DC’s Pentagon Plan: War is Peace, Citizens are the Enemy

NoisyRoom.net

And the Constitutional violations just keep on comin’… Barack Obama isn’t just doubling down on shredding our founding document, he’s doing a boogie on it with a treasonous twist. Not just at home, but abroad — from the IRS scandal to Benghazi — his hubris and disdain for America is breathtaking.

Bill Gertz reported this week on a memo outlining Obama’s plan to use the military against citizens – a memo from 2010. Remember how the blogs and many of us out here were ringing the alarm bells on Obama’s stance that he could use the military and drones against American citizens? Remember how we were marginalized and called crazy for it? Turns out, ‘crazy’ is relative.

This particular beat has the potential to kill us – literally. It portrays Obama’s vision for potentially using the US military against American citizens on American soil. From the Pentagaon, comes a directive on military support to civilian authorities which details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama Administration’s potential use of military force against Americans. It took three and a half years to surface, buried by the Obama Administration, the military and the media. It entails provisions on support to civilian fire and emergency services, special events and the domestic use of the Army Corps of Engineers. Then it goes off the rails Constitutionally.

The memo goes on to outline the use of military and arms against Americans in the event of domestic unrest. In fact, Obama considered employing this during the Bundy standoff in Nevada. I contend, he wasn’t done baking this dictatorial cake – it wasn’t ready for prime time, yet. A defense official who opposes the memo was quoted as saying, “This appears to be the latest step in the administration’s decision to use force within the United States against its citizens.” Why hasn’t any military official openly stood up against this? Tell me, is the fate of America and her citizens less important than your rank, pensions and benefits? Have you put such a low price on your integrity that selling out your fellow Americans is so convenient? 30 pieces of silver has so many valuations these days.

From Bill Gertz:

“Federal military forces shall not be used to quell civil disturbances unless specifically authorized by the president in accordance with applicable law or permitted under emergency authority,” the directive states.

“In these circumstances, those federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the president is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances” under two conditions.

The conditions include military support needed “to prevent significant loss of life or wanton destruction of property and are necessary to restore governmental function and public order.” A second use is when federal, state and local authorities “are unable or decline to provide adequate protection for federal property or federal governmental functions.” (my emphasis)

“Federal action, including the use of federal military forces, is authorized when necessary to protect the federal property or functions,” the directive states.

Military assistance can include loans of arms, ammunition, vessels and aircraft. The directive states clearly that it is for engaging civilians during times of unrest. (my emphasis)

Please pay special attention to what I emphasized above. That first bolded phrase takes authority away from the states and local authorities and institutes military control in an emergency. In other words – martial law. It strips us of our rights and protections.

The directive was signed by then-Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn. In case you want to view the directive, a copy can be found on the Pentagon website: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/302518p.pdf.

It should now be painfully apparent to anyone paying attention why there has been a buildup of SWAT teams nationally. Why every teeny, tiny burg out there now has military weapons and vehicles and why every government agency is now armed to the teeth. American citizens are in the crosshairs of their own government. Obama and company are seriously prepping for a scenario that will implement martial law and give them precedence to kill and round up Americans they deem a threat. You can call it paranoia or anything you want – it’s happening in front of us and we are allowing it:

President Obama stated at the National Defense University a year ago: “I do not believe it would be constitutional for the government to target and kill any U.S. citizen — with a drone or with a shotgun — without due process, nor should any president deploy armed drones over U.S. soil.”

A Pentagon official who defended the directive said it was signed in December 2010 after four years of thorough consultations within the Pentagon and with other federal agencies The 2010 directive replaced several previously published directives in 1980, 1991, and 1993. The last time military forces were used to quell civil unrest was 1906 following the San Francisco earthquake to protect the federal mint and restore order in the city.

The official said: “I suppose that in a very extreme case, one can imagine a combination of natural and man-made disasters that result in the cascading failure of communication infrastructure, or some electro-magnetic pulse that shuts down all electronic communication.”

