West Poised to Exploit Potential Korean Crisis
US prepared for “Sudden Change” in North Korea since 2009.
by Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report
December 19, 2011
The Council on Foreign Relations, a corporate-financier funded think-tank that represents the collective interests and agenda of Wall Street and London, had in 2009 published an extensive, 52 page report titled, “Preparing for Sudden Change in North Korea.”
The report covered “Scenarios for Change in North Korea” and included “managed,” “contested,” and “failed successions.” The report makes no secret of US foreign policy toward North Korea and the desire to see the nation “integrated” with the South, a nation whose political system has long been co-opted by the United States, kept a watchful eye on by USPACOM’s regional presence, and only saved by the nationalism of the South Korean people themselves.
On page 36 of the report, it is stated that chaos within a “changing” North Korea would raise concerns including, “maintaining security and stability in the North, locating and securing Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction, dealing with potentially serious humanitarian problems such as large-scale refugee flows or starvation, managing the political and legal issues relating to the formation of a transitional government, and addressing the economic challenges posed by the demise of the North and its possible integration with the South.”
Of course, these are “concerns” the “international order” led by Wall Street and London would deal with, not the people actually living on the Korean Peninsula. And to address these concerns the report actually suggests deploying 115,000 to 230,000 foreign troops along with tens of thousands of “police” to support them in establishing “security and stability.”
Noting that foreign troops may spur an armed reaction from the North Korean military, the report states:
“If former elements of the North Korean military, its security and intelligence forces, or its large special operations force were to resist the presence of foreign forces, the size of the needed stabilization force would escalate dramatically. Indeed, experience has shown that special operations forces are the most likely candidates to mount such resistance. Given the large number of such units in the North, the challenge could be considerable. In an insurgency, according to one Defense Science Board study, as many as twenty occupying troops are needed for every thousand persons, implying a force of 460,000 troops, more than three times the number of American troops in Iraq. Coping with such a contingency would likely be impossible for the South Korean and American forces to manage alone.” –page 37 (.pdf)
On the rebuilding of North Korea’s economy, the report feverishly preaches market liberalization, privatization, and integration with South Korea who is currently on the verge of entering into expansive “free trade” with the United States. In the case of “reunification,” the United States will have just doubled the market its parasitic corporate-financier interests were already preparing to despoil.
“The second economic issue is the transition from planned to market economic mechanisms. This task requires genuine price liberalization, establishing a carefully managed foreign exchange regime, developing new policies and institutional capacities in public finance and expenditure, banking, and both a legal system and ownership rights over productive assets (especially land). Dealing with the state enterprise system may require liquidating unviable firms, improving management, privatizing, and creating a level playing field with the emerging private sector. Institutional change would be much faster and simpler if developed with former North Korean authorities in a framework that might lead to eventual reunification. In any case, a short-term drop in economic output should be expected before the economy can be stabilized and put on a growth path.” –page 41 (.pdf)
Recommendations for US policy are made, beginning on page 44, and include the suggestion that the US continue promoting “behavioral change within the current regime rather than actively seek to overthrow it,” that is … “unless extreme circumstances dictate otherwise.” The report also suggests that working closely with the European Union, who has diplomatic representation in North Korea, will help the US understand better, any sign of coming “sudden change” to refine the regime of exploitation outlined in the CFR report. Other schemes of re-approaching North Korea are discussed, such as using the excuse of recovering the remains of missing American soldiers lost during the Korean War to improve contacts and provide useful information on unfolding events within North Korea (page 46 & 47).
A “common vision” between the US and South Korea for a reunified Korea is also discussed at length as are the military, economic, and social preparations that would be necessary to carry out this “vision.” Such a common vision begs one to wonder what say the United States, separated by an entire ocean from Korea, actually has in the future of the Korean people. The preparation of a NATO-style military alliance referred to as a “regional security cooperation in northeast Asia” is also recommended to help in “legitimating” the West’s attempts to exploit and fill the void created in a possible collapse of North Korean society.
The thought of a reunified Korea, militarily occupied by the United States and its collective economy opened to unmitigated exploitation via the pending US-FTA must alarm Beijing to a certain degree, especially with the recently unveiled “American Pacific Century” policy that enumerates a strategy of encircling and containing China’s tactical and economic rise while maintaining a century of American hegemony over Asia. And surely it must North Koreans that the United States has prepared their future and destiny in such minute detail and are prepared to lead North Korea’s transformation, at the barrel of a gun if need be.
