Community of Nations Discusses Military Homeland Defense Role

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, May 26, 2006 – Twenty-nine nations of the trans-Atlantic community took a first step toward hammering out an understanding of when and how to use military forces to secure the homeland during a conference held here May 22-24.

More than 100 national representatives, speakers, observers and organizers met near the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies for the Euro-Atlantic Perspectives on the Role of Military Forces in Homeland Security conference. The event was organized by the Marshall Center in cooperation with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College.

The common understanding participants strove for is the first step toward making all nations safer, said conference moderator Jack Clarke.

"We're trying to build a trans-Atlantic community of expertise in homeland defense, and this is a start," Clarke said. "We're trying to understand how different countries employ military forces in dealing with domestic emergencies and domestic contingencies. This is an opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to learn from one another."

To that end, participants heard speakers and panel members explore the European and U.S. traditions, as well as those of the former Soviet states in attendance. Understanding those diverse backgrounds is important because a unified community of nations is something terrorists and others actively target, Clarke said.

"All of us have come to realize that security is all too divisible in the world we live in today," he said. "By that I mean terrorists and others understand that they can make people think they can be more secure when they do not join in alliances. We want to ensure that security remains indivisible, and therefore we work together for the same kinds of cooperative security goals."

Even discussing the same subject with participants from countries ranging from the United States to Estonia and Georgia brings is a challenge, Clarke said.

"Sure, 30 different nations can be a management challenge, but I think this has worked really, really well, because ... regardless of where they're from, they're all in the same business.

"Granted, not all of them get a chance to talk and tell us how they do it in their country, but that's not really the goal. The goal is that you get exposed to different ideas and you take them back, and you try to integrate them as appropriate to your planning process, or your strategic concept," he said.

"I would say that one of the biggest differences is that some countries in Europe have specialized forces to deal with a lot of these kinds of issues, and others don't. Countries like France and Italy and Spain have what we call paramilitary police forces, like the gendarmerie. They're particularly well-suited to dealing with a broad range of homeland security and homeland defense tasks.

"In the United States, we have the National Guard," he continued. "That's a completely different kind of organization that doesn't exist anywhere in Europe, where the state governor has control of his own military forces."

With all those differences in mind, conference organizers and speakers asked participants to look to the future and contemplate homeland security challenges their nations might face.

"We've looked at things like, what's the role of the military in managing bird flu?" Clarke said. "How would the military respond to a dirty bomb attack? We've also looked at the different kinds of ... strategic approaches. We heard from the British about their resiliency strategy, and then we compared that to the homeland security strategy of the United States and found a lot of areas of commonality, but found some important differences."

Studying the different approaches is important because the threats nations face have become global, said Peter F. Verga, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense.

"Transnational flows aid the acceleration of disease transmission, terrorism, proliferation of advanced weapons and weapons of mass destruction materials and extremist ideologies," Verga said.

"All free nations - including their citizens, territory and infrastructure - are vulnerable to these threats. These challenges, in both the security environment and the diluted concept of sovereignty, argue for identifying new ways of cooperating with our allies and partners," he said.

Participants found those new ways by sharing examples and ideas, bringing forth a new understanding, Clarke said.

"Definitions are clearly important, but a conference like this makes it clear to the participants that, regardless of what definitions you use, we're doing the same kinds of things. And that's a particularly important aspect of the conference, is that at the end of the day people can say, 'Hey, they may call it homeland security and we may call it internal security, but ... it's the same thing,'" Clarke explained.

Bill Bann, another representative from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense, told participants that reaching the state of a common understanding is the beginning of greater security for all.

"I would recommend to you that you build on the knowledge that you gained here, maintain the contacts that we've made ... so that we don't just leave this here, that we build upon this," he said. "I think it makes us stronger as a nation, and as an international community, to face these very difficult and tough challenges that are before us."

(Joe Ferrare works at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.)

