http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/072904_coup_detat_america.shtml
COUP D'ETAT IN AMERICA?
by
Michel Chossudovsky
The URL of this article is: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO407B.html
This article is a follow-up
on an earlier text entitled: Bush
Administration
"Guidelines" for Postponing or Canceling the November Presidential Elections,
by Michel Chossudovsky, 10 July 2004,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO407C.html
Based on so-called
"credible" reports, Homeland Security Secretary Tom
Ridge has warned that Osama
is now "planning to disrupt the November
elections." A
large-scale attack on American soil is said to be planned by
Al Qaeda during the
presidential election campaign:
"…Credible reporting
indicates that Al Qaeda is moving forward with its
plans to carry out a
large-scale attack in the United States in an effort
to disrupt our democratic
process... This is sobering information about
those who wish to do us
harm... But every day we strengthen the security
of our nation." (Quoted
in AP, 8 July 2004)
"Possible targets"
include the Democratic National Convention in July and
the Republican Convention in
New York in August.
Barely a few days prior to
Tom Ridge's spectacular announcement, a
spokesman of Northern
Command Headquarters at Patterson Air Force Base in
Colorado confirmed that
Northcom (which has a mandate to defend the
Homeland) was "at a
high level of readiness" and was proceeding with the
(routine) deployment of jet
fighters over major cities as well as the
posting of troops at key
locations (Atlantic Journal and Constitution, 3
July 2004).
Cancelling or Postponing the
Elections
This new terror warning by
Homeland Security, not to mention the impending
military deployment, has
served to create an aura of insecurity concerning
the November presidential
elections.
Meanwhile, postponement of
the election has become a talking point on
major news channels
including CNN, following the release of a letter by
the Director of the Election
Assistance Commission (EAC) to Homeland
Security Secretary Tom
Ridge, calling for so-called "guidelines" to cancel
or reschedule the election
in the case of a terror attack
For details, see http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO407C.html.
Legal procedures for
cancelling/rescheduling the elections are under
study, at the request of DHS
Secretary Tom Ridge, by the Justice
Department's Office of Legal
Counsel, which is examining the legal and
constitutional implications.
(Washington Post, 14 July, 2004)
The Military and
Intelligence apparatus working in liaison with Homeland
Security and the Federal
Emergency Management Authority (FEMA) are
indelibly behind this
process, pointing to the unthinkable: THE
POSSIBILITY OF A COUP D'ETAT
IN AMERICA.
Meanwhile, the cancellation
/ rescheduling of elections issue is presented
to public opinion as a mere
technical question, as a means of "protecting
democracy," in the case
of a terror attack. CNN has asked people "to vote"
on their website, on whether
they think the elections should be held in
the case of a terror attack.
It all sounds very democratic.
Crying Wolf on Terrorism.
Who is the Wolf?
The terror alert level has
been raised to orange (high alert) five times
since September 11, 2001.
There have been numerous other terror warnings
since the "color
coded" alert system was first established in the wake of
9/11.
There is, however, evidence
from police sources that AT LEAST TWO of these
five high profile post-9/11
code orange terror alerts WERE FABRICATED:
February 7, 2003, and
December, 21, 2003.
For details and documentary
evidence, see
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402A.html.
There is also ample evidence
that AL QAEDA IS A CREATION OF THE US
INTELLIGENCE APPARATUS and
that the terror network is SUPPORTED BY the
BUSH Administration.
See: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/11SEPT309A.html,
http://globalresearch.ca//by-topic/sept11/,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG204A.html.
The most recent DHS announcement
has all the appearances of yet another
fabricated report of an
impending attack by an illusive "outside enemy."
It is already amply
documented: Al Qaeda is a CIA sponsored "intelligence
asset," and the
disinformation regarding the terror attacks emanates out
of US intelligence.
See: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO405E.html.
Details of the
police/intelligence investigation regarding Secretary Tom
Ridge's July terror warning
have not been provided. Officials have said
the USG "does not have
specific knowledge about where, when or how such an
attack would take
place," but the CIA, the FBI and other agencies are said
to be "actively working
to gain that knowledge."
Code Red Alert and Martial
Law
The possibility of a code
red terror alert has been announced time and
again since September 11
2001, with a view to galvanizing public opinion
across the country in
support of an emergency situation, if and when it
occurs. The terror alerts
have become part of America's day to day life:
"at each threat
condition [yellow, orange, red], federal departments and
agencies would implement a
corresponding set of 'Protective Measures' to
further reduce vulnerability
or increase response capability during a
period of heightened
alert."