It should be noted that North Korea’s unraveling, and the door it would open to a reunified Korea under American military and economic occupation needs not necessarily be organic. The United States is on record training North Korean activists to sow “Arab Spring-style” chaos just as it has throughout the Middle East. In Foreign Policy’s article “Revolution U,” where the story of US-funded CANVAS is told, North Korean activists are mentioned several times as recipients of the same US-funded training offered by CANVAS and used by activists to help overthrow the governments of Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. With a heavy US military presence just over the border, and with several suspicious provocations already attributed to the US presence on the peninsula, all the ingredients are available to coax North Korea’s destabilization along and justify the execution of CFR’s 2009 machinations.
Whether they exist there in the right measurements or will find a well prepared, Chinese-backed North Korea ready to balk them instead remains a question only time will tell.
Psychological preparedness
By Madison Ruppert
End the Lie
December 22, 2011
Given the current developments in the United States with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Fiscal Year 2012 and the indefinite detention provisions contained therein, I think taking some time to cover psychological preparedness is incredibly important.
Usually, whenever someone speaks of preparedness, they mean physical preparedness and thus taking measures like securing food, water, protection, shelter, etc. in times of emergency.
While this is obviously very important, it is only a very small part of the picture and in times of true emergency, you might be unable to take your supplies or whatever you might have stored away.
Under the NDAA, people like myself, and likely most people reading this, could be snatched up by the military at any moment.
There is the real possibility that we could be taken to one of the many detention centers erected around the nation, or even worse, to any foreign country.
The NDAA specifically states that you or I could be not only transferred to any foreign nation but any foreign entity, meaning that you could be transported to some even more brutal regime abroad to be tortured and killed with impunity.
These very real possibilities are too oft ignored by people promoting preparedness, likely because they realize that they’re not going to be able to sell you a year’s supply of food while telling you the reality of the situation in the United States.
Obviously, the military isn’t going to knock on your door and offer to help you carry several boxes full of canned goods to be transported with your person to a domestic or foreign detention center of some kind.
Nor will they offer to let you take your weapons, water, or any of the other many items you might have acquired in your efforts to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
This is where the concept of psychological preparedness comes in, and it is something that is either completely ignored, marginalized or barely mentioned by far too many people in the so-called truth movement.
One can only speculate as to the reason for this, but I suspect it is because you can’t sell products for psychological preparedness and some might see it as a defeatist attitude, while in reality it is the exact opposite.
One might argue that this is a defeatist attitude because you must accept that the absolute worst case scenario could very well unfold at any moment and be psychologically prepared for that horrific possibility.
However, I believe that you can live a much more productive and healthy life if you accept that you could not only die at any moment but also have your life turn into a reality so nightmarish that it is hard to imagine.
If you realize this and psychologically prepare for the worst, you will find that you only end up being pleasantly surprised by every good thing that happens to you, no matter how small.
And if all goes well and the hellish possibilities never unfold after you have already accepted that the worst could happen, I bet that you will likely find that you’re happier and more prepared in every way than you would otherwise.
On the other hand, if you only prepare for an economic collapse by stocking up on storable food, protection, fuel, and so forth, and suddenly you find yourself completely unprepared for the situation you are in, you will likely be psychologically overwhelmed.
Some find even considering the possibility of having your door kicked down and being dragged off kicking and screaming to a prison camp to be depressing or otherwise untenable, but to ignore this possibility is to ignore reality.
Contrary to what many in the establishment media might tell you, preparedness is not something to be demonized or otherwise made out to be radical, extreme or relegated to the lunatic fringe.
There are only benefits that can be reaped from being prepared both physically and psychologically, while there are no benefits to be found from failing to be prepared in any way.
Just imagine for a moment what it would be like to find yourself in a situation you had convinced yourself was relegated to dystopian works of fiction and would never become a reality.
Do you believe that taking such an approach would benefit you? Would you really like to delude yourself until wake up in a tiny cell in a prison camp somewhere in the United States or abroad?
I recommend that you take the simple steps to psychologically prepare for this worst case scenario now, instead of waiting until the situation has already presented itself.
Getting psychologically prepared is free, easy and only takes a bit of imagination and creativity. You do not need to spend thousands of dollars on storable foods, in fact all you need to do is sit down and accept that life as you know it could change or end completely at any moment.