“In the event that it should happen in today’s day and age, we would want our senior military leaders in the field to do all they can to assist their fellow Americans to prevent significant loss of life or malicious destruction of property and to protect federal property or federal governmental functions,” the official said.

There’s a very good reason our government refuses to harden the electrical grid or protect us from terrorists… because they intend to use those same tactics against us. There’s ample evidence why they want to strip us of our 2nd Amendment rights and disarm us. And the menace is from both sides of the political aisle with the same agenda of control and power. They will be the ones to decide who needs what kind of assistance they will be enforcing. It is the logical outcome of the monstrosity that is the Patriot Act. In the name of security, we have invited in a militaristic demon. Because political leaders fear the grassroots in America — they fear the American people — they will utilize drones, military, weapons… whatever it takes to maintain their status quo. They’ll employ everything and anything but the US Constitution. This directive IS the smoking gun that proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the Obama Administration views each of us as a threat, especially those who are Constitutional Conservatives and align with the Tea Party.

Our own government is war-gaming against us, not against our enemies. They aren’t hiding it. Remember, never let an emergency — real or orchestrated — go to waste. Totalitarianism is no longer coming… it is here.

Now, we come to the event of yesterday: Five of the Most Dangerous Taliban Commanders in U.S. Custody Exchanged for American Captive. Obama proudly announced and took full credit for the rescuing of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from Idaho, who has been held by the Taliban for several years. In exchange, Obama unilaterally released the five most violent Taliban commanders from Gitmo. ‘High Risk’ doesn’t begin to cover these murderous asshats. It is a fundamental shift in foreign policy – we don’t negotiate with terrorists – until now, that is.

Obama didn’t bother to notify Congress – he is after all, the Lawless President:

Amid jubilation Saturday over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from captivity by the Taliban, senior Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were troubled by the means by which it was accomplished, which was a deal to release five Afghan detainees from the military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Top Republicans on the Senate and House armed services committees went so far as to accuse President Obama of having broken the law, which requires the administration to notify Congress before any transfers from Guantanamo are carried out.

“Trading five senior Taliban leaders from detention in Guantanamo Bay for Bergdahl’s release may have consequences for the rest of our forces and all Americans. Our terrorist adversaries now have a strong incentive to capture Americans. That incentive will put our forces in Afghanistan and around the world at even greater risk,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. McKeon (R-Calif.) and the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, James M. Inhofe (Okla.), said in a joint statement.

Lawmakers were not notified of the Guantanamo detainees’ transfer until after it occurred.

The law requires the defense secretary to notify relevant congressional committees at least 30 days before making any transfers of prisoners, to explain the reason and to provide assurances that those released would not be in a position to reengage in activities that could threaten the United States or its interests.

Before the current law was enacted at the end of last year, the conditions were even more stringent. However, the administration and some Democrats had pressed for them to be loosened, in part to give them more flexibility to negotiate for Bergdahl’s release.

A senior administration official, agreeing to speak on the condition of anonymity to explain the timing of the congressional notification, acknowledged that the law was not followed. When he signed the law last year, Obama issued a signing statement contending that the notification requirement was an unconstitutional infringement on his powers as commander in chief and that he therefore could override it.

“Due to a near-term opportunity to save Sergeant Bergdahl’s life, we moved as quickly as possible,” the official said. “The administration determined that given these unique and exigent circumstances, such a transfer should go forward notwithstanding the notice requirement.”

Here are the bios of the Gitmo Five just released:

Khair Ulla Said Wali Khairkhwa

Former Afghan minister of interior during Taliban rule, governor of Herat and a military commander. Alleged to have been “directly associated” with Osama bin Laden. According to a detainee assessment, Khairkhwa was probably associated with al Qaeda’s now-deceased leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi. He is also described as one of the “major opium drug lords in western Afghanistan” and a “friend of current Afghan President Hamid Karzai.” He was arrested February 2002 in Pakistan and was transferred to Guantanamo in May 2002. During questioning, Khairkhwa denied all knowledge of extremist activities.