See: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/security.pdf.
Supported by a barrage of
media propaganda, these repeated terror alerts
have created an environment
of fear and intimidation, a wait-and-accept
attitude, a false normality.
US citizens are led to believe that a
military solution is
required to protect democracy.
In other words, the
possibility of an impending attack on America by this
"outside enemy"
has been accepted by the American public; this tacit
acceptance has set the stage
for the adoption of "the highest threat
level": code red alert.
What the US public is not
aware of, is that a CODE RED ALERT SUSPENDS
CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT; it
triggers a whole series of emergency procedures;
it is TANTAMOUNT TO A COUP
D'ETAT -- although in many regards the coup
d'etat has already taken
place under the post-9/11 anti-terrorist
legislation and the rigging
of the 2000 elections which brought George W.
Bush into the White House.
Preparing for Code Red
Homeland Security (DHS) has
in fact been contemplating a code red alert
"scenario" --
using Al Qaeda as a pretext -- for more than a year. In May
2003, the DHS conducted a
major "anti-terrorist exercise" entitled TOPOFF
2. The latter was described
as "the largest and most comprehensive
terrorism response and
homeland security exercise ever conducted in the
United States." The
exercise was based on code red assumptions involving a
simulated terrorist attack.
See: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402A.html.
A code red alert,
according to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), would create
conditions for the
("temporary" we are told) suspension of the normal
functions of civilian
government, implying the cancellation or
postponement of federal and
State elections.
According to FEMA, code red
would:
Increase or redirect
personnel to address critical emergency needs; Assign
emergency response personnel
and pre-position and mobilize specially
trained teams or resources;
monitor, redirect, or constrain transportation
systems; and close public
and government facilities not critical for
continuity of essential
operations, especially public safety.
(FEMA,
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/security.pdf
)
Northern Command would take
over. Several functions of civilian
administration would be
suspended; others could be transferred to the
jurisdiction of the
military. More generally, the procedure would disrupt
government offices,
businesses, schools, public services, transportation,
etc.
A secret "Shadow
Government" under the classified "Continuity of
Operations Plan" was
installed on September 11, 2001. (See:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A205842002Feb28?language=printer
). Known internally as
"Continuity of Government" or COG, the secret
shadow government would
become functional in the case of a code red alert,
redeploying key staff to
secret locations.
Code red alert would,
according to FEMA, also preclude and repress any
form of public gathering or
citizens' protest which questions the
legitimacy of the emergency
procedures and the INSTALLATION OF A POLICE
STATE. The emergency
authorities would also exert tight censorship over
the media and would no doubt
paralyze the alternative news media on the
internet.
Code red alert would trigger
the "civilian" Homeland Emergency response
system. The latter is
already in place including DHS Ready.Gov
instructions, the Big
Brother Citizen Corps, not to mention the USA
onWatch or Neighborhood
Watch Program which has a mandate to "identify and
report suspicious activity
in neighbourhoods" across America.
The Role of the Military
What would be the
involvement of the Military in a code red emergency
situation?
In theory, The Posse
Comitatus Act of 1878 prevents the military from
intervening in civilian
police and judicial functions.
In practice, the Posse
Comitatus Act is dead (see Frank Morales at
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR309A.html
).
The existing legislation
inherited from the Clinton administration, not to
mention the post 9/11
Patriot Acts I and II, "blurs the line between
military and civilian
roles," it allows the military to intervene in
judicial and law enforcement
activities EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF AN
EMERGENCY SITUATION.
The 1996 legislation allowed
the military to intervene in the case of a
national emergency (e.g., a
terrorist attack). Clinton's 1999 Defense
Authorization Act (DAA)
extended those powers by creating an "exception"
to the Posse Comitatus Act,
which permits the military to be involved in
civilian affairs
"regardless of whether there is an emergency." See ACLU
at:
http://www.aclu.org/NationalSecurity/NationalSecurity.cfm?ID=8683&c=24.
In other words, the Clinton
era legislation had already laid the legal and
ideological foundations of
the "war on terrorism."