Found the post.

from this thread: Senate Passes Immigration Bill Overhaul, Post#100


Alaska: Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Stevens (R-AK), Yea - 8/22
Arizona: McCain (R-AZ), Yea - 9/12
Florida: Martinez (R-FL), Yea - 9/5
Idaho: Craig (R-ID), Yea
Indiana: Lugar (R-IN), Yea
Kansas: Brownback (R-KS), Yea - 8/1
Kentucky: McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Maine: Collins (R-ME), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea - 6/13 - IN THE LINE OF FIRE
Minnesota: Coleman (R-MN), Yea - 9/12
Nebraska: Hagel (R-NE), Yea
New Hampshire: Gregg (R-NH), Yea - 9/12
New Mexico: Domenici (R-NM), Yea - 6/6
Ohio: DeWine (R-OH), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Oregon: Smith (R-OR), Yea
Pennsylvania: Nay Specter (R-PA), Yea
Rhode Island: Chafee (R-RI), Yea - 9/12 - IN THE LINE OF FIRE
South Carolina: Graham (R-SC), Yea - 6/13
Tennessee: Frist (R-TN), Yea - 8/3 - IN THE LINE OF FIRE
Utah: Bennett (R-UT), Yea - 6/27
Virginia: Warner (R-VA), Yea - 6/14

Three Very interesting Senators still have primaries.

Frist of Tennessee - August 3rd

Chafee of Rhode Island - September 12th

Snowe of Maine - June 13

Imagine the Impact of Frist losing his seat? As well as
Chafee and Snowe.. RINO stampede. This is where to apply
pressure on the Senate to get with the Program. If there are
suitable Conservatives that can get elected we would be so
much better off its crazy.. and we wouldn't have to flirt
with giving over power to the Dems!!!

I teach high school economics, history, psychology & sociology. The Psychology text states that the purpose of psychology is to attempt to predict & control human behavior. The sociology text is LOADED with references to globalism. I had my students COUNT the number of times variations on the word global(ism) was stated in a single chapter (approx18 pages) and the count was about SIXTY TIMES. The point I wanted to make to them is that much learning takes place during repitition. The sociology text is state adopted. That means every secondary school sociology teacher is using the same text by mandate. They have no choice.

From speaking to my colleagues in this subject I have determined that most of Miami-Dade County has signed onto the full agenda. OTOH, I'm diverting from the text to teach my students how to SPOT an agenda...ANY agenda when one is run on them. I do this by pointing out that everything is a potential subject. When all sides of a subject are discussed it becomes an issue. But when only ONE SIDE of a subject is discussed, that subject usually becomes an AGENDA.

Typically the fomentor of an agenda only wants to push said agenda because he or she wishes the class to act in a certain way in the future....or not to "act" at all. This can be sharply illuminated when alternative sides or viewpoints are posited only to be met with extreme hostility or derision. This is the common thread in the classrooms of higher learning today. Especially the university underclassmen. However, by that time, the public school curriculum has usually done their job in lockstep except for a few mavericks like myself.

This reminds me of those 4 famous words, "maybe it will go away". How many times have we picked the lessor of 2 evils? I am just glad I won't be voting for her as I don't live in Florida. Do you think the Republicans will always be voting the lessor of the two?
- - - -

The puppet masters have spent many decades setting it up so that we have little choice but to further their aims regardless of which . . . figure heads we vote for.

I have increasingly been convinced at deeper and deeper levels . . . that the most damage we can do to the enemy is per the following:

1. Establish and maintain the closest possible relationship with Almight God through The Son by His Spirit.

2. Pray for our leaders, our nation, our neighborhoods, our families, ourselves as never before.

3. Not just pray in some sort of mamby pamby way but DO REAL SPIRITUAL WARFARE according to the Biblical pattern of pulling down strongholds of the enemy through prayer . . . . and if led and able, through prayer and fasting.

4. I realize that some folks consider me the height or depth of lunacy hereon. But I've seen plenty to confirm my construction on reality so it rarely effects me THAT MUCH. In any case, I have been QUITE SERIOUS about praying that the likes of Shrillery, Scuba Teddy et al be removed from public life by the hand of God Almighty. Sometimes, I just pray that their reaping of what they've sown will come home to haunt them many times over ASAP. If led, I may pray that certain enemy forces involved with some specific person or issue be bound and silenced unless and until they are remanded by Christ to the pit forever. I may pray that Holy Spirit be loosed in a given situation about a given issue or problem to minister God's wholeness, will, purpose and blessing.

5. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal--Scripture so instructs us. The most horrendous aspects of the fierce battles we are in are truly spiritual battles. Satan and his forces are gearing up to spread as much death and destruction as he can get away with upon God's favorite Creation. He knows his appointed time is short. He's been setting this stage for millenia. Fighting his forces with carnal means just helps him.

