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End Game - Would US Police/Troops Fire Upon US Citizens?
End Game - Would US Police/Troops Fire Upon US Citizens?
By
Cognitive Dissonance
This is the first in an occasional series examining the end of the American Empire and the global shock waves it will produce. Contrary to popular belief I suspect the unraveling will take place over many years, decades even, with sudden plunges and slow partial recoveries aka dead cat bounces. I call this series of examinations “End Game”.
I would wager that the vast majority of people reading this essay have already come to their own conclusion regarding the answer to the title’s query. Certainly you may have several qualifiers and stipulations with which you framed your answer and maybe even a few facts and proofs ready for quick rebuttal if challenged. But my own experience with explosive questions such as this is that there are few who have not already formed an opinion on the matter. If you have not you would be the exception to the rule.
And at this point in the meltdown it would be fair to say there are no correct or incorrect answers to be found, only supposition, assumption and what I expect will be full throated argument to follow in the comment section. May I suggest that whatever answer you’ve come up with wasn’t necessarily arrived at through careful deliberation or contemplation, but rather as an integral part of your overall belief system? And while you may consider all that you believe to be valid and fact based, for all people other than possibly the sociopaths walking among us this is far from the case.
Personally I find that sitting down and writing about a subject forces me to push through all the fuzzy logic and tenuous connections that make up my system of beliefs. For most of us what we think we know or believe is similar to a loosely connected debris field of facts, thoughts, myths, hopes and desires floating on the mind’s surface. Only in this case there really isn’t much mixing or removal of the thought debris by intellectual wave action, just a lifelong rearrangement of the floating deck chairs. When strong emotions are brought into the mix, it’s like a hurricane came through and made an even bigger mess of things.
Much of our belief system is firmly stuck in heavy mud by our late twenties, having been absorbed and adopted during our early years by way of our state mandated education, the popular press, corporate branding initiatives, consensus opinion, deliberately false public myth making and the always present and rarely subtle corporate and governmental propaganda machines. And what we call our mid life crisis is simply that period of time when we begin to call into question many of the basic and fundamental tenets that have guided us to that point. We usually get through this moment of clarity when the bills start piling up and the libido finally begins to fail care of our chemically treated foodstuffs. In practice what we believe is not a coherent jigsaw puzzle held together by reason and “facts”, but rather little islands of hope and belief that would contradict or outright cancel each other like matter and anti-matter if they ever came into contact with one other. I see this all the time not just here in The Hedge (both in the comment section and in various articles from multiple sources) but in newspapers, magazines, blogs, TV and radio; the list really is endless. Selective memory and a convoluted thought process isn’t just the domain of think tanks and the MSM. The alternative press and blogosphere are often just as guilty as well, it being one of the hazards of swimming in the same festering cesspool. Read or listen to any person long enough and you eventually begin to detect errors in logical thought and fact as well as serious conflicts between a person’s articles, books, and lectures; even at times within a specific article or essay. I find this holds true for nearly everyone (including myself) regardless of our denial that it’s happening. Courage is required to challenge our own thinking and weed these discrepancies out. Sadly it’s so much easier to isolate and ignore these inconsistencies then to purge them and face the ugly truths left behind. We hide from ourselves long before we flee the boogie man. The masks we wear in public are crude imitations of the ones we carry within.
Judging from conversations I’ve had with many people from diverse backgrounds the majority of souls seem to come down into one of two camps. For the most part the responses I’ve gathered consist of either “No….but” and “Yes….but” with the clear winner the middle ground of qualified “buts”. When questioned more than superficially and asked to explain or justify their stance, many shamelessly switch back and forth between sides and arguments, proving to me that their opinion is based upon nothing more substantial than wishful thinking and hope. However, most do understand that there are huge variables involved anytime a gun is pointed and fired, regardless of whether the person fired upon is armed or not.
Obviously at this point in the great American unwind no police or military units are patrolling the streets gunning down all who are seen as threatening. And this wasn’t what I was suggesting would happen……at least not unless worse case scenarios are achieved. But the end of the American Empire is approaching, a process that will unravel over decades. And it would be hopelessly naïve or even terminally ignorant to believe that any high ranking “authority” in America has anyone’s interest first other than their own. We can love our slave masters all we want, but they love us only for any remaining productive worth we may offer and no more.
Any remaining belief in high ranking honorable “public servants” should have been thoroughly abandoned after witnessing the outrageous antics of the financial elite and politically connected over the last ten years and particularly the last five. We are all expendable cannon fodder and contrary to any official assurances from the professional propagandists that we are all loved and cared about, we have always been so. Denial of this basic fact is the only real roadblock to a fuller understanding of what’s being done in my name and yours.
False hope inevitably binds us to truly impossible situations and this has consistently been our Achilles Heel, a weakness ruthlessly exploited by the rich and powerful for millennium. The almost universally accepted Abrahamic religious redeemer complex is the ultimate (self) enslavement vehicle. In effect, it forgives those who dish out the punishment and glorifies the suffering of those who are being punished. Talk about your dysfunctional relationship, how are we to live in peace and harmony when the basic tenets of the majority of the world’s religions glorify those who grind our bones to make their bread?
