Pre-election Militarization of the North American Homeland.
US Combat Troops in Iraq repatriated to " help with civil unrest"
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Pre-election Militarization of the North American Homeland.
US Combat Troops in Iraq repatriated to " help with civil unrest"
By Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, September 26, 2008
The Army Times reports that the 3rd Infantry´s 1st Brigade Combat
Team is
returning from Iraq to defend the Homeland, as "an on-call federal
response
force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including
terrorist
attacks." The BCT unit has been attached to US Army North, the Army's
component of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). (See Gina Cavallaro,
Brigade
homeland tours start Oct. 1, Army Times, September 8, 2008).
"Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-
day
control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern
Command, as
an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and
disasters, including terrorist attacks.
It is not the first time an active-duty unit has been tapped to help
at home.
...
But this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been
given a
dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to
provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and
coordinate
defense support of civil authorities.
After 1st BCT finishes its dwell-time mission, expectations are that
another,
as yet unnamed, active-duty brigade will take over and that the
mission will be
a permanent one.
The command is at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
but the
soldiers with 1st BCT, who returned in April after 15 months in Iraq,
will
operate out of their home post at Fort Stewart, Ga.,
...
The 1st of the 3rd is still scheduled to deploy to either Iraq or
Afghanistan
in early 2010, which means the soldiers will have been home a minimum
of 20
months by the time they ship out.
In the meantime, they´ll learn new skills, use some of the ones they
acquired
in the war zone and more than likely will not be shot at while doing
any of it.
(ibid)
The BCT is an army combat unit designed to confront an enemy within a
war
theater.
With US forces overstretched in Iraq, why would the Pentagon decide to
undertake this redeployment within the USA, barely one month before the
presidential elections?
The new mission of the 1st Brigade on US soil is to participate in
"defense"
efforts as well as provide "support to civilian authorities".
What is significant in this redeployment of a US infantry unit is the
presumption that North America could, in the case of a natgional
emergency,
constitute a "war theater" thereby justifying the deployment of
combat units..
The new skills to be imparted consists in training 1st BCT in
repressing civil
unrest, a task normally assumed by civilian law enforcement.
What we are dealing with is a militarization of civilian police
activities in
derogation of the Posse Comitatus Act.
The prevailing FISA emergency procedures envisage the enactment of
martial law
in the case of a terrorist attack. The 1st BCT and other combat
units would be
called upon to perform specific military functions:
They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control
or to deal
with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and
chaos in
response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield
explosive, or CBRNE, attack.
Training for homeland scenarios has already begun at Fort Stewart and
includes
specialty tasks such as knowing how to use the "jaws of life" to
extract a
person from a mangled vehicle; extra medical training for a CBRNE
incident; and
working with U.S. Forestry Service experts on how to go in with
chainsaws and
cut and clear trees to clear a road or area.
The 1st BCT´s soldiers also will learn how to use "the first ever
nonlethal
package that the Army has fielded," 1st BCT commander 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 consolidated and 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 a hasty road block; spike
strips for
slowing, stopping or controlling traffic; shields and batons; and,
beanbag
bullets.
Civil unrest resulting from from the financial meltdown is a distinct
possibility, given the broad impacts of financial collapse on
lifelong savings,
pension funds, homeownership, etc.
The timing of this planned militarization is crucial: how will it
affect the
presidential elections scheduled for Tuesday November 4.
The brigade in its domestic homeland activities will be designated as
the
Consequence Management Response Force ( CCMRF) (pronounced "sea-smurf").
What " Consequences" are being envisaged?
In a conference held under NorthCom last February, the mission of
CCMRFF was
defined as follows;
"How to protect communities from terrorist and biological attacks
topped the
agenda last week for more than 100 service members and civilians
gathered at
Joint Task Force Civil Support headquarters at Fort Monroe, Va.