In the context of the war on
terrorism, the so-called "exception"
contained in the 1999 DAA
legislation nullifies the provisions of the
Posse Comitatus Act:
"The new proposed
exception to the Posse Comitatus Act would further
expand a controversial
measure adopted by Congress in 1996 that permitted
military involvement in
'emergencies' involving chemical and biological
weapons crimes.
"Under that new
measure, which was proposed by the Defense Department, the
military would be authorized
to deal with crimes involving any chemical or
biological weapons -- or any
other weapon of mass destruction --
regardless of whether there
is an 'emergency.' In addition, the new
proposal would lift
requirements that the military be reimbursed for the
cost of its intervention,
thus likely increasing the number of requests
for military assistance.
"'Under this new
provision,' Nojeim said, 'the mere threat of an act of
terrorism would justify
calling in military units. That represents a
loophole large enough to
drive a battalion of army tanks through.'
"The defense
authorization bill would also require the Pentagon to develop
a plan to assign military
personnel to assist Customs and the Immigration
and Naturalization Service
to 'respond to threats to national security
posed by entry into the U.S.
of terrorists or drug traffickers.'"
Despite this 1999
"exception"" to the Posse Comitatus Act, which
effectively invalidates it,
the Pentagon and Homeland Security, anxious to
remove all ambiguities, are
nonetheless actively lobbying the US Congress
for the outright repeal of
the 1878 legislation.
"New rules are needed
to clearly set forth the boundaries for the use of
federal military forces for
homeland security. The Posse Comitatus Act is
inappropriate for modern
times and needs to be replaced by a completely
new law...
"It is time to rescind
the existing Posse Comitatus Act and replace it
with a new law... The Posse
Comitatus Act is an artefact of a different
conflict-between freedom and
slavery or between North and South, if you
prefer. Today's conflict is
also in a sense between freedom and slavery,
but this time it is between
civilization and terrorism. New problems often
need new solutions, and a
new set of rules is needed for this issue.
President Bush and Congress
should initiate action to enact a new law that
would set forth in clear
terms a statement of the rules for using military
forces for homeland security
and for enforcing the laws of the United
States." --John R.
Brinkerhoff, former associate director for national
preparedness of the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Articles/brinkerhoffpossecomitatus.htm
Senator Joseph Biden (a
Democrat), former Chairman of the powerful Senate
Foreign Relations Committee,
has also being waging, since the mid-1990s, a
battle for the repeal of the
Posse Comitatus Act.
The Patriot Legislation
In turn, the Bush
administration Patriot Acts have set the groundwork of a
police state. In minute
detail, they go much further in setting the stage
for the militarization of
civilian institutions.
The various provisions are
very detailed and precise. The USA PATRIOT ACT
of 2001 entitled
"Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and
Obstruct Terrorism Act of
2001" as well as the "Domestic Security
Enhancement Act of
2003," (PATRIOT Act II) create the conditions for the
militarization of justice
and police functions.
Even under a functioning
civilian government, the PATRIOT Acts have
already instated several
features of martial law. The extent to which they
are applied is at the
discretion of the military authorities.
The 2003 Patriot Act II goes
much further in extending and enlarging the
"Big Brother
functions" of control and surveillance of people. It vastly
expands the surveillance
powers, providing government access to personal
bank accounts, information
on home computers, telephone wire tapping,
credit card accounts, etc.
For further details, see Ratical.org at
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/USAPA2.html#DSEAanalysis
The Northern Command
(Northcom)
The Northern Command
(Northcom) (based at Peterson Air Force Base,
Colorado) was set up in
April 2002 specifically in the context of the
pre-emptive war on
terrorism.
The creation of Northcom is
consistent with the de facto repeal of the
Posse Comitatus Act. In
fact, the position of a "Homeland Defense Command"
leader "in the event of
a terrorist attack on U.S. soil," had already been
envisaged in early 1999 by
Clinton's Defense Secretary William Cohen.
(http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Civil_Liberties/Posse_Comitatus_Law.html
).
Following the Bush
Administration's decision to create Northcom, the White
House instructed Justice
Department lawyers "to review the Posse Comitatus
law in light of new security
requirements in the war on terrorism." The
1878 Act was said to
"greatly restrict the military's ability to
participate in domestic law
enforcement." (National Journal, Government
Record, 22 July 2002)
The role of Northern Command
is defined in the Pentagon's "Joint Doctrine
for Homeland Security
(JP-26)." The latter constitutes a blueprint on how
to defend the Homeland. Even
in the case where the enemy is fabricated,
and this is known at the
highest levels of military-intelligence, a
military coup d'etat would
become operational in terms of the detailed
command military/ security
provisions contained in this document (click
here to consult JP-26).