First let’s take a look at who or what would be patrolling the streets under the guise of “keeping the peace”, “finding the terrorists” or whatever excuse the government manufactures in order to justify placing armed uniformed men and women in the population centers of America. And for the purpose of this essay there is the assumption that something has happened or was caused to happen that will be used by the powers that be to deploy police/troops in America under the cover of maintaining law and order.
BTW, we should clearly understand that the real reason the troops will be deployed is to maintain and possibly even consolidate the existing power structure of the powers that be. Or at a minimum to keep the lynch mobs and revenge seekers at bay long enough to make their escape. Is this truly that surprising? After all we have devolved into a banana republic and that’s the way all bananas are eventually peeled.
Initially there would be the local police, supposedly the first line of defense in maintaining the peace. And despite the obvious fact that over the last ten or so years they have been increasingly militarized, the police are for the most part trained to resolve conflict through non-violent means. Or at least that’s the official public myth. Only after you don’t agree with their non violent solution do they pull out their Tasar or Glock. If the first thing you experience is fear when you see flashing lights in the rearview mirror, I would ask you to reconsider the validity of their “non-violent” mission.
Just conduct a “police brutality” YouTube search if you’d like a video lesson on officially sanctioned violence in America. Between the images cruiser dashboard cams have documented and those candid camera videos various citizens have captured via camera phone it’s quite clear police violence isn’t just perpetrated by a few rogue cops on an occasional basis. Instead it appears to be a systemic problem that’s growing worse by the day. A Google word search using the same term will bring back tens of thousands of hits, more than enough to turn your stomach and send the meek and mind controlled scurrying back to the safety of their warm beds. The formerly carefully hidden police state is now coming into full view.
The second line of defense would be the National Guard. If we were talking twenty years ago I might make a disparaging remark about weekend warriors more dangerous to themselves than to others. But eight years of rotations through Iraq and Afghanistan have turned the National Guard into something your father wouldn’t recognize. Without getting too deep into the merits of today’s Guard, better trained has its pluses and minuses as long as we understand what they have now been trained to do.
Then there is the military itself, most likely Army and possibly Special Forces units that will provide the actual boots on the ground. Ever since the creation of NORTHCON on October 1, 2002, supposedly as a direct result of 9/11, the political and financial elite have been overtly preparing for the inevitability of social unrest. Covert preparations extend back decades under cover of any available and plausible excuse in the book.
The military readily admits that it’s not properly trained to execute (no pun intended) domestic police actions and they agree they would be poorly suited to maintain order during any chaotic domestic uprising. And I agree. Home invasions by the military would be just as distasteful for Americans as they are for the Iraqis regardless of what it’s called and under whatever bullshit legal premise it has been authorized.
I can’t help but wonder if the UN Security Council will sanction an invasion of America by a “coalition of the willing” when our time comes around? Don’t laugh because I’m being deadly serious. Do not underestimate the measures the desperate will use to remain in power and don’t assume the rich and powerful are physically located only in the USA. It’s a global game and America has been the home field only for the last 70 or so years. It helps to remember that stock sectors aren’t the only thing that rotates. BTW notice that the eagle below covers all of North America, not just the USA.
On a side note, I still find it amazing how many political/military actions were a direct result of 9/11 yet nobody wants to seriously discuss what really went down that day. Careful because you might not like the stench of whatever it is you dig up. We all complain about political and governmental secrecy, but the vast majority of Americans don’t want to know what’s going on and are happier when they are deceived. The big lie we gratefully participate in is that we are a free and self directed people. It’s so much better to let buried dogs lay undisturbed where they can quickly decompose out of sight and mind.
And let’s not forget the foreign troops that will be invited to conduct joint exercises on American soil. On February 14, 2008 Northcom and the Canada Command agreed to come to each other’s “aid” in the event of a civil crisis such as floods, forest fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and “the effects of a terrorist attack”. While this description comes from the PR propaganda on Northcom’s web site I would love to read the actual document. Naturally Congress wasn’t consulted and were actually sidestepped entirely. It didn’t matter anyway since they were too busy whoring for re-election contributions at the time, a time honored spring, summer, fall and winter Congressional/Corporate pornographic mating ritual.
Of course, the obvious inference here is that if American citizen soldiers are unable or unwilling to “police” their fellow US citizens, we can always call in the Canadians to help us out. Certainly our Canadian brothers and sisters will be subjected to plenty of official propaganda to prepare them for their friendly invasion. I’m sure the psyops division of both countries can come up with plenty of video of homeless Americans swimming across the Saint Lawrence River in search of Canadian food stamps and citizenship….or at least their version of the green card. There are many other “agreements” with NATO and other individual countries that have been less publicized than this one if that’s even remotely possible
Now for the sleeper “police” force very few seem willing to acknowledge or even aware enough of to intelligently discuss, but who will most certainly be invited to the nationwide block party. Naturally I’m talking about private military contractors of the Blackwater/Xe ilk, also known as privately paid (with taxpayer funds of course) and controlled mercenaries of the increasingly privatized and corporatized America. This isn’t new but rather just a recycling of an old tradition of the Federal Government using private entities to provide “security” and “crowd control”. Blackwater is just the latest.
