Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why?

[Lucille]

Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why? (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-military-rolls-tanks-st-louis-streetsbut-why)


http://www.alt-market.com/images/stories/tankstlouis3.jpg

I have to say that this event, which is being labeled a "training exercise", makes very little sense to me. U.S. Army troops all the way from Maryland running open exercises in armored personnel carriers on the busy streets of St. Louis? I know Maryland is a small state, but is there really not enough room at Ft. Detrick to accommodate a tank column and some troops? Are there not entire fake neighborhood and town complexes built with taxpayer dollars on military bases across the country meant to facilitate a realistic urban environment for troops to train in? And why travel hundreds of miles to Missouri? At the very least, this is a massive waste of funds.

On the other hand, such an action on the part of the Department of Defense makes perfect sense if the goal is to acclimate citizens to the idea of seeing tanks and armed military acting in a policing capacity. Just check out the two random idiots the local news affiliate picked to interview in St. Louis on the subject. Both state that they think the exercise is a "great idea", because having the military on the streets would help to "reduce crime":

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/06/us-military-to-run-urban-exercises-in-north-st-louis-residents-hope-it-will-cut-down-on-crime/

I suspect that the news affiliate did not go out of its way to get any counter-opinions, even though they admitted to being contacted by those voicing concerns over martial law.

Even so, it's sad and simultaneously terrifying that there are plenty of mindless dupes out there who do not understand the dangers of the Army crossing the Rubicon and acting in a civil law enforcement capacity, never mind that they are completely ignorant of the fact that it violates the Posse Comitatus Act. One of the interviewees even points out that in some countries they don't use police at all; only military. This is true. We call those countries "tyrannies"...

Add to the mix the reality that the DOD refuses to respond to any further inquiries by the press concerning details of the training, and you get yet another suspicious instance of behavior on the part of the establishment that seems preparatory for domestic action. I believe that the high frequency at which these activity reports have been coming in over the past year is certainly cause for alarm...
[...]

That, and things like the NDAA, the trespass bill, kill lists, drones, etc., etc., etc.

[green73]

Rockwell (http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/114156.html):

'Don't be alarmed'

Though the US military junta is training its troops to drive tanks on the streets of the land of the flea, for use against the American people, there is nothing to be concerned about.

Note: governments always see "their own" people as the real enemy, since they are typically the main or only threat to the gold-plated iron fist of the public servants. Be warned: if you are a taxpayer rather than a tax eater, the State hates your guts. Let's hope you return the favor.

[Inkblots]

I just saw this over at ZeroHedge. It's so surreal that words fail me.

And then I read that the man on the street thinks the military patrolling our streets is a great idea, and I start to get a very queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. How can we protect freedom if people don't want it?

[Dr.3D]

I just saw this over at ZeroHedge. It's so surreal that words fail me.

And then I read that the man on the street thinks the military patrolling our streets is a great idea, and I start to get a very queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. How can we protect freedom if people don't want it?

But...but... but... I was taught in school, 'The government can do no wrong.'

[Inkblots]

But...but... but... I was taught in school, 'The government can do no wrong.'

Actually, this has me thinking about how unhealthy the worship of the military in the contemporary US is. Although plenty of people, left and right, will agree the Federal government screws up regularly, everyone uniformly praises the military. It's gotten to the point where I personally feel shocked if I hear someone say a word against the military and those who serve in it.

The military has good and bad people in it, like any other institution. Some join to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, others because they want to kill brown people, and still others because it was the best option they had for a steady paycheck. Some are great heroes, others are thugs or even rapists. But the treatment of the Armed Forces as an irreproachable institution, and those who are part of it as secular saints, is deeply pathological. It is the attitude of an empire, and no people that thinks as we do can long remain free.

[oyarde]

//

[Anti Federalist]

I just saw this over at ZeroHedge. It's so surreal that words fail me.

And then I read that the man on the street thinks the military patrolling our streets is a great idea, and I start to get a very queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. How can we protect freedom if people don't want it?

You can not.

