What's in store for this country? Some really scary stuff

[GreenPartyVoter]

Daniel Ellsberg:

I think our democracy is going to be tested to the breaking point by some very dark days ahead and before long. I do expect there to be another major terrorist event. Ports, the nuclear power plants and the chemical factories are extremely vulnerable to an attack. To a considerable event, the war against terrorism has been a hoax because the president has not only spent so much money on the war in Iraq, but because the war in Iraq virtually subverts the war on terror. You cannot reduce the appeal and the strength of Al Qaeda while we occupy Iraq. You can only strengthen it, and strengthening it is what we've been doing steadily for the last couple of years. This is the worst public policy decision making, most antidemocratic and most inclined to be authoritarian, I would say, since the Nixon administration, but Nixon was confronting a Democratic House and Senate and a relatively liberal population in media 40 years ago. John Mitchell and John Connolly and Nixon himself had quite authoritarian instincts, but they weren't allowed to act on them, and to the extent that they did act on them -- it brought them down.

Virtually all the things Nixon did against me that were illegal to keep me from exposing his secret policy are now legal under the Patriot Act. Going into my doctor's office to get information to blackmail me with, wiretaps without warrants, overhearing me--all legal now. The CIA supplied the burglars in my doctor's office with disguises and with cameras and they did a psychological profile on me. That was illegal then, legal now.

I would have said that one thing that Nixon did against me was not yet legal and that was to bring a squad of a dozen Cuban-American assets of the CIA up from Miami to beat me up or kill me on May 3rd, 1973 on the steps of the Capitol. Right now there's at least one Special Forces team under control of the White House operating in this country to take 'extra legal actions'. Now, that sounds to me like a White House-controlled death squad. And that is what the White House sent against me. It's not clear whether the intention was to kill me then, the words were to 'incapacitate Daniel Ellsberg totally'. When I asked their prosecutor, 'does that mean to kill me?'. He said, 'The words were 'to incapacitate you totally.' But he said, 'You have to understand these guys that were CIA assets never use the words 'kill'.'

I think that's the kind of thing we do have in our future, especially when there's another terrorist attack. In that case, I think we'll see enacted very quickly a new Patriot Act, which I'm sure has already been drafted which will make the first Patriot Act look like the Bill of Rights, and the Bill of Rights will be a historical memory.

More....http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0329-20.htm

[classof56]

1. Scary doesn't begin to cover it. Thanks for posting.

It can never be said we weren't warned. God help us all.

Tired Old Cynic

[MnFats]

2. Wait a minute. Death squads in the U.S. under WH command?

perhaps i've been inattentive, but I musta missed this.
not that i'm very surprised, but you'd think people would make a greater stink if the US. were turning into El Salvador.

[TomClash]

3. Here's something even scarier

No matter what is done - few will care.

[CrispyQ]

4. Yep. As long as they can pump gas in their cars, go to the mall &

watch 'reality' TV, they don't care.

They won't wake up till they are cold & hungry. I wonder if there will be anything of our county worth salvaging by that time.

[slay]

38. You are so right. I know many otherwise good people who just don't care

about the criminal empire the US has become as long as they can go about their mindless diversions free from personal hassle. The out of site, out of mind way of thinking. They stick their heads in the sand like an ostrich while all around them the world goes to shit. I too wonder what terrible condition the world will have to sink to before people wake up and at least admit we have serious problems that need to be addressed, not ignored.

[Just Me]

40. Don't care or just, plain don't know what's happening?

:shrug:

[slay]

47. Both. I had a friend the other day tell me he didn't want to worry about

the state of the country, or the world, as long as his family was doing well. Some people may not know what is going on behind the scenes of The Great American Bullshit Show that BushCo, corporations, and the MSM are conducting, but he does. I was shocked and saddened to hear him say that he truly didn't care as long as it didn't affect him. I've told him specific important issues that have been going on while TV and the MSM keep everyone distracted. I think some of it is denial, and some of it is the typical arrogant American attitude of what we don't know can't hurt us. The American Idiot will be our downfall. Hell, they've already got one of their own as president! :(

[applegrove]

5. As long as we never loose the ability to empathize and stay adult..

we will prevail. We just have to be less knee-jerk and more discerning on how we combat the cabal in Washington.