While everyone was watching what Blackwater and others like them were (and still are) doing over in Iraq and Afghanistan (and in many other countries where they are used as embassy and corporate “security” forces) rarely do we hear about the untold billions they’re being paid for services rendered in the good old US of A. Their presence in New Orleans after Katrina was a primer on how things will be done in the future. The almighty buck is their master and it’s the only flag they salute. God bless Uncle Ben.
Last, but most assuredly not least, will be the alphabet soup of government intelligence agencies (domestic and foreign) as well as too numerous to count private “interests” pushing, prodding and provoking wherever they can to influence the outcome of the civil unrest. This will be done for any number of reasons that will most certainly be at cross purposes with the interests of the American people in general and the actual protestors in particular. This will include the FBI, CIA, DIA, Mossad, MI6, BND and dozens of other public, private and foreign “security” and intelligence organizations whose primary purpose will be the protection of the vested interests of powerful people, corporations and countries. Guess where that leaves you and me?
So who will take to the streets? Ultimately this is impossible to say because the situation will be fluid and the variables unknown and in a constant state of flux. To be frank the time to push back was late in 2008 when the globalist’s financial agenda flipped from covert to overt and their plans were finally exposed for all to see who wished to look. But decades of conditioning and propaganda was sufficient to keep the American people trapped within their own minds and unable to muster the courage to begin the process of breaking free. And once TARP was rammed through without significant or sustained resistance, the financial elite knew it was game on and they’d better get it all while the getting was good.
And getting it all is precisely what they’ve done over the last 2 plus years as private debt was systematically bought by the Federal Reserve for 100 cents on each dollar in the name of “saving” the system. Now the next leg down has begun (I am not measuring economic legs by the stock market) and where it stops nobody really knows. But after 3 years of worsening economic conditions, carefully camouflaged by an artificially pumped stock market, more and more American citizens are waking up to the fact that they’ve been ripped off and to some extent they’ve let it happen. Or at the very least they barely said a word other than bitch and complain to each other about the highway robbery.
This is where the really destructive and ultimately self defeating rage will spring from. Obviously it will be acted out as simple righteous indignation over the repeated daylight robberies of the US treasury by public and private entities. But just like a women scorned, there is no anger quite like that enjoyed by the person who suddenly realizes he or she has been conned and the active ingredient was his or her own greed and willing participation. Facing this ugly self revelation, the ego has no choice but to push every emotional button it can find in a desperate attempt to keep the mind from recognizing that it is partially responsible for its own continuing enslavement.
What usually arises from this internal blame shifting and emotional thrashing about is mindless anger directed at the “responsible” con men whose motto is there will always be customers ready to purchase the lies and self deception they’re selling. Since we can’t possibly shoulder any blame for our dance with the devil no matter how small, this anger will eventually be directed towards any handy minority (group or individual, it doesn’t really matter) who happens to be in the wrong place at the right time.
Case in point is the very recent public services union bashing, themselves just another greedy patsy on a long list of willing participants in our own self destruction. Next up is unionized grocery baggers at the local Safeway followed by Meals-On-Wheels delivery drivers. There are no lows that will not be plumed by a population trying to escape responsibility and self examination and this too will be skillfully used against us.
There is one defining characteristic we Americans proudly boast of that is singularly unique in the entire world and it has nothing to do with our standard of living, GDP or total debt. “We The People” not only believed our leader’s lies about American exceptionalism, but we bought into those lies hook, line and sinker. And for several decades the lie worked magnificently thanks to the magic of a widely accepted reserve currency which enabled us to export most of the corrosive effects of our money printing (aka inflation) outside our borders and the military to enforce it when reluctance surfaced…..such as Iraq and Afghanistan to name just two. Good times were had by all, the punch bowl never ran dry and it was all due to our superior abilities. Until now that is.
This is in contrast to the citizens of various Middle East countries (or much of the developing world for that matter) who are always painfully aware of their real state of existence. Or even the Europeans, who have lived through several thousand years of regime changes, invasions and oppression and for the most part have a much better understanding of the magnitude and scope of the official lies and propaganda and how the dance plays out.
Ultimately this didn’t save the Europeans from their own greed and self interested pursuits, but at least they aren’t completely shocked that it’s all coming apart……..once again. The ice cold shower of awakening we Americans are about to experience will be unlike anything any nation has gone through since possibly WW2 Germany beginning around 1942 when civilian centers were deliberately targeted by Allied bombing and the German population began to really feel the sting of their own self deception and mass delusion. While I have no way of knowing exactly how America’s electro shock therapy will play out, it seems self evident it’s coming if for no other reason than because I can hear the electrical generators firing up in the background. Clear!
How this affects the American psyche as well as the various ways it could play out is well beyond the scope of this essay, but suffice to say it will not be pretty. For some of us escape will be had by digging ever deeper into denial. For others, especially those who become caught up in the vicious cycle of endless anger and fits of self pity and rage, the obvious targets of their self destructive outbursts will be any low level authority figure who stands up to them and that all time favorite among those who diligently practice slave mentality, their fellow slaves. Following our passive/aggressive conditioning, many of us will seek to punish those like us before we ever consider lifting a finger against our own masters.