Figure 1. Excerpt from J-36
"Joint Doctrine for Homeland Security"
(declassified public
document) [graphic not included in this Dove Report]
According to Frank
Morales,"the scenario of a military take-over of
America is unfolding."
And Northern Command is the core military entity in
this takeover and
militarization of civilian institutions.
Northcom has a mandate to
"defend the homeland" against this illusive
"outside enemy"
which is said to be threatening the security of America.
As indicated above, however,
it has been amply documented that this
outside enemy, Al Qaeda, is
in fact a CIA "intelligence asset." There is
an extensive bibliography on
this subject. See for instance
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/11SEPT309A.html;
http://globalresearch.ca//by-topic/sept11/;
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG204A.html.
The Northern Command Mission
includes a number of non-military functions,
including "crisis
management, consequence management, and other domestic
civil support." See:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/northcom.htm
This implies "military
support to federal, state and local authorities in
the event of a terror
attack." See:
http://www.dawn.com/2002/04/18/int1.htm
Northcom has what David
Isenberg describes as "a Creeping Civilian
Mission." Since its
inception, it has been building capabilities in
domestic intelligence and
law enforcement1. It is [through the DoD] in
permanent liaison with the
DHS and the Justice Department2. It has several
hundred FBI and CIA officers
stationed at its headquarters in Colorado. It
is in permanent liaison,
through an advanced communications system, with
municipalities and domestic
civilian law enforcement agencies around the
country3. (See Isenberg, op.
cit.).
Meanwhile the CIA, which has
a unit operating out of Northcom, has
extended its mandate to
issues of "domestic intelligence."
According to Homeland
Security Secretary Tom Ridge (22 December 2003): "If
we go to [code] Red ... it
basically shuts down the country." In which
case, a national emergency
is declared. Northern Command deploys its
forces on air, land and sea.
Several functions of civilian government are
transferred to Northcom
headquarters, which already has the structures
which enable it to oversee
and supervise civilian institutions.
In other words, Northcom's
"command structure" would be activated in the
case of a code red terror
alert. But Northcom does not require, in
accordance with the
provisions of the 1999 DAA, a terror alert, an attack
or a war-like situation to
intervene in the country's civilian affairs.
To prepare for new "law
enforcement" missions for the military within
America, overseen by the
Northern Command, the Center for Law and Military
Operations, based in
Charlottesville, Virginia has published a "useful"
handbook entitled “Domestic
Operational Law for Judge Advocates”.
According to Frank Morales,
the handbook:
"attempts to solidify,
from a legal standpoint, Pentagon penetration of
America and its 'operations
other than war,' essentially providing the
U.S. corporate elite with
lawful justification for its class war against
the American people,
specifically those that resist the 'new world law and
order' agenda." (Frank
Morales, "Homeland Defense and the Militarization
of America," Global
Outlook, No. 6, Winter 2004,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR309A.html
)
According to Morales,
"the 'war on terrorism' is the cover for the war on
dissent." (Ibid)
The jurisdiction of the
Northern Command now extends from Mexico to
Alaska. Under
("bi-national") agreements signed with neighbouring
countries, Northern Command
can intervene and deploy its forces and
military arsenal on land,
air and sea in Canada (extending into its
Northern territories),
throughout Mexico and in parts of the Caribbean.
(See: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/dod/northcom.htm
)
Taken together, the existing
legislation grants the military extensive
rights to intervene in any
"emergency situation," in practice, without the
prior approval of the
Commander in Chief.
Concluding Remarks
America is at the crossroads
of the most serious crisis in its history.
An Al Qaeda sponsored
terrorist attack is being contemplated as a "trigger
mechanism" for carrying
out a coup d'etat.
Whether it is going to be
carried out is another matter. The statements of
the Bush administration
regarding the possibility of a red code alert
must, nonetheless, be taken
seriously.
The coded terror alerts and
"terror events" which have been announced by
DHS are part of a
DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN CARRIED OUT BY the CIA, the
PENTAGON, the STATE
DEPARTMENT and HOMELAND SECURITY.