[adwon]

6. Death squads?

Such an outrageous claim needs to be backed up.

I'm not sure he can because he equates the Special Forces with CIA paramilitary teams. The two are not the same.

[BeHereNow]

7. And you have apparently not read

the latest legislation proposals by people
like Porter Gass and his ilk...
BHN

[adwon]

8. I pointed out a major inconsistency

Plus, he claims such a 'death squad' is operating now, not that it's proposed.

The Special Forces and the CIA are not interchangeable. They don't even work on the same things.

[BeHereNow]

9. Ha-Ha...

You crack me up.
Do your research.
BHN

[adwon]

10. My research?

I grew up around Green Berets. SOCOM and the JFK school were less than 5 miles from my house. I've had ample opportunity to observe and learn a bit about what exactly it is that they do. They are part of the army, not some secret agent man taskforce.

I said that Ellsberg needed to show some proof for such a claim. Innuendo and assertions that Porter Goss is writing legislation doesn't constitute proof.

Further, I pointed out that Ellsberg was equating SF with CIA paramilitaries. He claimed that paramilitaries were going to be sent to kill him on the steps of the Capitol. He then states that there is a Special Forces team in the US for 'extra legal actions.' He then equates the alleged SF team with the alleged paramilitaries who were being sent to kill him.

I expressed disbelief because Ellsberg offers zero evidence to support his claim. It's up to him to substantiate his allegations, not anyone else. If others choose to defend him, then let them defend him with actual evidence, not assertions and innuendo.

[BeHereNow]

11. Carry on..

The kool-aid flows freely.
BHN

[CatholicEdHead]

12. He is just asking for a link

just as I am.

Do you have a link to a source with that innunendo? Where is this "smoking gun"?

[Jose Diablo]

18. Negroponte

Google "negroponte death squad". You will find a history of their use. Also, it's not too clear to me that his ambassadorship to Iraq was not for the purpose of reenacting death squads in Iraq. Now he is going to be a super spy here, domestically in the good old USA?

Never ever take your eye off the ball. These guys are gonna pull a 'night of the long knives' right here. Right after the next Reichstag fire.

Do your own fuckin' research.

[BeHereNow]

19. Links-Start Here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2194784
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2192072
READ The Patriot Act, all of it.
BHN

[BeHereNow]

28. Hello? You asked for links...

Next question:
Do you understand what you have read?
Or, have you even bothered to read the links?
Lot's o big words, I know...
But mandatory to participate in this discussion.
BHN

[adwon]

15. ?

All I have asked for is proof. There is no cause to toss out insults when I have just asked for evidence to substantiate such a claim.

[BeHereNow]

20. Read the links above...N/T

bhn

[kohodog]

25. it has actually been in MSM (around the Coronation) that special ops

were in Washington to prevent any "terrorist" problems. NYT and WP both had articles about this. Some of our special forces have been employed in the US. There are units currently active in the US.

I'm sure someone can back me up with links, but I don't have time tonight. It was mentioned in some of the articles about the protesters, I think.

[adwon]

31. Thanks

I'm currently knee deep in the links you provided.

One interesting I've noted...

In section 503 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, the opening of the section begins with the statement that Title 10 of the US code, chapter 10, subsection I is to be amended.

That struck me as very wrong. The reason it hit me wrong is because it's incorrectly cited. The proper citation would be 10 USC (section number). So it made me wonder just what was being amended. Well, after a search on both Westlaw and Lexis, I can tell you that chapter 10 is not available on either service. Neither are chapters 12, 14, 16, or 19.

Maybe I'm a purist, but the very idea of a secret law does not sit well with me at all. I probably have a greater tolerance for the national security state than most people on this forum, but my tolerance does not extend to LAWS OF CONGRESS that I cannot access.

:tinfoilhat: <---not yet, but I'm not liking the road I'm looking at

[BeHereNow]

33. "LAWS OF CONGRESS that I cannot access."

Better get used to it.
BHN

[adwon]

34. Okay

First, I was mistaken on the citation.