While I expect cooler heads among the aggrieved will attempt to exert an influence over the angry mobs and demonstrators, we must not diminish the ugly truth that there will be plenty of domestic and foreign entities that will see the coming American domestic strife and unrest as an opportunity to foment violent demonstrations and even armed and violent insurrection. The use of infiltrated agents and agent provocateurs to incite violence and disrupt peaceful protest is a well known and time honored technique used by private parties, governments and even the resistance itself (to maintain plausible deniability for example) to further their own particular goals.
The very fact that spontaneous demonstrations are by their nature unorganized and at best loosely controlled works against the intent of the people demonstrating when those who wish to disrupt and discredit are familiar with and comfortable using any means necessary to maintain or regain control over the population. The worst that can happen to any group of people working to unseat an existing power base is their failure to imagine the lengths to which those in power will go to keep it. Those who don’t lie cheat and steal for a living won’t give proper weight and consideration to the tendency of those who do so to continue to do so, let alone their desire to accelerate their methods of operation.
One would think that once the American people begin to wake up to the extent and breadth of official corruption and manipulation that they would at least be temporarily disabused of seeking additional flights of fantasy. Sadly this is not the case at all. The well worn path many newly awakened minds take is to substitute one form of self delusion with another. A conditioned mind that has been shocked into awareness will immediately begin to seek simple answers that help them rationalize away their own self deception and participation. This tendency will be repeatedly and skillfully exploited by foreign and domestic psyops campaigns. Out of the frying pan and into the fire is an apt description for how it works.
For those who may doubt the veracity of that last paragraph, consider the long and extremely painful path you have walked to get to where you are now in your awakening. How many times have you become demoralized and depressed along the way? How often did you backslide into denial with each new and shocking revelation? How many times did you try to bargain with the truth in order to forget only to fail miserably? How much easier was it for you to adapt to and then accept what you desperately wished to deny because the world remained relatively normal during your acclimation period.
Your awakening happened over a minimum of many months and most likely years and as much as you may have wished you could, it’s impossible to forget once you have been exposed to the previously unthinkable. Now consider what your state of mind would be like if all that you’ve experienced was compressed into a few short months or even several weeks. This is what the average Joe is facing at some point in the future. To have your sense of self identity and community ripped from you by the very people you’ve wanted to believe were your protectors is never easy to deal with under the best of circumstances. The easy road to awareness is behind us and it’s all downhill from here.
So while I can’t answer the title’s question for you I can offer my own opinion as to whether or not Americans will be fired upon. The short answer is that of course they will. Why would you think otherwise when US history offers up dozens of examples to choose from. The powers that be are ego maniacs, the elites have hundreds of years of experience controlling the masses and the masses are mostly living their lives in denial. I consider it inevitable that when the uprisings begin and they turn really ugly that those who are paid to protect the powerful and their assets will follow orders and do precisely that.
Hat Tip to William Banzai7 for the image below.
Once again you can’t see this from your own point of view because you most likely won’t be the one holding the riot gear and facing the screaming mobs. While I’m certain some within the police, military and National Guard will follow their heart and refuse to fire or even follow orders if doing so means hurting their fellow citizens, in effect declaring conscientious objector status, they will for the most part be a small minority and will be quickly weeded out of the ranks by the second or third round of protests.
Considering the insanity the police and troops will be facing as well as the economic collapse that threatens them as well, the police/troops will rally around each other and protect their own closed community using whatever means necessary. Throw in the mercenaries, the agent provocateurs, the psyops campaigns, the meddling from the various intelligence agencies and the only question I have is not if but when and how much.
Someone in the comment section the other day said that since the military is now an all volunteer fighting force, the standard of conduct has been raised and no one in the military would ever fire on their fellow citizens. While I would love to believe this, I see it from a different point of view. Those in the military want(ed) to be in the military, thus they were more likely to buy into military groupthink and its attendant mind control and propaganda. Rest assured that long before any uniformed service person (police or military) is asked to confront their fellow citizens they will be subjected to a barrage of intensive conditioning and will be propagandized to the nth degree.
In my opinion, to believe that the various forces arrayed against the protesting public won’t fire on them is to continue to believe in American exceptionalism and more specifically in the desire of the rich and powerful to finally see the error of their ways and thus immediately cease and desist from further exploitation and pillage. If this is the case, if this is what you believe, then all I can say is that you live in a dream world Neo.
On a more positive note I do think something has changed and it’s still not being recognized for what it is and what it might mean. The interim resolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, while undoubtedly unsettled and tenuous at best, did not result in the massive loss of lives many people and governments thought could and would happen. Libya is playing out how many expected Egypt and Tunisia would, with the powers that be fighting to retain power with modern weapons and no mercy.