US intelligence is not only
involved in creating phony terror warnings, it
is also firmly behind the
terror groups, providing them with covert
support.
( See: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO301B.html
)
Documented by official
police sources, at least two of the DHS's high
profile post 9/11 terror
alerts were fabricated.
(http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402A.html
)
Media Disinformation
A coup d'etat which suspends
civilian institutions is not only
contemplated, it has become
a talking point on network TV; it is openly
debated as a
"solution" to "protecting American democracy" which is said
to be threatened by Islamic
terrorists.
The implications of a red
code alert are trivialised. Through media
disinformation, citizens are
being prepared and gradually conditioned for
the unthinkable.
This ongoing militarization
of America is not a project of the
Republicans. The "war on terrorism" is part of a
bipartisan agenda.
Successive US
administrations since Jimmy Carter have supported the
Islamic brigades and have
used them in covert intelligence operations.
"Triggering Civilian
Casualties"
In 1962, the Joint Chiefs of
Staff had envisaged a secret plan entitled
"Operation
Northwoods," to deliberately trigger civilian casualties to
justify the invasion of
Cuba:
"We could blow up a
U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba," "We could
develop a Communist Cuban
terror campaign in the Miami area, in other
Florida cities and even in
Washington" "casualty lists in U.S. newspapers
would cause a helpful wave
of national indignation." (See the declassified
Top Secret 1962 document
titled "Justification for U.S. Military
Intervention in Cuba"16
(See "Operation Northwoods" at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/NOR111A.html
).
Both "the war on
terrorism" as well as the domestic war on terrorism are
consistent, from the point
of view of military planning, with the logic of
Operation Northwoods.
Civilian casualties are used as "a war pretext
incident," to galvanize
public support for a military intervention.
Mentioned time and again by
DHS Secretary Tom Ridge, a "second 9/11
attack" is
contemplated; Al Qaeda, we are told, is preparing
"a large-scale attack
in the United States in an effort to disrupt our
democratic process."
What we are not told is that
Al Qaeda is a creation of the CIA, and that
Al Qaeda remains a US
sponsored "intelligence asset."
"Useful Crisis"
The assumptions and rhetoric
behind Homeland Security are nothing new.
They echo an earlier
statement by David Rockefeller to the United Nations
Business Council in 1994:
"We are on the verge of
global transformation. ALL WE NEED IS THE RIGHT
MAJOR CRISIS AND THE NATIONS
WILL ACCEPT THE NEW WORLD ORDER."
Similarly, in the words of
Zbigniew Brzezinski in his book, The Grand
Chessboard:
"…it may find it more
difficult to fashion a consensus [in America] on
foreign policy issues,
except in the circumstances of a truly massive and
widely perceived direct
external threat."
It is worth mentioning that
Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was National Security
Adviser to President Jimmy
Carter, was one of the key architects of the
Islamic brigades created by
the CIA at the onslaught of the Soviet Afghan
war (1979-1989). (See
Brzezinski at
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.print.html
)
More recently, General
Franks, the CENTCOM general who led the military
campaign into Iraq, pointed
in an October 2003 interview to the role of
what he called a
"massive casualty-producing event." (See "General Tommy
Franks Calls for Repeal of
US Constitution" November 2003,
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/EDW311A.html
, see also
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402A.html).
Franks identifies with
cynical accuracy the precise Homeland Security
scenario whereby military
rule might be established in America using, as
in Operation Northwoods,
civilian casualties as a trigger mechanism:
"a terrorist, massive,
casualty-producing event [will occur] somewhere in
the Western world - it may
be in the United States of America - that
causes our population to
question our own Constitution and to begin to
militarize our country in
order to avoid a repeat of another mass,
casualty-producing
event." (quoted in Ibid, emphasis added)
General Franks' statement
seems to accurately reflect the mood within the
US Military and Homeland
Security as to how events ought to unfold. The
"war on terrorism"
is to provide a justification for repealing the Rule of
Law, ultimately with a view
to "preserving civil liberties."
This statement, from an
individual who was actively involved in military
and intelligence planning at
the highest levels, suggests that the
"militarization of our
country" is an ongoing operational assumption. It
has become part of the
broader "Washington consensus." It is a "talking
point" not only in the
corridors of the Pentagon, Langley and Homeland
Security, but also in the
mainstream media.