10 USC 426, Subchapter I is searchable. I read through it just now on Lexis and there's no mention of personal service contracts.

Second, I went on Westlaw and found the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004. West lists the 5 sections that were affected by this legislation and the personal services contracts language was added to the authority of the director of the FBI. 50 USC 409b The director is required to report yearly to Congress on the number of contracts awarded, types, etc. 50 USC 409b-1

Third, the missing sections of Title 10 still bother me and I'll be taking time here and there to check what other parts of the USC also have missing chapters.

[Laurab]

35. I wear mine proudly

:tinfoilhat:

I haven't liked the road I'm looking at for quite some time now.

You seem to know a bit about this particular area of law - I don't. The one thing I do know is I put NOTHING past this administration. They do most everything behind closed doors, and feel it's not our business. Any ideas of a government "by the people, for the people" have been long forgotten.

I usually err on the side of believing anyone BUT them, as long as the source has some credibility.

[natrat]

13. they are blatantly and proudly killing journalists

not much of a stretch to what happens next

[LibertyorDeath]

36. "not much of a stretch to what happens next"

Exactly

This is not America

[Sequoia]

43. Whatever the attack, the WH will be behind it, or bring it on

just like Pearl Harbor and September 11. Provoke an attack, blame it on, what...Iran this time? What target would hurt the most, a port, a dam, but not Lost Vegas, too much oil money there, and certainly no Wall Mart in a hick state.

I like your photo...a thousand words!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

42. IMHO, you're incredibly trusting of the same group of people that...

...took control of the country in December 2000.

This is the very same group that appointed Negroponte as Ambassador to Iraq even though it is widely known that he ran death squads in Central America.

The same group that bombed an entire country to kill a few thousand terrorists located in bases well-known to our intell and military.

The same group that lied repeatedly about the reasons for attacking Iraq.

And far too many other things to list in one post.

[Just Me]

46. It boggles a clear mind that anyone would give these pricks,...

,...any amount of trust, whatsoever.

Damn! Just how much deception does it require for someone to finally go "ah ha,...fool me once,..." blahblahblahblahblah

[Kansas Wyatt]

17. Bullshit, I know for a fact that this is true.

9/11 was the excuse for it, and it is now taking place.

[MetaTrope]

16. This must be what he's referring to

In Terror Fight, Domestic Roles for U.S. Troops

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 - Somewhere in the shadows of the White House and the Capitol this week, a small group of super-secret commandos stood ready with state-of-the-art weaponry to swing into action to protect the presidency in ways that have never been fully revealed before.

As part of the extraordinary army of 13,000 troops, police officers and federal agents marshaled to secure the inauguration, these elite forces were deployed under a 1997 authorization that was updated and enhanced after the Sept. 11 attacks, but nonetheless departs from how the military has historically been used on American soil.

These commandos, operating under a secret counterterrorism program code-named Power Geyser, were mentioned publicly for the first time this week on a Web site for a new book, "Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs and Operation in the 9/11 World," (Steerforth Press), by William M. Arkin, a former Army intelligence analyst.

The precise number of these Special Operations forces in Washington this week is highly classified, but military officials say the numbers are very small, probably not exceeding a few dozen. The special-missions units belong to the Joint Special Operations Command, a secretive command based at Fort Bragg, N.C., whose elements include the Army unit Delta Force. In the past, the command has also provided support to domestic law enforcement agencies during high-risk events like the Olympics and political party conventions, according to the Web site of GlobalSecurity.org, a research organization in Alexandria, Va.

[adwon]

21. Thank you

I half-wondered if Delta wasn't what people had in mind, anyway.

Provided that Congress has authorized the use of Delta to support civilian agencies in certain situations, their use in those situations cannot be termed extra-legal. After all, Congress sets the rules when it comes to just where the military can and cannot be used.

As an aside, when I was younger, we used to take friends and family who were visiting on drives around Fort Bragg that included driving by the Delta Force compound. :P

Thanks again for offering some kind of evidence.

[chlamor]

24. The Military Plays By Its Own Rules

Congress is a sideshow. CIA-Delta-SEALS-Green Berets-ETC.ETC. all in all aren't into the bureaucratic dictates of Congress. There are quite a few other fungible and amorphous assassins and hit squads, many for hire from other nations who listen to no governmental bodies.