6. Of course we must vote as rightly as we can discern to do. Of course we are right to work hardest in the primaries. Of course we are right to keep as many HYPER-true-believer-GLOBALISTS--i.e. THE DIMRATS out of power as possible. Those on the otherside--the RINOS are quite bad enough.

7. But let us not delude ourselves that our puny carnal efforts--no matter how massive, well intentioned or even well funded--let us not fantacize that they will win the day. They won't. These battles will be won first and foremost and finally in the prayer closests of countless spiritual warriors. AND SUCH BATTLES ARE ALSO WON IN THE RIGHT LIVING CHOICES OF THOSE WHO CALL GOD THEIR GOD. When we behave and choose as God would have us behave and choose, we do the enemy camp great damage. And, we are also then blessed with God's best guidance, provision and protection.

9. (TO ANY that feel it fitting): The light is getting brighter and more intense. And the darker is getting darker. If you have not consciously chosen--it's getting late--choose this day whom you will serve:

--God or the fallen angel lucifer.

--God or your hedonistic pleasures played like a piano by lucifer and his goons.

--God or satan's incarnation in the world ruler.

--God or your own delusions of independence and personal power--also manipulated masterfully by the dark lord and his goons.

Good, or evil.

Light, or darkness.

Life, or death.

The battle, the real battle left the field of DIMRATS vs GOP long ago. It's still worth it to throw as many DIMRATS out as possible and keep as many conservatives as possible in any realms of power by supporting the GOP. There's no alternative. But let us not be deluded that doing so will restore Constitutional government in the short run. They are too outnumbered within the GOP as well as in too many power centers and institutions outside of "normal" politics.

I believe that the next two elections--2006 and 2008--with possibly 2010 will be the last "normal" elections this nation will see in anything like it's present form. We'd best do our best to stand up and be counted on the side of right and righteousness while there is opportunity.

And, many times, we would be wise to speak the truth to those we know will not be able to hear it when spoken. Events will, at some point, start happening so rapidly and dramatically that individuals, families, communities will be swept into a moment of decision like never before in their lives nor the lives of anyone they know. Your words of truth may be all that rescues them from death, destruction and the pit as Holy Spriit in that cirsis situation reminds them of your words of truth.

This is not a time for cowardice. We must stand up and be counted--for the Constitution, for our Nation--but especially for whatever God calls us to stand up and be counted for at a given moment.

The enemy's camp through feminism has shredded the balls of far too many men in our Nation and world. Too few seem to know how to stand for anything except another beer and their divine right to the remote control.

But this era begs for men to be men and for women to be mighty women of valor like Queen Esther, as well.

All are being weighed in the balance. Coming up short must increasingly be NOT AN OPTION.

And yet, on our own; in our own strength, we can do no better than to come up short. But with Christ's Spirit within us; doing His will; aided by His angelic host--WE CAN OVERCOME EVERY TIME, BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE WORD OF OUR TESITMONY.

Some have wistfully commented on occasion that they wish they could have been born in simpler times yet more dramatic times--perhaps Roman times or the times of knights and ladies etc. when there was a real chance to be a man more actively, dramatically, making a real difference by their own hands. Idealized fantasies of bygone eras are not overly fruitful.

But this era will increasingly have opportunities aplenty to stand up and be counted a man--a true man; a woman--a true woman, of valor, of true stature, to shine as never before in the true service of the True King.

The mighty exploits of our era will herald down through countless ages as those who Love God give their all for Him and His Kingdom. Nothing else will matter. We must, as Christ said, lose our lives for Him to save them IN HIM and by Him.

I have had someone I respect a lot and am inclined to trust, to assert that President Bush is very firmly, if not always overtly, on the side of right and justice against the puppet masters. I pray so. But certainly we can strengthen his hand toward doing right for the Constitution and our Nation by our prayers for him and for our Nation.

But most of all, we can do so by walking as close as possible with God and obeying Him to the letter. Then our prayers--IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS--WILL AVAIL MUCH.

In any case, while there is any light left at all in a darkening world . . . let us work diligently, faithfully, wisely, efficiently . . . the night is coming.

A greater dawn will follow. But first, a rather horrible night is lurking on the horizon.

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