My question is this, why didn’t Egypt and Tunisia go up in flames? I have some thoughts on why this is the case and I saw WB7 made mention of this change in one of his posts as well. The people who said no more to the powers that be didn’t show up with broken bottles, rocks and other assorted weapons ready to fight. Instead they just said no in as peaceful a manner as they could and they were saying no to the global Ponzi, not just the local branch. Instead of joining a mindless mob, people were praying, talking, playing music and at times even laughing. This is a dramatic sea change in the herd mentality and one that I hope to examine more closely in the future.
03-01-2011
Cognitive Dissonance
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As I said, Egypt is far from over. But something felt different there and I will revisit the subject when some time has passed and we see how well the common people deal with further frustration. But it seemed the people were revolting against the global Ponzi as much as Mubarak.
Of course I reserve the right to be completely and consistently wrong. :>)
Are you suggesting the protesters were calling for a hard currency? Where did you hear this?
No, not at all. They seemed to be speaking to the situation that was/is causing the food prices to skyrocket in Egypt. They certainly wanted Mubarak out. But they seemed to understand that their problems are bigger than Mubarak, that the global financial insanity was behind their problems, led by the US and the Fed and all the complicit and enabling countries....including Mubarak and Egypt.
I have no proof other than what I've been reading off of the MSM propaganda. As I said it was a feeling as yet undefined.
In the short run: who knows? In the long run: impossible, because when the "end game" plays out the government simply won't have the money to continue paying the cops & troops. How much would martial law take away from GDP? 10, 20 30%? From that point on it's a black hole to anarchy. I don't believe the financial elite are well positioned to survive in a de-monetized world in the least.
The author needs to consider the fact that there are rare times in History when the rulers lose their heads. Revolutions happen.
The author is well aware of your observation.
I have complete confidence that the desperate will become increasingly desperate and even more insane. I'm speaking about everyone here, not just the elite and powerful. We have entered the age of total insanity and full retard. Count on it.
Never go 'full retard', CD!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgHITc1OL-c
Regardless, all is not yet lost/bleak... Here's a little something which may positively inform (and hopefully encourage) your continuing enquiries in American cultural morphology...
http://www.alternet.org/books/150126/the_moral_underground%3A_how_ordinary_americans_subvert_an_unfair_economy/?page=entire
The U.S. is hypicritical - they are "Do as we say not as we do". Calling all the protest in the Middle East a good thing and how terrible it is the country turned off the internet.
Also all the "listen to the people and leave, besides turn back on the internet" to the leaders. Yet, if it came to it here, they would take all those steps and would not step down easily at all. Here they would fight the people including bombing them as Libya has done, if a military base was taken over. I have seen enough videos of the brutality the police do, besides the hardened military personnel who have come back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The officials here would have no qualms to shooting people.
kent state was hippies/slackers against rich kids that joined the guard to keep from having to go to vietnam but even then most were ROTC and let me tell you, at my high school the ROTC were the ubber nerds of that time. they hated everyone...i am not suprised that the guard fired on those students...they deserved it didnt they! why didnt they get drafted like everyone else?
today it will be illegal aliens in our military...the guy with the leaf blower in your yard who cant wait to put a cap in your elitist ass. then we will bring in the worlds poor and give them a gun and a promise to feed their family.
and finally we will give all the cops and parks dept goons and homeland(?) security dwebs real guns with a bullet like barney fife...
it will just be total chaos while thebankers get their walled and gated communities setup....
Your over-generalization of the two sides at Kent State is bullshit simplification. You maybe weren't around back then. The country was even more polarized at that time than it is now, but not every college kid was a "hippie" and not everyone who joined the National Guard was a rich kid.
Someone ordered those Guardsmen to fire, it wasn't spontaneous.
I thought it was humans vs. humans, with no one with a dog in the hunt, so to speak. Glad to have that one cleared up for me...
"no dog in the fight" not "in the hunt."
Language, when respected, facilitates the transmission of meaning. We try to respect the meaning of words, such as "mercenary," and refrain from mixing metaphors for this reason. On the other hand, as Orwell observed, the statist will redefine and manipulate the language in an attempt to prevent discussion. Let's all try to do better at this, Misean, in the service of maintaining our freedoms.
That dog won't hunt...
Going long body armor.
Look up caliber ratings for body armor and what the murderers will be shooting and realize it's better not to be anywhere you might need it.
Wear it for the bugout to rural areas to thwart carjackers that were going to shoot anyway.
LOL
Four words to (literally) live by.
CD I have to say the miltiary is divided in this issue. My cousin is in the army reserve and my ex girlfriend serves the New York State National Guard. I have spoke to both of them of this and they say that the lower ranks despise the government. And if shit went down that the militiary would be divided. Look at Libya their military is divided some followed orders other defect. I believe we would see the same over here. Now the othe rproblem is that there is not enough manpower to implement martial law. If there is a major crisis that sends the entire country into chaos, it would highly unlikely that the U.S. military will be able to enforce a lock-down of the entire nation.
Even if the military manages to acquire all 1.5 million reserves and utilize 1 million of it's total 1.5 million personnel in the Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard, it would struggle to control 308-310 million citizens in a land mass of 9,161,966 sq km.
You can confirm these numbers by looking at the U.S. Census or CIA World fact book.