Mr. Livingstone I presume? Veterans of the Boer Wars get bored and become highly paid mercenaries. And so on.

[kohodog]

26. That is what I ws referring to and you already had it before I posted.

Thanks!

:toast:

[SpiralHawk]

32. Power Geyser? Is that Jeff Gannon's "Unit"?

This apparently goes "deeper" than I had wanted to, or am capable of, imagining.*


*None of the ideas expressed above are actually mine. They are channeled to me by Luther and Maximoto, the space aliens who live under my bed.

[kk897]

45. Wait, wasn't it just a couple of months ago that it came out there's a new

special squad directly under Rummy's command that will do whatever, wherever? Or did I dream that?

(edit for clarity)

[femme.democratique]

14. Hunter Thompson.....I bet the KKKarl Death Squad is responsible

unfrikkinbelievable

[Beam Me Up]

22. I can't believe I'm ONLY THE SECOND PERSON TO NOMINATE THIS THREAD

C'mon PEOPLE!

This man is talking about matters that will effect the quality of life for ALL of us.

[Helga Scow Stern]

23. I'm the third.

I just finished writing a post in a thread about a new book on Hitler, and was thinking that the American people need to re-united under a cause for the cult to hold, and a terrorist attack might accomplish that.

[Beam Me Up]

30. How ELSE will they get THE DRAFT *and* justification for the use of NUKES?

That is what they want. THAT is THE ONE SUPERIORITY the US military still has.

[mopaul]

27. we have every right to be afraid

and vigilant

[Just Me]

39. At least, our fear is rationally-based.

But, seriously,...I just do NOT want to be here when their next catalytic event is imposed upon this country. For the sake of my only child, I really hope I can get the two of us out of here. Once he's safe, I may be willing to return and unite in the fight.

[byronius]

29. Anyone else spot the World War One parallels?

Modern consumer/merchant populations, forgetful of past disasters, gently urging on conflict to dispell malaise? Plunged over an impossible edge, whole populations and cultures irrevocably consumed by new death technologies --

The American Soldier is by and large the most honorable of creatures. But the cunning culler, a single man with a bent soul, could find within the American military the raw materials for just such a 'death-squad' -- and such an entity as a whole would naturally tend to isolate itself from the main military body, which does not countenance such behavior. It would also tend to self-perpetuate and proselytize in a vain attempt to expiate guilt.

Anyone who can make up five million fake votes could easily conspire to commit murder. It is, to some extent, the same kind of crime. Extinguish a life, extinguish a voice --

Abbie Hoffman was found dead in his bed, fully clothed, bedroom window open, ten days after the election to the presidency of a former CIA Director who served as Nixon's point man against the Hippie Left--

George H.W. Bush.

[LibertyorDeath]

37. Ellsberg like some here at DU can see the writing on the Wall

he's been around a long time & lived through a lot.

When people like him start talking like this it's time to STFU & listen.

However bad you think things are in America at the present know that behind all the Lies & underneath All the Corruption things are actually worse.

The Judiciary is the only thing standing in their way at present , how long they can hold them back is anyones guess.

We are the Canary in the Coal Mine so tell everyone you know what you think Jon Stewart does it with humour don't just preach to the choir there are so many that don't pay attention to any of this.

There will always be die hards on the far right but most of America would want nothing to do with the corporate fascist police state they are building right in front of us.

We Have to shine light on it at every opportunity.

[Greylyn58]

41. Scary stuff...wow

:scared: :scared:

[kohodog]

44. Sometimes I feel like the Canary in the coal mine

I often try to downplay the scenario I see happening because it is difficult to imagine that this country may have taken an irreversible wrong turn. I hope there is time to change course, but the "mighty Wurlitzer" is rolling on and our voices from the outside are being drowned out.

When I talk to people at work they have an excuse not to pay attention to what's going on. I've though about trying to shrug it off, but too many people are being hurt. They don't see even a possibility of dark days of fear and repression ahead.

I would love to believe they're right, but I cannot do that and acquiesce to the damage being done to people and the environment.