To think that you will drag 300 million people kicking and screaming to freedom, who do not want it, you have, frankly, lost your mind.

Motivation, separation, secession.

If we, small band of refuseniks that we are, a tiny remnant, are to survive, we must do this.

If we remain, the system will destroy us, one at a time, through prison, exhaustion, old age, outright extermination or acclimation.

[oyarde]

//

[Weston White]

I just saw this over at ZeroHedge. It's so surreal that words fail me.

And then I read that the man on the street thinks the military patrolling our streets is a great idea, and I start to get a very queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. How can we protect freedom if people don't want it?

What, are you being at all serious? There is nothing at all to complain about this, just ask the Branch Davidians, they will tell you the same exact thing! :mad:

[Weston White]

Actually, this has me thinking about how unhealthy the worship of the military in the contemporary US is. Although plenty of people, left and right, will agree the Federal government screws up regularly, everyone uniformly praises the military. It's gotten to the point where I personally feel shocked if I hear someone say a word against the military and those who serve in it.

The military has good and bad people in it, like any other institution. Some join to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, others because they want to kill brown people, and still others because it was the best option they had for a steady paycheck. Some are great heroes, others are thugs or even rapists. But the treatment of the Armed Forces as an irreproachable institution, and those who are part of it as secular saints, is deeply pathological. It is the attitude of an empire, and no people that thinks as we do can long remain free.

Moreover, a vast portion of those in the modernized U.S. Military are there because it is structured safe-haven, are from a third-world nation trying to establish their U.S. citizenship, or a from poverty stricken neighborhoods having themselves just barely passed high school or obtained their GED; and in any case, you can bet that protecting your rights (i.e., the rights of their “fellow” Americans) is in truth, the furthest thing on their minds or is otherwise a concept in logic that they have never bothering coming to grasp with or have never even so much as thought to appreciate.

All those scores of explicit videos of the U.S. Military in the Mideast or the National Guard raiding houses during Katrina exemplifies this point.

[donnay]

Military Rolls Tanks Onto St. Louis Streets...But Why? (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-military-rolls-tanks-st-louis-streetsbut-why)



That, and things like the NDAA, the trespass bill, kill lists, drones, etc., etc., etc.


To get people acclimated to seeing troops on the streets of USSA (United Soviet States of America). They are warring with our minds!

[mrsat_98]

They where running the roads south of Camp LeJune a couple of days ago. Sorry I didnt get a picture just saw it.

[Danke]

I'm currently staying at a "FEMA Certified Hotel." :)

[chudrockz]

But...but... but... I was taught in school, 'The government can do no wrong.'

I'd wager that you were taught that in a government school. :)

[MelissaWV]

It's amusing to watch you guys panic about this now. I grew up hearing about people just a small island over, on US property, suffering the effects of depleted uranium shells that were littering their beaches. The children would play with them and --- oops --- cancer rates are somehow sky-high. Nothing like a bombing range where a nearby death or two is okay. No one cared. Now it's mainland streets and suddenly it's a scandal.


The training range was used for military training until the closure of the military installation in 2001. There was a military presence on the island from 1941 until 2003.

...

Beginning in the 1940s, land purchased at the eastern end of the island was used for live training exercises, ship-to-shore gunfire, air-to-ground bombing and US Marine amphibious landings starting from the 1940s onward. Within that area was a 900 acre Live Impact Area (LIA) used for targeting live ordnance. The LIA was located at the eastern tip of the island and away from the civilian population.

According to the EPA, the following items, including contaminants and ordnance, have been found in the western part of the naval station:

Unexploded ordnance
Remnants of exploded ordnance
Mercury
Lead
Copper
Magnesium
Lithium
Napalm
Depleted uranium along with other unspecified materials
The EPA reports that there may be amounts of the following items at the eastern portion of the site:

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)
Solvents
Pesticides

...