Now you may say well the millions of militarized police will be used. First of all, American law enforcement numbers are not as strong as some of you think. According to the BLS (bureau of Labor Statistics), there were only 883,600 law enforcement personnel in 2008. And that was before the financial collapse and subsequent layoffs in local departments across the nation. The number included detectives, managers, police and sheriff's patrol officers.
So when you add the 2,500,000 soldiers and the 883,000 law enforcement, you have a force of 3.3 million agents. This is less than one percent of America's highly-armed population. Most of these agents will be working logistics and support for handling prisoners, transportation, intelligence and supply. But this isn't even the biggest problem.
The police are used to dealing with people who are afraid of them and have something to lose. In a collapse scenario, the rioters will lack both characteristics. And the military will be poorly suited to police a populace that is desperation for resources. If the soldiers became violent against the population, they could divide the armed forces and spark a civil war. Moreover, Iraq and Afghanistan has shown us that the U.S. military is not invisible and that guerrilla warfare tactics can be deployed successfully against a high-tech army.
It would be very difficult for the U.S. military to successfully implement martial law throughout the entire country at any given time. This would mean that they would have to secure hundred of thousands of neighborhoods, while securing all major airports, power stations, communication towers, water facilities, nuclear power plants, military bases, food distribution center, grocery stores, government official buildings and highways while keeping everyone in their homes after 6pm.
Bringing in foreign troops would problematic, because if the U.S. is in a panic, wouldn't the other countries that are so heavily tied to America also have their own problems. Plus, we know how well foreign occupations went in Afghanistan, Vietnam and Iraq.
In conclusion, a military lock-down of the entire country at any given time would be impossible with the assistance of foreign troops. Adding foreign troops would increase the manpower, but severely damage the credibility of the force. Such a situation would encourage more violence against the martial law force. The U.S. government may attempt to lock the country down, but it would end in failure and possibility set the stage for a civil war. Many people assume that the population's current malaise will mean little resistance to martial law, but they fail to understand human nature. If there is a crisis situation, your biggest danger maybe the people around you.
Well done CD, you are working through the external validation that the crap farms known as societies imprint on people. You ever want to innoculate yourself further on blocking the nonsense, go have a good long discussion with a diplomat brat that's lived as a gypsy most of their lives. The unique perspective is completely unsettling in the fact that anything you have known to be true, is more than likely a useless lie and the only people that you can rely on are the ones that you've come to terms as friends and neighbours.
I am agreed in the plain fact that we are all in for a rude awakening, we're also running a very simple machine built with the nonsense fed by belief systems and underscored by MSM sources. It is that simplicity that can be easily reprogrammed, to pretty much any direction anyone of us makes a choice to do so in another human being.
The simplicity itself is the fault in the system. There is no back up plan other than lie. When that fails. Lie a bit more. Bored of lying, make sure the next one is a whopper.
Again, enjoyed the article and as usual you were the right amount of smartass.
I'm hoping that strange feeling that something is different is correct. The power elite won't gain much ground firing on unarmed peacefull protesters. I am getting up there in years and would like to see the youth have a decent living environment. It will be much different from the world now but it needs to be. Hopefully the youth will not opt for any type of central government because no it will not be different next time. Nice post CD.
CD
What happened? Why such sudden change? this is not first post on the correct side of the class warfare
Not sure what you are talking about. Full sentences and thoughts would be appreciated if you would like me to respond. :>)
This was almost purely republican/conservative site. Lately i have been seing posts that started identifing wealthy as destructive force. Right is working for rich and big corporations, while the left is working to improve lives of the poor and middle class. In your post you accurately described what happens to a mind that had a revelation about how self-manipulated ot used to be. I take it that going from Tea Party attitude to realizing how wrong it is was that moment of revelation. So what happened to start writing so strongly against real enemy of democracy and rule of law.
Holy s***, where have you been?? We constantly barrage the financial elite, propangandists (bureaucratic and media), shit-for-brains politicians, and corporate looters on this site.
You've learned the rulers divide and conquer templets well, and apparently believe in them. Go TEAM! RA RA RA!
If you believe that it is just a template, oh well...
I lived trough such template, just to let you know, i survived Croatian "Civil War" 20 years ago.
Umm
I haven't changed my tune. You must be thinking about someone else. I've been talking about these subjects since the day I was pulled from the comment section by Tyler and made a contributor in September of 2009. But fewer were listening.
In another life/career:
In the Police Academy, you are are taught what "The Police" are, and the definition is "A Para-Military Organization". Here in MA, our Police Academies last approximately 26 weeks, allowing us to transfer to almost any police department in the country short of basic law package instruction. The only exception I'm aware of is NYC, where they don't care where you got your training from.
Here, there are basically three (3) levels of civilian police (outside of MA State Police who have their own heirarchy): 1) Average police office with basic instruction 2) Tactical Patrol Force (TPF), a regional police force made of of many communities, whereby each community allows X number of it's officers to join 3) Special Operations Unit (SOU), the most specialized units, well armed, and by law the only officers allowed in the State to carry certain weaponry.
