RAW STORY: Report: Military may have to quell domestic violence from economic collapse

[BigBearJohn]

Deepening economic strife in the US could lead to civil unrest and violence that would require military intervention, warns a new report from the US Army War College.

"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security," writes Nathan Freier, a 20-year Army veteran and visiting professor at the college.

A copy of the 44-page report, "Known Unknowns: Unconventional 'Strategic Shocks' in Defense Strategy Development," can be downloaded here. Freier notes that his report expresses only his own views and does not represent US policy, but it's certain that his recommendations have come before at least some Defense Department officials.

The author warns potential causes for such civil unrest could include another terrorist attack, "unforeseen economic collapse, loss of functioning political and legal order, purposeful domestic resistance or insurgency, pervasive public health emergencies, and catastrophic natural and human disasters." The situation could deteriorate to the point where military intervention was required, he argues.

"Under these conditions and at their most violent extreme," he concludes, "civilian authorities, on advice of the defense establishment, would need to rapidly determine the parameters defining the legitimate use of military force inside the United States."

SOURCE: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Report_Military_may_have_to_quell_1229.html

[valerief]

1. Busy, busy, busy Eric Prince and his Blackwater boys pointing bayonnets at Merkan boys and girls. nt

[DBoon]

7. In line with most of American history

When lethal force is used agains protestors and insurgents, it is more typically private actors (Pinkertons, the Klan, etc.) than it is government forces.

[Hawkeye-X]

2. Illegal under Posse Comitatus Act when Obama restores it.

Trust me on this...

Hawkeye-X

[gratuitous]

3. Yeah. I heard torture is illegal, too.

And nobody in our military would obey an illegal order to torture people. So, you know, we've got that going for us, too. Safe as houses. Yep.

[Hydra]

5. Lots of things are illegal

If you aren't in charge.

[David__77]

4. Like there would be any consideration of that.

The armed forces of the state have a principal mission: defend the state power. There would only be a pragmatism at that point.

[Prepostericity]

6. It sounds like propaganda

I don't buy this for one second. No one is above the law. Even though there is a lot of fascism in America, for all the Democratic Party's failings, there would have to be some kind of massive unrest for this to occur. Similar kinds of these articles have been around for years. Don't fall for any scripted zeitgeist. The odds are worse than a million dollar lottery ticket that this will happen, imho. This is Chicken Little crap. It's like when the spooks on tv do whatever they want to get the result. This is a fantasy report. The military puts out a lot of crap like this. Ever hear of owning the weather in 2025? These are asshats. These are the types who would have told JFK to bomb Cuba.

[seemslikeadream]

8. Wed Dec-17-08 11:22 PM

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