Vieques closed as a result of numerous protests by local residents, especially after a civilian employee, David Sanes Rodriguez, was killed April 19, 1999, when military ordnance was dropped too close to his security post. According to a Congressional research report, a Marine Corps F-18 dropped two 500-pound bombs that struck the security post, killing Rodriguez and injuring four others. The F-18 was on a training mission when the incident occurred. The Congressional report states that the ordnance was dropped "within the overall range perimeter."

On May 1, 2003, the Navy completed the turnover of all of its lands to the U.S. Department of the Interior. This included the Navy’s entire eastern portion of the island — 14,573 acres (58.97 km²) — which was mainly used as a dumping ground[11]. McCaffrey cites data from the U.S. Navy:

Vieques was bombed an average of 180 days per year. In 1998, the last year before protests began to interrupt maneuvers, the Navy dropped 23,000 bombs on the island, the majority of which contained explosives.[11]

The live impact range, which is the most contaminated zone, was given the highest protected environmental status — that of a “wilderness preserve.” The Fish and Wildlife Service boasts that Vieques Wildlife Refuge is an ecologically diverse Caribbean wildlife refuge. The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), however, has declared the refuge a superfund site. Much of the land is now considered a wildlife refuge, meaning that humans are not allowed to set foot on it. This enables the Navy to avoid cleanup. Whether or not the U.S. designated the land a wildlife refuge strictly to avoid having to clean up the island is still debated.
Or maybe if that's tl;dr...

http://culebrablog.com/images/tankbeach.jpg

http://www.navytimes.com/xml/news/2008/04/ap_vieques_041808/041808_vieques_story.JPG

Of note: this is a situation that was finally resolved via a series of protests and political threats. It's not being cleaned up satisfactorily, but at least the Navy is no longer using that area for that purpose.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

It's amusing to watch you guys panic about this now. I grew up hearing about people just a small island over, on US property, suffering the effects of depleted uranium shells that were littering their beaches.

Since it was difficult to tell, she is talking about a part of Puerto Rico.

And yeah, that is crappy. There's a long list of crappy things the feds have done, but this is a different situation, imo. They aren't training... they're pushing.

[ghengis86]

This is just a training exercise...but it's not the military that is being trained

[trey4sports]

ughh.... glad i got out of STL

[MelissaWV]

Since it was difficult to tell, she is talking about a part of Puerto Rico.

And yeah, that is crappy. There's a long list of crappy things the feds have done, but this is a different situation, imo. They aren't training... they're pushing.

You're right it's totally different. That wasn't tanks rolling through town. That was live bombs and people died, and cancer rates are sky-high. And almost none of the people scandalized by this probably even heard of it.

[catdd]

You can not.

To think that you will drag 300 million people kicking and screaming to freedom, who do not want it, you have, frankly, lost your mind.

Motivation, separation, secession.

If we, small band of refuseniks that we are, a tiny remnant, are to survive, we must do this.

If we remain, the system will destroy us, one at a time, through prison, exhaustion, old age, outright extermination or acclimation.


Free states may be the only answer left. I'd like to see at least 3 of them; North-East, South, and far West.

[Kluge]

It's amusing to watch you guys panic about this now. I grew up hearing about people just a small island over, on US property, suffering the effects of depleted uranium shells that were littering their beaches. The children would play with them and --- oops --- cancer rates are somehow sky-high. Nothing like a bombing range where a nearby death or two is okay. No one cared. Now it's mainland streets and suddenly it's a scandal.

Or maybe if that's tl;dr...

http://culebrablog.com/images/tankbeach.jpg

http://www.navytimes.com/xml/news/2008/04/ap_vieques_041808/041808_vieques_story.JPG

Of note: this is a situation that was finally resolved via a series of protests and political threats. It's not being cleaned up satisfactorily, but at least the Navy is no longer using that area for that purpose.

If I knew about it, hell yes it'd be scandalous and atrocious. But just like what's happening to mainland America, I have no fucking idea what to do about it.

If you want to claim that I wouldn't care just because it's Puerto Rico, you're sadly mistaken. I'm trying like hell to prevent my government from bombing the shit out of places that are much farther removed than that.

