Posted on 06/23/2012 12:38:08 PM PDT by JohnKinAK
Submitted by Brandon Smith from Alt-Market
Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why?
I have to say that this event, which is being labeled a "training exercise", makes very little sense to me. U.S. Army troops all the way from Maryland running open exercises in armored personnel carriers on the busy streets of St. Louis? I know Maryland is a small state, but is there really not enough room at Ft. Detrick to accommodate a tank column and some troops? Are there not entire fake neighborhood and town complexes built with taxpayer dollars on military bases across the country meant to facilitate a realistic urban environment for troops to train in? And why travel hundreds of miles to Missouri? At the very least, this is a massive waste of funds.
On the other hand, such an action on the part of the Department of Defense makes perfect sense if the goal is to acclimate citizens to the idea of seeing tanks and armed military acting in a policing capacity. Just check out the two random idiots the local news affiliate picked to interview in St. Louis on the subject. Both state that they think the exercise is a "great idea", because having the military on the streets would help to "reduce crime":
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/us-military-to-run-urban-exercises-in-north-st-louis-residents-hope-it-will-cut-down-on-crime/
I suspect that the news affiliate did not go out of its way to get any counter-opinions, even though they admitted to being contacted by those voicing concerns over martial law.
Even so, it's sad and simultaneously terrifying that there are plenty of mindless dupes out there who do not understand the dangers of the Army crossing the Rubicon and acting in a civil law enforcement capacity, never mind that they are completely ignorant of the fact that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act. One of the interviewees even points out that in some countries they don't use police at all; only military. This is true. We call those countries "tyrannies"...
Add to the mix the reality that the DOD refuses to respond to any further inquiries by the press concerning details of the training, and you get yet another suspicious instance of behavior on the part of the establishment that seems preparatory for domestic action. I believe that the high frequency at which these activity reports have been coming in over the past year is certainly cause for alarm...
Anyone that spells America with a K is a jerk.
By the way, there is an incident command structure established in writing specifically for a Katrina event. All she had to do was say the word go and the entire script would have played out as written. Instead we got days of chaos in SE Louisiana because she had no ability to make a command decision. The more she dragged this out, the more politicized the entire event became.
I’m telling you how it was. Before you spring for the narrative with the GOP seal of approval, you might ask yourself what the republican party has done lately for your constitutional rights that they should enjoy your uncritical credulity. You might consider how the power grab game is played — always with a distraction for the suckers and with competing narratives excluded. Katrina provided laboratory perfect conditions for martial law.
That is all so true.
The Bolsheviks were a comedy club until they got guns and made laughter a bullet in the brain.
The Stafford Act was set up to limit Federal power in disasters, after Reagan mobilized the NG in Fla after a hurricane.
Blanco did not realize that she had to be proactive and specifically ASK for boots on the ground, temp housing, generators, mass casualty gear, and evacuation transportation. If you look at the Katrina paper trail, it is clear that she had no clue what to do. She definitely was not attempting to limit Fed involvement.
Naturally the press caught on and the meme became Bush’s Fault, while Bush could do nothing unless he risked impeachment for a clear and willful violation of Stafford.
Tee hee hee woo woo woo and a couple of tra la la’s, that’s how we swish the day away in the wonderful world of Ob...
Don’t forget, the National Highway System wasn;t about civilian transportation. Those massive upgrades including new bridges are about getting 72 ton tanks and other vehicles down the roads.
ruh roh
You answered it before I could. And the Bush administration held off for just those reasons, but repeatedly asked if help was needed.
Hey! Don’t get in the way of a good vilification!
“I would think the tanks would tear up the streets.”
That combined with Nagin burying his head in a Tony Montana sized pile of coke while his police force turned out to be a third short of the numbers they were using to qualify for federal funding.
As recognition of that universally revered philosopher (now departed), Rodney, can't we just bend over, spread'em, and smile...
Fort Detrick is actually a rather small post, only 1,200 acres. It is slowly being surrounded by the city of Frederick, MD. Thus no room for maneuvers, however there is Ft. Pickett, VA, that is within 100 miles of most of Maryland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Detrick
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