Mullah Mohammad Fazl

Deputy minister of defense under the Taliban, senior military commander who was chief of staff of the Afghan army and commander of the Taliban’s 10th Division. Wanted by the U.N. in connection with the massacre of thousands of Afghan Shiites during the Taliban rule. “When asked about the murders, detainee did not express any regret,” according to the detainee assessment. Alleged to have been associated with several militant Islamist groups, including al Qaeda. Surrendered in November 2001 to Northern Alliance (opponents of the Taliban). Transferred to U.S. custody in December 2001 and one of the first arrivals at Guantanamo. Assessed as having high intelligence value.

Mullah Norullah Nori

Senior Taliban commander during hostilities with U.S. and allies in Mazar-e Sharif in late 2001. Taliban governor of two provinces and also implicated, according to detainee assessment, in the murder of Afghan Shiites. Nori claimed during interrogation that “he never received any weapons or military training.” Surrendered in November 2001 to Northern Alliance and transferred to U.S. custody a month later. According to 2008 detainee assessment, Nori “continues to deny his role, importance and level of access to Taliban officials.” Same assessment characterized him as high risk and of high intelligence value.

Abdul Haq Wasiq

Formerly deputy director of Taliban intelligence. An administrative review in 2007 cited a source as saying that Wasiq was also “an al Qaeda intelligence member” and had links with members of another militant Islamist group, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. Wasiq claimed, according to the review, that he was arrested while trying to help the United States locate senior Taliban figures. He denied any links to militant groups.

Mohammad Nabi Omari

According to the first administrative review of Omari in 2004, he was a member of the Taliban and associated with both al Qaeda and another militant group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin. He was the Taliban’s chief of communications and helped al Qaeda members to escape from Afghanistan to Pakistan. Omari acknowledged during hearings that he had worked for the Taliban but denied connections with militant groups. He also said that he had worked with a U.S. operative named Mark to try to track down Mullah Omar.

There are so many treasonous, impeachable offenses under Obama, I’m losing track. They just keep piling up and getting worse and worse.

Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed happiness and joy that a soldier is coming home. But that happiness is rightly tempered by the staggering fact that we just freed five terrorists who will surely kill Americans and once again spread murder and mayhem across the globe in the name of Islam. These evil bastards have American blood on their hands and letting them go is akin to a form of surrender to the enemy. It goes beyond weak and right into aiding and abetting the enemy. It doesn’t absolve Obama from deliberately violating US law and skirting Congress to have his way with his frenemies.

America’s Marxist enemies within couldn’t wait to line up, singing the praises of Barack Obama, using the military as shameless cover:

With the politically charged history, the top Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill seemed to anticipate the blowback from Republicans, citing the commitment made to soldiers to bring them home. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California praised Mr. Obama’s “strong leadership in ensuring that the United States delivered on its most solemn vow to our men and women in uniform: that we leave no one behind.”

Earlier Saturday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the release of Sgt. Bergdahl “a powerful reinforcement of our nation’s commitment to leave no service member behind.” Mr. Obama, he said, “rightly recognized our solemn obligation to take every possible measure to protect and defend the men and women who serve our nation.”

That echoed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s statement announcing Sgt. Bergdahl’s release. “Sgt. Bergdahl’s return,” he said, “is a powerful reminder of the enduring, sacred commitment our nation makes to all those who serve in uniform,” he said.

While I share the joy of Sgt. Bergdahl’s release from five years of hellish captivity, I cannot condone the manner in which it was accomplished. Obama has guaranteed the deaths and torture of American soldiers. The threat of terrorism has now immensely intensified and is all but assured. We are skidding towards an event that will make 9-11 look like a walk in the park on a sunny day.

The Long War Journal had this to say:

“They are undoubtedly among the most dangerous Taliban commanders held at Guantanamo,” said Thomas Joscelyn, a senior editor at the non-profit Long War Journal.

