Military and Police in Florida Practice
Detaining Citizens
By Alex Newman
April 01, 2015 "ICH"
- "NA"
- If you live in South
Florida, the black military helicopters
buzzing over your city were not in your
imagination — regardless of what the
increasingly discredited establishment press
has been claiming for years. A controversial
military training drill took place last week
in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that
spooked more than a few residents, as well
as analysts. Featuring Special Forces from
various branches of the military working
with local law enforcement, the drill
involved, among other elements, rounding up
civilians. And now, the training is coming
under fire from locals and national media
commentators as everything from an
inconvenience and safety hazard to an
ominous sign of trouble to come.
The “urban warfare” exercises had been
announced earlier in the month without much
fanfare by authorities and local media
outlets. However, last week, a dramatic
video of the dangerous drill, already viewed
by hundreds of thousands of people, sparked
widespread alarm about the true purpose of
the exercises. A spokesman for the
Tampa-based U.S. Special Operations Command
cited in media reports downplayed the
exercise as merely “routine” training for
overseas missions. But more than a few
critics say the Obama administration is
actually up to no good — potentially even
training to impose martial law and overt
tyranny on the American people following
some sort of crisis.
In perhaps the most troubling segment of
the amateur video footage of the drill,
military forces can be seen marching a
column of “detainees” — presumably role
players who were participating in the
exercise — across a street to meet their
unknown fate. While the scenario was
officially explained as training for
military operations in foreign nations, more
than a few analysts pointed to problems with
that supposed explanation. Cooperation in
the drills from local law-enforcement, for
example, has raised concerns among critics —
especially considering the federal
government’s ongoing efforts to militarize
and nationalize state and local police
forces.
Other concerns cited by concerned critics
and analysts include U.S. government
documents leaked to the press in recent
years. A 2010 U.S. Army publication on “Internment
and Resettlement Operations,” for
instance, specifically applies to U.S.
citizens and outlines how Americans might be
herded into camps and subjected to “psyops”
(psychological operations) to change their
views. The document also lists the
dictator-dominated United Nations as a
partner in the scheming. But that could
never happen in America, right? It certainly
could, according to analysts, history, and
even a sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice.
Also alarming in the Fort Lauderdale
training caught on video, according to
analysts and even military sources, is the
fact that black military helicopters can be
seen maneuvering through buildings in the
densely populated downtown area. One mistake
could have easily resulted in widespread
loss of life and massive property damage,
putting taxpayers on the hook, according to
critics. Officials claimed training in such
environments for “urban warfare” was
necessary to ready troops for overseas
deployments, though few commentators on the
drill seemed convinced.
News of the exercises in Miami-Dade and
Broward counties was first reported in
February by local outlets. Local
law-enforcement officials quoted in media
accounts claimed the training was designed
to “ensure the military's ability to operate
in urban environments” and “prepare forces
for upcoming overseas deployments.” In a
statement by the Broward County Sherriff’s
Office, residents were informed that local
law enforcement agencies were “providing
support” for what was described as two weeks
of “routine training.” Some 200 military
personnel from the Air Force, Army, Marines
and Navy reportedly participated as well.
While local news reports generally echoed
official pronouncements downplaying the
significance of the drills, a brief perusal
of the comment sections reveals that
residents were largely unconvinced —
especially by the claim that the drills were
supposed to serve as training for “overseas”
missions. The story eventually went “viral”
after the Fort Lauderdale training video
was picked up by Infowars, which
reported that the footage “shows military
and law enforcement practicing the
internment of citizens during martial-law
style training.”
Infowars editor and reporter Paul Joseph
Watson also noted concerns that the drills
are serving to prepare Americans to accept
martial law in a national emergency — a fear
also expressed by military personnel and
Americans all across the political spectrum.
“The fact that preparations are being made
to use the military during domestic unrest
is manifestly provable,” Watson added,
citing a vast array of official documents
and indisputable evidence.
Concerns about the exercises in Florida
came shortly after a military presentation
on the upcoming “Jade Helm 15” Special
Forces drills in the American Southwest led
to similar alarm. Especially troubling to
critics is
the fact that Texas, Utah, and part of
California identified are identified as
“hostile” or “insurgent” territory on a map
for the exercise, while other states are
listed as permissive or unknown. The Special
Forces drills, set to take place this
summer, involve a wide array of
controversial elements, ranging from trying
to blend in with civilians while dressed in
civilian clothes to carrying military
weaponry with blank ammo in public. A former
Special Forces operator alarmed by the plans
theorized that the drill may be about
gathering intelligence on citizens, police,
and officials in the area who might oppose a
potential martial-law order.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for
The New American, covering
economics, education, politics, and more.
Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU.
He can be reached at
anewman@thenewamerican.com
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