In my academy, only one person in the entire class did NOT have a college degree, some had masters, and it's not uncommon here in MA that police officers have their JD. So we're not talking about a bunch of ex-military, salivating over days-gone-by combat. This is especially true of the older ranking officers, especially with families. However, here in Massachusetts, Veterans do get preference, by law, which especially now, a purple heart Iraq/Afgan Vet will go ahead of everyone (assuming the injury doesn't prevent from serving).
In my opinion, the younger officers will do as they're ordered, which means the question asked will heavily rely on the command structure of thier respective departments. Older officers, especially one's seeing light at the end of the tunnel of retirement, most my guess want no part of unrest.
My opinion is you will end up with a mixed bag (excluding State Police). You have maybe half of the force educated enough to make rational decisions, and the other half, combat vets, trained, and combat ready, especially if they just got out of the service. I see a splinter effect from TPTB in State government. The Governor orders municipalities to do something, and some comply while others refuse.
The Military is a different ball game. Most Guard and Reserve members are also combat veterans, and most are in municipal/State government (MA is veteran friendly). Again, the Command structure rules, but I don't see my former partners and current neighbor drawing down on me in any scenario. Everyone knows what is going on is wrong, especially us ex-Military/Law Enforcement types, most lean conservative and understand a black/white version of right and wrong. Are there bad apples out there? Sure, but you get that anywhere, but MSM doesn't cover that.
As a former Army officer myself and an ex-cop, ex-military dad I agree with the way you call it. Interesting post in any case.
North,
Thank you for basically backing my BOOK up.
I have no doubt, that if Illegal orders are given, no matter by whom, they will not be followed.
Not by people who know the Constitution, and BOR's, and have integrity.
North,
Thank you for basically backing my BOOK up.
I have no doubt, that if Illegal orders are given, no matter by whom, they will not be followed.
Not by people who know the Constitution, and BOR's, and have integrity.
They shot unarmed students at Kent State for Nixon didn't they? Today's cops are way more vicious and cold hearted than the Illinois National Guard was back then. In fact the notorious Bull Connor would look like a softy compared to the average cop today.
In other words, it will be a question of who shoots first you or the cops.
the po po are already ignoring left wing union violence at protests when it happens right in front of them.
Not Physical violence.
If they are, they should be fired immediately.
The FBI report on Kent State was quite troubling. Most of the victims were shot in the back or the side (running away). Shooters had to be pulled away from their positions. People lose control.
Gotta remember these dudes were National Guard, you know like store clerks, Dr's, Pharmacists, etc,etc,and they were certainly not as well trained as todays Natl Guard.
Kent State was an accident, and a slimy finger,heard round the world.
But what are the better trained National Guard now trained for?
Yep. Old enough to remember that. Scary - and people do 'go crazy' sometimes in situations like that. Gonna be ugly. Invest in PM's and don't forget some lead.
yes
Great essay, CD, as always.
The answer is, without a doubt, yes they will fire on us. National Guard or reservists won't be used in their home communities to avoid any "conflicts", they'll move them to a different part of the state.
I believe when TSHTF we will be amazed at how any "resistance" is portrayed; "domestic terrorist" is probably how they'll be branded. Hell, DHS is already planning on this, remember the recent story about Napalitono's video asking Americans to spy on each other, playing on a video screen at the Wal-mart near you?
Any general uprising will be infiltrated quickly, and this will not be a short conflict. In some areas of the country, I can imagine the survivalists might outnumber the local military, at least until they're picked off. Problem is, with the military, they can always bring more. Posse Comitatus be damned.
an excellant post CD. I was completely with you until that last paragraph.
Egypt was a carefully choreographed event with the people in the street mostly just extras on the set.
The NWO made their move. the old control system is about to fail. without it propping up the current regimes, they would start to fall haphazardly anyway. So, to preempt what is inevitable, the elite intend on setting up faux hopey changey democracy to create legitimacy for their new control grid.
At the same time, groups like the MB and associates are no fools and have survived decades of hard core overt oppression. They will integrate with the new system, and when the time is right, they will take it over. The violence is only postponed. When it finally breaks, it will happen in spades.
As for to fire or not to fire. I can guarantee groupthink will rule. There might be a wringing of hands, until the first POP is hard, and the group will instinctively react. A trouble making crowd with rocks and bottles will only make the decision easier.
A lot of people smirk and make snide comments at a group like the Oathkeepers. That really is the best way to keep the US from devolving into us vs them. The military must never reach a point where the citizens they are supposed to protect become "them"
I tend to agree that Egypt was orchestrated. But the people did act differently from the very beginning. They saw the bigger picture. However, if they had been attacked like Libya did it's own people I suspect the Egyptian people would have reverted back to their herd mentality program.
As I said I need to revisit the entire affair after some time has passed.
The transition has gone remarkably smooth. Outside fingerprints are all over the scene. But its hard to tell if those are instigators, or damage controllers trying to get out in front of an organic movement.
That is a danger here as well. I can guarantee you that the local tea party was as grass roots as it gets. Now, not too sure. If the time comes, the MSM will distract the frightened sheeple by designating a scape goat for them to lash out at instead of the TPTB.
You're one of ZHs luminaries CD. I hope you can keep up the good works.
