continued to fail to answer in any satisfactory manner any of the myriad pertinent questions put to you. You are nothing but a paid shill. Go peddle your far left rubbish elsewhere.


377 posted on 05/03/2015 1:51:16 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: familyop; SkyPilot

I don’t mind at all, Ted Cruz getting verification from the Pentagon about the intent of this training. I think it’s also important to keep a close watch on the military. The Founders wanted it done for obvious reasons, and I don’t think there’s been any improvement in the human capacity for treachery and betrayal.

However, I am one who doesn’t automatically see a government conspiracy in a special operations training exercise spanning a large geographic area. SpecOps must train over a large area because their operations sometimes cover large areas. We can’t very well expect them to ‘train’ in Afghanistan. The southwest is an ideal place to train if your current area of concern is a barren, desert region with high temperature, scattered population, etc.

I want to know where any critic wants them to train. I want to know if they should train at operations that have no bearing on what they really do or if they should try to make their training realistic?

Like it or not, our SpecOps forces, among other things, must train at taking down governments. Should they try these impossible tasks without training first?

I don’t trust this president at all. I don’t trust any member of their so-called elite. Keep an eye on them. Cruz is right in that.


378 posted on 05/03/2015 2:48:34 AM PDT by xzins (Donate to the Freep-a-Thon or lose your ONLY voice. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Norm Lenhart
And yet FR has a significant contingent of people bound and determined to make sure he’s eliminated in the primaries.

You noticed that too?

379 posted on 05/03/2015 3:27:02 AM PDT by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
I saw a claim that Cruz had called the Palins drunks.

I'm pretty sure that Cruz would never say such a thing...


380 posted on 05/03/2015 3:39:26 AM PDT by Timber Rattler (Just say NO! to RINOS and the GOP-E)
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