This is somewhat like preparing yourself for the possibility that every time you drive someone could come careening around a corner out of control and smash into your car, killing you instantly.
While it is relatively unlikely, it is statistically very possible that such an atrocious situation would occur at any time when you leave your house.
Even more unlikely, but also possible, is that a car could come crashing through your living room and hit you while you sit on your couch.
These are just a couple of examples illustrating that you must accept that life as you know it could radically change or end altogether at any point in time.
By realizing this, you cannot be taken off guard or truly surprised by anything that comes your way; no matter how horrible or unimaginable it might be for others.
This is not depressing as some would say, this should really be seen as empowering, as it gives you the ability to be ready for and deal with whatever life might throw your way.
And if all goes well, as we all hope it will, then you can simply say that you were prepared and thankfully you did not have to see the worst unfold.
However, if the NDAA is utilized as so many of us have realized it can be, you will be well aware and prepared for the grim possibilities that could present themselves at any moment.
The most important aspect of psychological preparedness is to not live in fear. To be ruled by fear is to give those in power exactly what they want and you will inevitably be easily manipulated and controlled because of it.
Being prepared both physically and psychologically should allow you to live without fear of anything, as you have already accepted the worst that life can throw at you.
If you do nothing else, take a few moments out of your day to be grateful for whatever you have while accepting that it could all disappear without so much as a moment’s notice.
This will serve to make you impervious to whatever curveballs are thrown your way, no matter how wild and unlikely it may seem right now, while also making you that much more appreciative of whatever good life brings your way.
(Official Trailer) THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take? (VIDEO)
THRIVE is an unconventional documentary now available to watch online at http://thrivemovement.com.
THRIVE lifts the veil on what’s REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream — uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future.
Now that the full-length film, THRIVE: What On Earth Will It Take? is out, the speculation about the trailer becomes just that – speculation. We invite viewers here to experience the full version for yourselves at http://www.thrivemovement.com. We also encourage you to recognize the substance-less ranting of those who have not seen the film or who might be paid by the powers that be to troll the channels of veil-lifting sites like this to inhibit informed discussion and positive reflections.
US “Withdrawal” In Iraq Paves Way for US-Israeli Strike on Iran
Global elite maneuver into position for final leg of Middle East campaign, one year into “Arab Spring,” one step closer to global hegemony.
by Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report
December 18, 2011
Nearly every option described within the Fortune 500-funded Brookings Institution 2009 “Which Path to Persia?” report in regards to US-initiated regime change in Iran has been carried out to the letter. From proposals to fund and arm terrorist organizations like the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), to fomenting foreign-backed “color revolutions” in the streets of Tehran, to carrying out covert US-Israeli military operations within Iran itself, it is clear that the Brookings Institution either was writing the playbook on conquering Iran or was reading from it when compiling “Which Path to Persia?” The only remaining options left are airstrikes and invasion.
The report extensively details using Israel as a US-proxy in attacking Iran in an attempt to cripple its nuclear program as well as destroy much of its security apparatus while maintaining “plausible deniability” for the attack’s US architects. It is also hoped that the airstrikes incur a sufficient Iranian retaliation (or at least the opportunity to stage a false flag operation in Iran’s name) to allow Israel and the United States to carry out a more extensive follow-up military operation against the Islamic Republic.
The primary hurdle described throughout the report’s examination of using a “unilateral” Israeli strike, however, was a US-occupied Iraq and the complications an Israeli airstrike would cause passing through the nation’s airspace on its way to bombing Iran. However with the US’ recent rushed “exit” from Iraq, this complication is no longer an issue.
