Unrest Caused by Bad Economy May Require Military Action, Report Says
http://www.truthout.org:80/123008B
El Paso - A U.S. Army War College report warns an economic crisis in
the United States could lead to massive civil unrest and the need to
call on the military to restore order.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Nathan Freir wrote the report "Known
Unknowns: Unconventional Strategic Shocks in Defense Strategy
Development," which the Army think tank in Carlisle, Pa., recently
released.
"Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force
the defense establishment to reorient priorities ... to defend basic
domestic order and human security," the report said, in case of
"unforeseen economic collapse," "pervasive public health
emergencies,"
and "catastrophic natural and human disasters," among other possible
crises.
The report also suggests the new (Barack Obama) administration
could face a "strategic shock" within the first eight months in
office.
Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said the Army post is not
involved in any recent talks about a potential military response to
civil unrest.
The report become a hot Internet item after Phoenix police told
the Phoenix Business Journal they're prepared to deal with such an
event, and the International Monetary Fund's managing director,
Dominique Strauss-Khan, said social unrest could spread to advanced
countries if the global economic crisis worsens.
Javier Sambrano, spokes-man for the El Paso Police Department,
said city police have trained for years so they can address any
contingency, but not with the military.
"The Quantcast police (department) trains on an ongoing basis as
part of its Mobile Field Force Training," Sambrano said. "As a
result,
the police will be able to respond to emergency situations, such as
looting or a big civil unrest. The police (department) does not train
with soldiers."
Earlier this year, Pentagon officials said as many as 20,000
soldiers under the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) will be trained
within the next three years to work with civilian law enforcement in
homeland security.
Joint Task Force-North, a joint command at Biggs Army Airfield,
which conducts surveillance and intelligence along the border, comes
under NORTHCOM. No one was available at JTF-North to comment on the
Army War College's report. NORTHCOM was created after the 9-11
attacks
to coordinate homeland security efforts.
Soldiers under the former Joint Task Force-6 (now JTF-North)
supported the Border Patrol in El Paso with its drug-interdiction
operations.
In case civilian authorities request help or become overwhelmed,
El Paso has several National Guard and military reserve units that
can
be called on. In 1992, National Guard and active Marine and Army
units
were deployed to help police control riots and looting in Los
Angeles.
Charles Boehmer, political science professor at the University of
Texas at El Paso, was skeptical about the Army War College report.
"The military was not called out during the Great Depression, and
I don't think our economic problems are as bad as they were then," he
said. "The military always has contingency plans. It's a think tank's
job to come up with scenarios, but that doesn't mean it represents an
active interest on the part of the (Pentagon)."
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