[libertariantexas]

Let me take a non-conspiracy theory shot at this.

They said the unit was from Ft. Meade, MD (not Ft. Detrick). I was stationed at Meade ~20 years ago. Lots of MP units there, with nothing better to do than write speeding tickets (never speed at Ft. Meade).

Fort Leonard Wood MISSOURI is the main training base for all Army military police.

The MP unit from Meade was actually coming down from Ft. Leonard Wood and just drove to St Louis MISSOURI to train an Army Reserve unit.

So lets give this a shot (this ain't going to be nearly as much fun as a good conspiracy theory, but what the Hell):

An MP Unit from MD goes to Ft Leonard Wood, MO to train on a new piece of equipment- that's logical- MPs train at Ft Leonard Wood just as military Medical people train at Ft Sam Houston Texas.

After receiving training, the unit drives down the road a bit to show the new vehicle to an Army Reserve MP Unit and familiarize them with it.

Typical every day stuff in the Army.

No FEMA camps. No conspiracy. Not even particularly wasteful by government standards.

BTW, for those who are wondering, both Ft. Meade and Ft Detrick are very small bases with almost no land for field training. When I was active duty stationed at Meade, we used a Maryland national guard base for field training (weapons qualification and the like).

[Professor8000]

Let me take a non-conspiracy theory shot at this.

They said the unit was from Ft. Meade, MD (not Ft. Detrick). I was stationed at Meade ~20 years ago. Lots of MP units there, with nothing better to do than write speeding tickets (never speed at Ft. Meade).

Fort Leonard Wood MISSOURI is the main training base for all Army military police.

The MP unit from Meade was actually coming down from Ft. Leonard Wood and just drove to St Louis MISSOURI to train an Army Reserve unit.

So lets give this a shot (this ain't going to be nearly as much fun as a good conspiracy theory, but what the Hell):

An MP Unit from MD goes to Ft Leonard Wood, MO to train on a new piece of equipment- that's logical- MPs train at Ft Leonard Wood just as military Medical people train at Ft Sam Houston Texas.

After receiving training, the unit drives down the road a bit to show the new vehicle to an Army Reserve MP Unit and familiarize them with it.

Typical every day stuff in the Army.

No FEMA camps. No conspiracy. Not even particularly wasteful by government standards.

BTW, for those who are wondering, both Ft. Meade and Ft Detrick are very small bases with almost no land for field training. When I was active duty stationed at Meade, we used a Maryland national guard base for field training (weapons qualification and the like).

Why exactly do MPs need APCs? Are they going to be writing speeding tickets to the terrorists in Afghanistan? Do they have to make arrests while taking machine gun fire? Or do they just need to haul a bunch of people around at once? If they need to haul a bunch of people around at once, they make school buses for that, and probably cheaper too.

[oyarde]

What, are you being at all serious? There is nothing at all to complain about this, just ask the Branch Davidians, they will tell you the same exact thing! :mad: Pretty much my thoughts....

[Lucille]

Martial Law Training in St. Louis As Military Police Train To Drive Tanks Through the Streets of America (http://theintelhub.com/2012/06/24/martial-law-training-in-st-louis-mo/)


“Training Exercises” such as this have been occurring more frequently and a very credible link can be drawn between this exercise and a recent DHS Informant who indicated that plans are being made for Martial Law due to Civil Unrest or War.

KSDK.com, whose news slogan is “Where the News Comes First”, posted a brief video and explained away the training as “Army Training” – yet military troops training on the streets is highly unusual and rare.

The video and brief coverage lacks any depth and is a disservice to their readers; some were so alarmed that many thought Martial Law was in progress.

The coverage is a video titled Don’t be alarmed; U.S. Army training in North City, with a warning as pathetic as the coverage”
[...]
Note from Alex Thomas: This is the corporate media telling you, do not be alarmed the military is just in your city training to take on the American people. No big deal here. (As they directly lie to you by pretending its not for use in America)

This event was not very prominent on the KSDK.com news site.