“An Israeli air campaign against Iran would have a number of very important differences from an American campaign. First, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has the problem of overflight transit from Israel to Iran. Israel has no aircraft carriers, so its planes must take off from Israeli air bases. It also does not possess long-range bombers like the B-1 or B-2, or huge fleets of refueling tankers, all of which means that unlike the United States, Israel cannot avoid flying through someone’s air space. The most direct route from Israel to Iran’s Natanz facility is roughly 1,750 kilometers across Jordan and Iraq. As the occupying power in Iraq, the United States is responsible for defending Iraqi airspace. ” Which Path to Persia?-page 105 (.pdf)
“From the American perspective, this negates the whole point of the option—distancing the United States from culpability—and it could jeopardize American efforts in Iraq, thus making it a possible nonstarter for Washington. Finally, Israeli violation of Jordanian airspace would likely create political problems for King Abdullah of Jordan, one of America’s (and Israel’s) closest Arab friends in the region. Thus it is exceedingly unlikely that the United States would allow Israel to overfly Iraq, and because of the problems it would create for Washington and Amman, it is unlikely that Israel would try to fly over Jordan.” Which Path to Perisa?-page 106 (.pdf)
“An Israeli attack on Iran would directly affect key American strategic interests. If Israel were to overfly Iraq, both the Iranians and the vast majority of people around the world would see the strike as abetted, if not authorized, by the United States. Even if Israel were to use another route, many Iranians would still see the attack as American supported or even American orchestrated. After all, the aircraft in any strike would be American produced, supplied, and funded F-15s and F-16s, and much of the ordnance would be American made. In fact, $3 billion dollars in U.S. assistance annually sustains the IDF’s conventional superiority in the region.” Which Path to Persia-page 106 (.pdf)
The US withdrawal from Iraq is being done in tandem with NATO operations to destabilize Syria and in turn disrupt Hezbollah’s capacity to retaliate against Israel in the event of a strike on Iran – a concern also duly noted within the Brookings report.
“…the Israelis may want to hold off until they have a peace deal with Syria in hand (assuming that Jerusalem believes that one is within reach), which would help them mitigate blowback from Hizballah and potentially Hamas. Consequently, they might want Washington to push hard in mediating between Jerusalem and Damascus.” -page 109 (.pdf)
It is quite clear that eliminating Syria entirely as an obstacle has been instead attempted, and with NATO standing by and a continuous influx of foreign fighters being armed and sent across the border to mire Syrian forces in asymmetrical warfare, any coordinated retaliation against Israel by Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah has been at the very least blunted significantly. The significance of Syria’s ability to weather this US-backed destabilization and maintain a coherent deterrence against Anglo-American-Israeli forces in the region has been noted by Russia who has thus far blocked attempts to justify further, more overt intervention by NATO in Syria.
However, Syria will be taken down, as will Iran, at any cost just as was done with Libya, and only a tactical defeat of Wall Street and London’s military forces in the process will prevent this from happening. Attempts to soften Russia’s grip on Syria was recently made as US-funded NGOs began attempting to sow “Arab Spring-style” disarray in the streets of Moscow. While some consider it a sign of madness on behalf of Wall Street and London – it is in reality part of a highly orchestrated global campaign, being executed in sequence, and thus far highly successful in achieving its goals. Throughout each stage, feigned weakness has been exhibited only to result in victory and it would be great folly to underestimate the endurance or will of the West at this juncture.
The Bottom Line
Already, one year into the US-engineered “Arab Spring,” a US-funded “activist leader” has been made president of Tunisia, a British Petroleum (BP), Shell, and Total-funded Petroleum Institute representative made PM of Libya, and other Western puppets are now poised to seize power in Egypt. Wall Street and London have also recently announced via the US State Department that an official campaign of frustrating, encircling, and containing China’s ambitions throughout Asia will be pursued under the title of “America’s Pacific Century.” Already Chinese projects in Myanmar have been canceled while Wall Street stooge Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand has been maneuvering politically to return to power at an already terrible cost to the Thai people.
Now more than ever, “we the people” must steel ourselves against this immense corporate-fascist empire as it sprawls death, destruction, and domination, militarily and economically, across the planet. We must, our very survival depends on it, boycott and replace entirely the corporate-financier interests that drive this dark, expansive agenda. It has been literally spawned of our apathy, complicity, and ignorance, fueled by us – the very source of corporate fascism’s power – and it must be our activism, resistance, and intellect that brings it to an end.
As far fetched as it may sound, every Pepsi we swig, every day we decide to drink beer and tune into our corporate-sponsored bread and circus, be it the modern day chariot races of NASCAR or the gladiatorial contests of the NFL, we bring inescapable eternal servitude to a corporate-fascist scientific dictatorship one step closer. It is now “do or die” – unlike in the past, mankind now possesses the technology to render the vast majority of the population intellectually inferior through mass medication, food poisoning, GMO crops that rot our bodies and minds from the inside-out, and the martial means of eliminating vast swaths of the population permanently. Not only is this a possibility, it is a reality the global elite have conspired over at great length through texts like Ecoscience penned by current White House science adviser John Holdren and former White House science adviser Paul Ehrlich who openly talk about mass, involuntary medication to forcibly sterilize the population, reduce our numbers and confine us within what they literally call a “planetary regime.”