Democrats and Republicans
Some people think that a
change in direction will occur if the Democrats
win the 2004 presidential
elections. Yet the Democrats are not opposed to
the illegal occupation of
Iraq and Afghanistan. Nor are they opposed to
the militarization of
civilian institutions, as evidenced by their
initiative to repeal the
Posse Comitatus Act.
While there are substantive
differences between Republicans and Democrats,
Bush's National Security
doctrine is a continuation of that formulated
under the Clinton
Administration in 1995, which was based on a "strategy
of containment of rogue
states."
In Fall 2003, the Democrats
released their own militarization blueprint,
entitled Progressive
Internationalism: A Democratic National Security
Strategy. It calls for
"the bold exercise of American power, not to
dominate but to shape
alliances and international institutions that share
a common commitment to
liberal values."
(See Mark Hand, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/HAN403A.html)
The MILITARIZATION OF
AMERICA is a PROJECT of the US CORPORATE ELITES,
with significant divisions
within the corporate establishment on how it is
to be achieved.
The corporate establishment,
with its associated think tanks and
semi-secret societies (The
Bilderberg, Council on Foreign Relations,
Trilateral Commission,
etc.), is by no means monolithic.
Influential voices within
the elites would prefer a "softer" police state
apparatus, a
"democratic dictatorship" which retains the external
appearances of a functioning
democracy.
The Democrats'
"Progressive internationalism" is viewed by these sectors
as a more effective way of
imposing the US economic and military agenda
Worldwide. For instance, the
Kerry-Edwards ticket is supported by
billionaire George Soros,
who has waged a scathing denunciation of George
W. Bush and the Neocons.
While the US Congress and
the bi-partisan consensus constitutes the
facade, the Military (and
their Intelligence counterparts) are, from the
point of view of the
corporate elites, mere foreign policy "pawns," to use
Henry Kissinger's
expression, acting on behalf of dominant business
interests.
The Wall Street financial
establishment, the military-industrial complex
led by Lockheed Martin, the
big five weapons and aerospace defence
contractors, the Texas oil
giants and energy conglomerates, the
construction and engineering
and public utility companies including the
biotechnology conglomerates,
are indelibly behind the militarization of
America.
Elections or no Elections
The "war on
terrorism" is a war of conquest, which supports American (and
British) economic and
strategic interests. Its underpinnings are supported
by both Democrats and
Republicans.
While a coup d'etat
triggered by a code red alert is a distinct
possibility in the months
ahead, we must understand that the
militarization of civilian
institutions in America is an ongoing process.
The coup d'etat entrenches
the militarization process. It suspends civil
liberties and the antiwar
movement outright. It makes any form of reversal
back to civilian forms of
government much more difficult to achieve.
Militarization, however, as
distinct from an outright military coup
d'etat, does not exclude the
electoral process.
Under a Kerry-Edwards
administration, the military-intelligence apparatus
- which constitutes the
backbone of the "war on terrorism" and of the
police state - would remain
functionally intact. So would Northern Command
and the various Big Brother
functions of the Department of Homeland
Security.
One can indeed speculate on
what might happen from now until the November
presidential elections.
Whether the elections take
place or not, the contours of a functioning
police state under the
facade of Constitutional government have already
been defined:
* the militarization of justice
and law enforcement,
* the disinformation and
propaganda network,
* the support to terrorist
organizations,
* political assassinations
a" the Big Brother surveillance apparatus,nd
torture manuals,
concentration camps,
* extensive war crimes and the
blatant violation of international law.
On the economic front, we
can expect militarization to accelerate the
gamut of neoliberal economic
reforms both nationally and internationally
(in the later case, they
would be implemented under the auspices of the
IMF, World Bank and World
Trade Organisation).
Militarization will be
accompanied by a new deadly wave of privatization
of public services, urban
infrastructure would be transferred to private
companies, local economies
including small scale enterprises and
agriculture would be further
destabilized and deregulated, etc., LEADING
TO INCREASED LEVELS OF
UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE IMPOVERISHMENT OF MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE.
Militarization is an integral
part of the neoliberal agenda.