No additional information seems to be available on KSDK.com which is owned by Gannet Company who owns a major segment of media.

Gannet Companies owns Army Times Publishing Company – publications include Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times, Marine Corps Times, Defense News and Federal Times.

It’s important to note that there is no mention of this week long “Military Exercise” on the Army Times site.

That would indicate that the exercise is either classified or the public awareness was to be kept to a minimum – why?
[...]



National Guard and U.S. Army troops are routinely involved in ‘urban warfare training’ drills.

Usually such drills take place within the confines of military bases, however, more recently heavily armed troops are increasingly seen patrolling residential neighborhoods and even the downtown areas of major US cities.

Such “invasions” are often reported on as nothing to worry about and even as “cool” by the mainstream media. Back in 2008 the Washington Post reported how 20,000 U.S. troops returning from Iraq would be stationed inside America under Northcom for purposes of “domestic security” from September 2011 onwards.

Northcom officials were forced to subsequently issue a denial after the Army Times initially reported that the troops would be used to deal “with civil unrest and crowd control.””

It is reasonable to be concerned about a Military Exercise such as this – regardless of what the official explanation is.

One question for the debunkers – would the government come out and say,

We’re practicing for Martial Law and Civil Unrest…?

h/t Strike the Root (http://www.strike-the-root.com/martial-law-training-in-st-louis-mo)

More police statism in St. Louis:

Lie Down with the Idiotic Idea of a "Homeland Security" Department ... (http://knappster.blogspot.com/2012/06/lie-down-with-idiotic-idea-of-homeland.html)


... get up with raids on flea markets to combat the existential threat of fake Coach bags and DVD burns of hit movies. (http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/police-raid-flea-market-in-pagedale-for-counterfeit-merchandise/article_a98499ba-bc7e-11e1-8187-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=story)
[...]
So ... is a knock-off DVD of Madagascar 3 a "homeland security" matter?

The alleged theory underlying that assertion seems to be that such "piracy" is a finance channel for international terrorism. Poppycock. Anyone selling anything anywhere could conceivably be using the profits to finance international terrorism. And if they're paying taxes on their revenues to the US government, they're certainly financing international terrorism.

The real reason that pair of faux-Nike tennis shoes you got for 15% of the "real thing's" retail price is considered a "homeland security" affair is that the companies which make their profits off of state-created monopolies spend part of those profits on bribing/extorting politicians to protect those profits with your tax dollars...

[MelissaWV]

If I knew about it, hell yes it'd be scandalous and atrocious. But just like what's happening to mainland America, I have no fucking idea what to do about it.

If you want to claim that I wouldn't care just because it's Puerto Rico, you're sadly mistaken. I'm trying like hell to prevent my government from bombing the shit out of places that are much farther removed than that.

No, it's a matter of knowledge of a subject, and we all have to decide what to learn (we cannot each be educated on every nuance of every subject at all times). I'm saying it's already happened before, it happened for many years, and there are other things I could blab about all day on this subject (like soldiers being drafted to fight in a war ordered by a President they could not vote for). I'm also saying that a lot of social programs and other "tactics" are tested out in PR first. Imagine having your birth certificate voided for your own protection, or any of the aforementioned things. Imagine a level of welfare dependence that causes you to become a ward of the State whether you will it or not, just because the entire island is beholden to people you have no say in electing. It sucks. It's coming to the mainland, little by little.

[libertariantexas]

Why exactly do MPs need APCs? Are they going to be writing speeding tickets to the terrorists in Afghanistan? Do they have to make arrests while taking machine gun fire? Or do they just need to haul a bunch of people around at once? If they need to haul a bunch of people around at once, they make school buses for that, and probably cheaper too.

Military Police are SOLDIERS. They don't just sit back stateside and write tickets.

They perform a wide variety of jobs when deployed, including guarding convoys, base security, and even conduct combat patrols at times. Hence, they use APCs, just as they always have. Thirty+ years ago, they used M113s. Now they use this new vehicle.

Not a big deal.