The End Game approaches.
British Propaganda Aims at Triggering Syrian Genocide
Channel 4 makes Goebbels proud with conveniently timed propaganda piece.
by Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report
December 18, 2011
With the UN’s recent “human rights” report falling flat, for lack of evidence and being compiled by Karen Koning AbuZayd, a director of the US Washington-based corporate think-tank, Middle East Policy Council, that includes Exxon men, CIA agents, US military and government representatives, and even the president of the US-Qatar Business Council, the corporate-media has stepped in to give faces and screams to the alleged victims of Wall Street and London’s premeditated implosion of Syrian society.
The UN’s human rights chief, Navi Pillay had been having difficulties peddling the recycled lies used just months ago to commence NATO and UN-sanctioned genocide in Libya, in what is now verified, even confessed fabrications produced by the Libyan opposition and filtered through corporate foundation-funded Human Rights Watch, the International Criminal Court, and the UN. Additionally, Syria itself had brushed off attempts by the Wall Street and London compromised Arab League and their numerous, feckless attempts to impose ultimatums clearly crafted in Washington and given an “Arab” face.
It is now, just as both efforts have ground to a halt and the Arab League prepares to bring their ultimatums and demands to the UN that Channel 4 in England has released “shocking images of violence and child abuse that proves Syrian torture policy,” reports the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail claims they are the most graphic images ever shown on British television, and surely such an exception has been made because Wall Street and London’s efforts to justify NATO intervention in Syria have stalled. Words such as “believed to be,” “allegedly,” and “strong evidence that” litter the Daily Mail’s article and cast serious doubt on claims that Channel 4’s objectivity-devoid presentation featuring the overtly biased title “Syria’s Torture Machine” provides “‘irrefutable prima facie’ evidence that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is torturing its citizens.”
Then again, “irrefutable prima facie” is what Wall Street and London have depended on to sell one genocidal military conquest after another, from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Libya to the gates of Damascus. In each case, the evidence upon closer examination, revealed the magnitude to which the truth had been stretched, abused, or all together fabricated. Already snipers have been uncovered killing both protesters and Syrian security forces in single confrontations – illustrating a malice element clearly seeking to prolong and expand the violence, conveniently giving the West an opportunity for a repeat performance of their military conquest of Libya.
To the trained eye, “Syria’s Torture Machine” salutes the crass, hamfisted propaganda films of yesteryear that instilled the baseless anger, outrage, and emotions throughout the masses that made the horrors of the World Wars possible. Channel 4 hopes to recapture the success of these vintage films, preying on the ignorance of what it hopes is an impressionable audience, as well as join the ranks of modern day war propaganda like the corporate-fascist Neo-Conservative produced “Iranium.” No mention will most likely be made that Syria’s opposition is entirely funded, supported, even armed, and harbored by NATO members, with the Syrian opposition literally based in London where Channel 4 is also conveniently headquartered.
The timing of Channel 4’s “presentation” and the unprecedented exceptions made to air its violent content publicly, illustrates an eagerness, almost desperation behind the West’s designs toward Syria. Indeed, just as it was with Libya, NATO intervention, the subsequent genocide, and the rise to power of a suitable stooge bent to the West’s agenda will be achieved at any cost. Stretching the credibility of an already discredited corporate-media is a risk the global elite can’t risk not taking.
One must ask themselves, however, how NATO, led by the US who has legalized, normalized, even standardized torture and indefinite detention, stands on any moral ground to use the rhetoric provided by propagandists in London as justification for further meddling in Syria. If Channel 4’s one-sided, clearly biased “presentation” is casus belli for NATO bombers to level Damascus, perhaps they should visit Washington D.C. or Langley, Virginia on the way.