You're a bit weird and convoluted sometimes, but I don't doubt the strength of your convictions nor the truth in your conclusions.
Why didn't Egypt and Tunisia go up in flames? I wondered that myself, and it's pretty obvious - only psychopaths kill their own unresisting people on orders, and there just aren't that many psychos. With Libya, it is EXACTLY the same - pilots are ejecting out of their planes, troops are abandoning their posts, and people are still protesting against Gaddafi peacefully until they have no choice but to fight back. The only added variable are the mercenaries, and it looks like the Libyans have that well contained. But add another variable into the mix - a "Humanitarian" US mission by bombing and troop landings resulting in massive collateral damage - we are going to see Iraq and Afghanistan Part II all over again.
Anyway, the answer to your question must be yes they have and yes they would again. No doubt about it.
I am not weird. I am eccentric.
+1 !
They murder millions by allowing poverty, drugs, and untreated disease to survive in our borders. This is done by choice. Freedom doesn't cause any of those things. It's a way of distracting the masses from the wealth that is being hoarded by the few. When you're Jonesing for a hit, homeless, cold, broke, and your rotten teeth hurt the last thing on your mind is a vacation home in Aruba.
Hey!, but you're free!
"Hey!, but your free!" That's so right! Your don't want me telling you anything about how you must live "YOUR" life. So it's my bed, and I sleep in it. YES; I know much of which you speak is the result of mental illness.
I would answer Yes. Sure they would: given a situation, pretexts and conditioning. Of course.
On the other hand, there are 80,000,000 armed Americans. OK, yes, TPTB could lay siege to the cities and do all kinds of terrible things.
But, at the end of the day the 80,000,000 (minus whatever casualties) of us can beat the uniforms and Xe. Most of them have families too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YonMA162oA&feature=
The Military I do not see getting involved in shooting even if the citizens are armed.
As long as it is not helter skelter, and the citizens are performing illegal acts.
These are/will be Oath Keepers, and defenders of their Homeland.
Their Primary Duty, is to Protect and Defend the Constitution of the USA.'
Not the President first, but the Constitution.(just like the military).
If they are given illegal orders, they will STAND DOWN they cannot comply with illegal orders, they will have broken an Oath they take very seriously.( I got this from a lifer retired Major).
The Alpha Bets,Mercs, sure, I see them following orders, and most enjoying it.
Common Po Po's not as much,they have families to go home to, and will need good reason for that action, price is way too high.
Here's where the line in the sand comes in.
IF the people are trying to take over the Gv't, and reform it, and get it back to where it should be, then I think the bloodshed will be a minimum.( Cooler heads will prevail).
That said;
If the HS, and Alpha Bets, are set loose, Game on.
Regular citizens have already been accused/slandered/blackballed by the head of DHS(a bad move) and made mortal enemies of the state, for no reason, except to plant the SEED.
I see this as Agent Provocateur.
Next;
IF the Gv't brings in (said to already be here) foreign troops, wearing the Blue Hats, then we have WWIII on US soil.
They will be shot on sight for no reason (IMHO).Their is NO way real Americans are going to be herded like sheep by foreign troops.
Woe be it unto us all if this is the case. The Canucks, are our friends, they come across the border w/Blue Hats, then they just shot their wad, any foreign soldier will be considered THE enemy.( this is the worst case scenario).
My question thats always rolled around in my pea brain,is how (if even 10% of the 200 million armed Americans), participate, will/can they be defeated.
We're talking Urban warfare in areas they know very well.That's 20 million Americans....................
Our troops are great they have done a hell of a job in Iraq, and Trashcanistan,urban warfare,bad ,nasty ,dirty shit.
But not against their neighbors, families,and fellow citizens, and in NO where close to that 10% guessimate figure.
Wrap your head around that........what if its 20%?,5%?.
Its taken our troops years to get to where they are now, and we're still there.And these are Insurgents,people who hate them.
Not people who are losing their country and heritage of 235+ years,it belongs to our soldiers also.
The way to stop this event is to take out the head of the snakes, forget the tails.(peacefully),if possible.
I would imagine many have laid plans for this as we speak.
There is no one that cannot be taken out,NO ONE.
History has proven that time and again.
The Oath Keeper group is numerous, and well trained, and took the Oath, they will have ZERO issues getting others of like mind to join the cause.
Americans are (the 10% +/-) by and large well trained ex military, and or LE.
Also, the civilians that would join them are as proficient (maybe more so,or at least as good), as a lot of them are, with tactics and use of weapons.
I know, I have seen it first hand many times.
These are the scenarios that have run through my head that WE may see.....God forbid.
I am not advocating any of this, some of this is fact, we have all seen it , and read it.
This is just my idea's of how it could play out.
I pray cooler heads prevail, and we all work together, like Americans have since our founding.
However, we are not fond of tyrants, and being ordered what to do for no just cause,and I know the fire of Freedom still burns.
What portion of our armed forces might be trapped on the far side of the globe should this situation transpire over days or weeks as opposed to years? To what extent would this tend toward a macro level of the Robin Hood mythos of the evil local and the virtuous distant rulers?