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Presidential Elections by
Michel Chossudovsky, 10 July 2004,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO407C.html
The Criminalization of the
State, by Michel Chossudovsky, February 2004,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO402A.html
Homeland Defense: The
Pentagon Declares War on America by Frank Morales,
Global Outlook, Issue 3,
Winter 2003,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/MOR312A.html
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July 2004,
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/TAR407B.html
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by Webster G. Tarpley, 12
July 2004,
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CIA: Terror Alert based on Fabricated
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2003,
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2003,
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© Copyright MICHEL
CHOSSUDOVSKY 2004.
1"As DoD reorganizes
the civil support mission, it should consider carving
out a significant role for
NORTHCOM in the planning, training, and
day-to-day management of
operations. This would allow the assistant
secretary to focus more of
his primary effort on policy issues, a more
appropriate role for the
secretariat than managing field operations. In
addition, placing NORTHCOM
in the routine business of coordinating these
missions, even when a large
federal military presence is not required,
will allow the command to
establish solid working relationships with the
other federal agencies and
state and local governments with which it will
have to work intimately in
responding to a large-scale disaster or
terrorist attack. Placing
NORTHCOM in the routine civil support chain of
command will help its staff
develop trust and confidence with other
agencies. This will be
needed to operate effectively under the stressful
demands and pressing
time-constraints of a major national response. In
particular, expanding
NORTHCOM's responsibilities for planning support for
a range of operations, such
as preparation for the annual forest fire
season where military forces
support state fire fighting missions, might
provide important dividends
in preparing to respond to more dramatic
future tasks."
See: http://www.csbaonline.org/4Publications/Archive/B.20030429.NORTHCOM/
B.20030429.NORTHCOM.pdf
[editor's note]
2The beauty of this de facto
liaison is that its existence is expressly
forbidden, but just as
expressly provided for: out of vestigial respect
for Posse Comitatus,
Northcom is forbidden to liaise directly with
Homesland Security - but the
Defense Department liaises with both, and in
this capacity is essentially
a high-powered conduit between them. "DoD's
role in border security
involves providing support, particularly to the
Department of Homeland
Security, when appropriate. DoD maintains
quick- and rapid-reaction
forces for this purpose, he added, and these
Army and
Marine forces would operate
under NORTHCOM's command and control." Peter
F. Verga, Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary Of Defense For Homeland
Defense, quoted in "DoD
Ready to Assist in Event of Homeland Attack," by
Gerry J. Gilmore, American
Forces Press Service, April 12, 2004. See:
http://www.voicesofsept11.org/security_issues/archive/2004/041204b.html
"NORTHCOM's
relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
runs through DoD. A DoD
representative noted that NORTHCOM is not
intended, and lacks the
capacity, to infringe on the role of local first
responders. This
relationship is governed by the Federal Emergency
Response Plan." See:
Matthew Foley, "The
Role of the Military in Securing the Homeland: A
McCormick Tribune Foundation
Cantigny Conference Series Post-Conference
Report," National
Strategy Review, Volume 13, Issue 2, Winter 2003.
http://www.nationalstrategy.com/Winter2003/Role%20of%20Military.html
[editor's note]
3"NORTHCOM has the
primary mission of 'homeland security' with a focus on
coordinating with local,
state, national and international agencies rather
than commanding large combat
forces as the other nine unified commands do.
It will undertake the land,
aerospace and sea defense of the continental
United States, as well as
command U.S. forces operating in support of
civil authorities on 'homeland
security' tasks. It is located at Peterson
Air Force Base, in eastern
Colorado Springs, Colorado. Under NORTHCOM's
jurisdiction are the
continental U.S., Alaska, Canada and Mexico, plus two
portions of the Caribbean,
and the five hundred mile coastal area.
NORTHCOM provides assistance
to civil authorities when directed by the
President or Secretary of
Defense… Although the Department of Homeland
Security has been created
with Tom Ridge as its director, a functioning
military 'homeland security'
department is neatly tucked away inside
NORTHCOM. The Joint Force
Headquarters Homeland Security, established in
January 2002, has 500
personnel assigned to NORTHCOM, but remains
stationed in Norfolk,
Virginia. It coordinates the land and maritime
defense of the continental
U.S. as well as military assistance to civil
authorities." Marti
Hiken, "Military Reorganization: NORTHCOM - The New
Designer Military,"
Guild Practicioner, a publication of the National
Lawyers Guild (Volume 59,
Number 4, Fall 2002).
archived at: http://www.nlg.org/mltf/northcom.html.
[editor's note]
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