The U.S. Northern Command Chemical, Biological, Radiological,
Nuclear, and High-
Yield Explosive Commanders´ Conference, held Feb. 21-23, brought JTF-CS
subordinate task force and unit commanders here to discuss common
concerns
regarding operational requirements of the CBRNE Consequence
Management mission
and to begin preparations for Exercise Ardent Sentry 2007.
"We´re giving operationally focused briefs to our CCMRF ( CBRNE
Consequence
Management Response Force) units to help them prepare and
successfully deploy
for a CBRNE mission in the continental United States, its territories
and
possessions," said JTF-CS Current Operations Specialist Hawley
Waterman, who
helped organized the conference. "This is also an opportunity to get
acquainted
and establish better relationships with (subordinate
commanders)."(NorthCom,
March 2007)
What is envisaged is the possibility of a (false flag) terrorist
attack on
America, which could be used as a justification for retaliatory or
preemptive
military action overseas (e.g. Iran) as well actions on the domestic
front. The
ultimate objective of this deployment of 1st BCT is to apply combat
experience
in the Homeland:
"I can´t think of a more noble mission than this," said Cloutier, who
took
command in July. "We´ve been all over the world during this time of
conflict,
but now our mission is to take care of citizens at home ... and
depending on
where an event occurred, you´re going home to take care of your home
town, your
loved ones."
While soldiers´ combat training is applicable, he said, some nuances
don´t
apply.
The operation officially has an emergency mandate to "help American
citizens
on American soil, to save lives, provide critical life support, help
clear
debris", but it also implies the running of military style
operations. :in fact
it would appear that the emergency tasks helping civilians is a cover-
up. This
is a combat unit, which is trained and equipped to kill people:
Some brigade elements will be on call around the clock, during which
time
they´ll do their regular marksmanship, gunnery and other deployment
training.
That´s because the unit will continue to train and reset for the next
deployment, even as it serves in its CCMRF mission.
Should personnel be needed at an earthquake in California, for
example, all or
part of the brigade could be scrambled there, depending on the extent
of the
need and the specialties involved.
Other branches included The active Army´s new dwell-time mission is
part of a
NorthCom and DOD response package.
Active-duty soldiers will be part of a force that includes elements
from other
military branches and dedicated National Guard Weapons of Mass
Destruction-
Civil Support Teams.
A final mission rehearsal exercise is scheduled for mid-September at
Fort
Stewart and will be run by Joint Task Force Civil Support, a unit
based out of
Fort Monroe, Va., that will coordinate and evaluate the interservice
event.
In addition to 1st BCT, other Army units will take part in the two-week
training exercise, including elements of the 1st Medical Brigade out
of Fort
Hood, Texas, and the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade from Fort Bragg, N.C.
There also will be Air Force engineer and medical units, the Marine
Corps
Chemical, Biological Initial Reaction Force, a Navy weather team and
members of
the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
One of the things Vogler said they´ll be looking at is communications
capabilities between the services.
"It is a concern, and we´re trying to check that and one of the ways
we do that
is by having these sorts of exercises. Leading up to this, we are
going to
rehearse and set up some of the communications systems to make sure
we have
interoperability," he said.
A national emergency could be triggered. "[H]orrific scenarios such
as massive
poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear or high-yield explosive [attack]" or a so-called CBRNE type
scenario.
One assumes that this is some form of domestic attack, allegedly by
terrorists.
But at the same time, the Bush administration may be seeking a
justification to
establish martial law and intervene militarily within the USA.
"I don´t know what America´s overall plan is - I just know that 24
hours a day,
seven days a week, there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines
that are
standing by to come and help if they´re called," Cloutier said. "It
makes me
feel good as an American to know that my country has dedicated a
force to come
in and help the people at home." (Army Times, op cit , emphasis added)
"This type of planning and coordination and training is a priority
both in our
headquarters and at NORTHCOM, as we understand our responsibilities
to be ready
should the requirement arise, God forbid," (Army News Service Sept
15m 2008)
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