Re: Civil Military Convergence
#154139
04/22/2012 09:04 AM
04/22/2012 09:04 AM
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,925
Tulsa
airforce
Administrator
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Administrator
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 23,925
Tulsa
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Are we sliding towards a police state? An article by Stephen Greenhut at reason. A Sacramento, California area family is mourning the death of their mentally disabled son, who was shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy after the family had called the sheriff’s department for help in restraining him. Newspaper accounts suggest the deputy ordered the young man—a severe germophobe—onto the ground, which sparked intense struggling. After a tussle, the deputy shot the man in front of his family.
As is typical, the sheriff defended the officer and said that he was well within his rights to use deadly force, which is no doubt true given that current law gives officers wide latitude to restrain and even kill people.
Comb through newspapers across the country and one will find many incidents of officer-involved shootings and aggressive behavior by the authorities, who, as an aside, increasingly look like paramilitary rather than community officers. Police say society has become more dangerous, but crime rates are falling even during tough economic times. The number of officers killed on duty is at record lows....
Whatever happened to civil libertarians, who must be in hiding somewhere? Why aren’t Christians—who are more than willing to flex their political muscle on gay marriage and other issues—talking about the impact of these policies on the least among us, or thinking seriously about those in jails and prisons?
We’re creating a brutal and inhumane society. This is from a recent Los Angeles Times article: “A Los Angeles County commission investigating jail abuse heard tearful testimony … from clergy and civilian monitors who worked in the lockups and said they witnessed deputies assaulting inmates and bullying witnesses to keep quiet. One jail monitor broke down as she recounted being intimidated by a deputy whom she said saw beat an unconscious inmate. A weeping jail chaplain described deputies calling him a rat after he reported another beating.”
When officials misbehave so egregiously, it undermines our society and our form of government in deep and disturbing ways.... Read the whole thing if you get the chance. Onward and upward, airforce
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Re: Civil Military Convergence
#154140
04/22/2012 10:04 AM
04/22/2012 10:04 AM
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 370
Ohio
BuckeyeNCO
Member
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Member
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 370
Ohio
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Good article, Airforce. I remember a couple years ago when I went through the police academy, I was one of four former military guys in the class of 25. Close to the end, we did our first aid portion, followed by some TCCC (no sweat there) and Active Shooter Response (ditto). The instructor was on the SO as a tactical medic (Stark County), and was a former Army medic (I suspected Airborne or Ranger). During the shooter response portion, when we were broken up into 4-'officer' teams, I was one of the ringers lol. Anyways, after the class was over, the instructor came up to me, praised my combat skills, and said "When this is over, come over and drop your application off at the sheriff's office. I'm always looking for young hard chargers like you for tactical. It'll be your kind of shit, break glass and kick ass." Well, I did drop my application off, but later found out that the SO stopped hiring due to budgetary problems. In retrospect, I'm glad they weren't hiring.
Also, plenty of anti Tea Party and Patriot crap coming from the instructors.
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Re: Civil Military Convergence
#154141
04/23/2012 01:43 AM
04/23/2012 01:43 AM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,321
Malaysia
Flick
Senior Member
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Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,321
Malaysia
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Reading between the lines of this crap could fill multiple books. Talk about newspeak! Some examples:
From page 79, Forecasting the need for additional operational skills
"Recent history depicts a clear trend toward having SOF engage in activities more akin to law enforcement than combat. The purpose of this monograph is not to debate whether or not that shift is appropriate. Bottom line is that the trend toward criminalization of terrorism is real as are additional constraints on acceptable activities. Therefore SOF needs to prepare for this emerging and future environment."
Translation: America is becoming a police state and we're all for it because it means more money, prestige, and power for SOF both now and when they enter law enforcement. We're gonna enjoy kickin' civilian butt and creating more opportunities to do so by constraining more and more of their activities as unacceptable.
From page 80 - Establish new training requirements
"There are two distinct domains in which [law enforcement] operations are likely to occur. The first has been experienced in Iraq and will probably follow in Afghanistan and other areas in which the U.S. establishes long-term commitments for stability operations. The second area will be in support of homeland security operations in which SOF units function in connection with civilian law enforcement."
Translation: We look forward to future contrived conflicts in foreign lands to prepare SOF personnel for the kind of emerging law enforcement roles they will be engaged in once they enter law enforcement roles back in the homeland. Soon we will be able to drop all pretenses and unleash SOF personnel directly onto U.S. streets to conduct law enforcement operations just as they have done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, and other non-compliant venues.
From page 81 - The potential for dramatic changes in legal constraints
"...Posse Comitatus may not be as restrictive as most officers believe. Further, current laws regarding use of force may change, especially if the public perceives an increase in risk to their personal safety. In the aftermath of 9/11, sweeping changes to laws were quickly enacted, namely the Patriot Act. It is reasonable to postulate that in the event of one or more major terrorist attacks occurring within the United States, especially where weapons of mass destruction were employed causing large-scale casualties, major legal changes could occur rather rapidly. The internal use of military forces, beyond those contemplated in Posse Comitatus, are foreseeable."
Translation: Yippee! Posse Comitatus is dead and buried! We need to make sure that current law enforcement officers as well as military personnel are aware of this advantage. To really capitalize on this, we must concoct another false flag event in the United States causing much death and destruction, thus instilling tremendous fear among Americans for their personal safety. Then we could really crack down on those who don't adore the state.
From page 82 - Increased personal liability for SOF operators
"While enforcement officials are afforded some protection from unwarranted lawsuits, each police officer is still held accountable for his or her actions. Known as qualified immunity, officers are protected from prosecution provided they are operating in good faith based on the information reasonably available at the time. The agencies and communities to which they belong are aware of both individual and institutional responsibilities. The potential for liability is great, and LEAs have developed extensive mechanisms to protect themselves."
Translation: Current laws and public sentiment don't permit SOF and law enforcement personnel to be quite as free with the use of violence as we would like. Despite their willingness to lie to the public under oath to cover for one of their own who got caught on video using "excessive" force, we still must resort at times to appear to go through the motions of holding officers accountable for their actions. The potential for liability is great--too great--which is bad for morale, so we are working on better and more underhanded and deceitful mechanisms to protect ourselves from prosecution.
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