While Obama takes another photo op selfie and parades an American soldier for political gain, we have a marine languishing in a Mexican hellhole because he took the wrong exit and had legal guns with him. We can’t be bothered to get him released. None of Obama’s terrorist friends are involved you see and the soldier is not Muslim.

No one should be surprised Qatar was involved in all this:

A Pentagon official gave this account of Bergdahl’s release:

“A few dozen U.S. special forces received him, supported by multiple helicopters and overhead Intelligence Reconnaissance platforms. There were approximately 18 Taliban on site as well. We have no reports of shots being fired, and Sergeant Bergdahl was returned (to U.S. custody) once contact was made.”

At Guantanamo, 8,000 miles away, the five Taliban detainees were turned over to Qatari diplomats about 90 minutes later. They were put aboard a U.S. C-17 cargo plane, accompanied by the diplomats, which took off the Caribbean naval base shortly before 2 p.m. EDT.

The details on the Sgt.’s capture were never clear either:

The events leading up to Bergdahl’s disappearance from his Afghan base have never been clear. Some military officials have suggested that he left the base voluntarily and may have deserted.

Published accounts, especially a Rolling Stone report on Bergdahl’s emails home, suggest that the soldier willingly walked away from his unit soon after arriving in Afghanistan.

Rolling Stone cited emails in which Bergdahl told his parents he was “ashamed to even be American” and had lost faith in the mission. He also hinted at desertion, according to the report, and mailed home boxes of personal belongings such as uniforms and books. Bergdahl reportedly wrote that the “future is too good to waste on lies.”

An Associated Press examination of the case quoted radio intercepts, released by Wikileaks, as indicating that he was later captured while sitting on a makeshift latrine.

While joy over Bergdahl’s release permeated military forums on social media, there was also an undercurrent of uncertainty _ and, at times, outright disdain _ over the cloudy circumstances of his capture.

“It’s called desertion, you don’t celebrate it,” went one tweet typical of the more skeptical camp. Another said Bergdahl should “stand trial for desertion, insubordination, and treason – men were killed searching for him.”

The Rhino Den, a blog dedicated to military issues, took on the desertion controversy in an editorial that was published in February. The commentary concluded that Bergdahl is “a deserter, and at worst an outright traitor,” but added that such circumstances shouldn’t prevent the United States from doing it all it could do find the soldier and repatriate him.

“Our Warrior Ethos does not carry the caveat, ‘unless we don’t like the guy,’” the post stated, adding that Bergdahl eventually should face hearings to clear up how and why he left his unit.

The prisoner swap is likely to be a boost to U.S.-Qatar relations, which have been tested recently by disagreements over the political crisis in Egypt and the civil war in Syria.

A cynical person would wonder if this was all set up to facilitate the release of said terrorists. But no one seems to be willing to ask those hard questions. Too politically incorrect I guess. Can you construct a scenario where any of the facts surrounding the Sgt.’s capture make sense? Think about it. But we are ever so grateful to Qatar and our so-called friends – listen to the enemies within thank the enemies without:

The Obama administration has complained about Doha’s support for militant groups across the Middle East, but never too strenuously, according to analysts, because of Qatar’s strategic importance. The Gulf state is home to CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. military operations for the Middle East and parts of Southeast Asia.

In a statement Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the government of Qatar _ and its monarch, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, by name _ for playing “such an instrumental role” in Bergdahl’s release.

“We work every day with Qatar on a range of critical foreign policy priorities,” Kerry said. “This effort – one that was personally so close to our hearts here – exemplifies how vital our partnership with Qatar is and will remain.”

Oh, I bet they did. That partnership would be soooo revealing.

When politicians can flaunt any law that gets in their way… when the Constitution loses all validity… you have moved into a national state of lawlessness and totalitarianism.

We have the enemies within aiding the enemies without… all with the same goal: the destruction of the United States. Welcome to Obama’s legacy: war is peace and American citizens are the real enemy.

Update: Allen West – Bergdahl’s father’s deleted tweet a smoking gun?