Lew Rockwell on Iran & Warmongering US Dictatorship (video)
RT
December 16, 2011
Congress passed a more than $662 billion dollar defense authorization bill for 2012. It’s headed for the President’s desk. In it, is a provision that imposes sanctions on Iran’s Central Bank. It bans it from the US financial system and bans anyone who does business with it. These are the harshest measures to date on Iran over its nuclear program. Problem is, this could cause a spike in oil prices. One that would benefit Iran financially. Obama administration officials were warning of this, the White House was pressuring Congress to tone them down for that reason. Analysts were telling us that Iran would not be lacking for a customer: But a spike in oil prices would of course hurt US oil consumers. One lawmaker quoted by the Wall Street Journal said the risk of a crude price spike is worth it to punish Tehran. But what if you don’t believe that? What choice is there? Do the leaders Americans elect to the White House or Congress really make any difference? And do Americans share the blame in that? We speak to Lew Rockwell, chairman of the Ludwig von Mises Institute and author of: “The Left, the Right and the State.”
Why is the Department of Homeland Security assisting in the murder of innocent Jamaicans?
An AEW&C variant of the P-3 Orion, used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, on display at the 2011 Joint Service Open House, at Andrews Air Force Base. (Photo Credit: Flickr/Little Chubby Panda)
By Madison Ruppert
End the Lie
December 17, 2011
In May of last year, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) helped the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) carry out a drug raid which resulted in the slaughter of 73 innocent Jamaicans, and they are now attempting to cover up the incident by not releasing the footage.
Through a response to Mattathias Schwartz of The New Yorker’s FOIA request to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), we learn that they utilized a P-3 Orion aircraft owned by the Department of Homeland Security over Kingston, Jamaica on the day in question.
Schwartz has published an astonishing and disturbing look into the massacre that day in Tivoli Gardens, in West Kingston in The New Yorker, which can be found here.
The reality of the DHS involvement is troubling not only because of the massacre of innocent people, but also because the mission of the Department of Homeland Security (as one would rightly assume by the name) is supposed to deal solely with the so-called “homeland” and not law enforcement operations in foreign nations.
The mission of the Department of Homeland Security is clearly laid out in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2008-20013, entitled “One Team, One Mission, Securing Our Homeland.”
On page three, we read, “We will lead the unified national effort to secure America. We will prevent and deter terrorist attacks and protect against and respond to threats and hazards to the Nation. We will secure our national borders while welcoming lawful immigrants, visitors, and trade.”
Obviously there is no mention made of assisting law enforcement agencies in foreign countries, yet the Jamaican Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Andrew Holness, announced, “the United States Government provided surveillance assistance to the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) through the presence of an aircraft over Tivoli Gardens during the May 24, 2010 operations in the West Kingston community to serve a warrant on convicted drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.”
Holness said that the United States was not taking an on-the-ground role in the operation, but was only assisting the JDF with “surveillance imagery and equipment.”
However, this is hardly relevant given that a nation’s airspace is technically their sovereign territory, so being on the ground doesn’t make much of a difference insofar as the concept of national sovereignty is concerned.
In a quite odd statement, given that the DHS was supposedly playing a surveillance role in the operation, the Jamaican Minister of National Security Dwight Nelson claimed, “In discussions with the Jamaica Defence Force and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, no images and no photographs were supplied to the Jamaica Defence Force or to the Jamaica Constabulary Force during this operation.”
Nelson also made the clearly inaccurate claim that the American government “did not, at any time, participate in the operation in Tivoli Gardens.”
Yet Holness confirmed that the Jamaican government accepted the U.S.’s offer to provide surveillance capabilities and technology, clearly showing that they did indeed participate in the operation.
Clearly the Jamaican government is as transparent and reliable as ours – that is to say, not at all.
The glaring issue at hand is that the Department of Homeland Security witnessed – and was possibly complicit with – a brutal massacre and now they are actively covering it up using some typically laughable reasoning.
They claim that the exemption from disclosing “personnel or medical files and similar files the release of which would cause a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” prevents them from releasing the footage.
They also cite the exemption which “protects records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes that could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
Along with the exemption which prevents the disclosure of documents “the release of which could reasonably be expected to disclose the identities of confidential sources” along with the exemption which prevents the release of documents “which would disclose techniques and/or procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”
They further invoke exemption which “permits the government to withhold all information about any individual when disclosure of information about him could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.”
If you’re struggling to see how any of these exemptions is remotely relevant in this case, you’re not alone.
I fail to see how Shwartz’s request for “video recordings of a raid on Tivoli Gardens” which “were made from a Department of Homeland Security P-3 Orion aircraft that was flying over Kingston that day” and “video recording or any written accounts relating in whole or in part to any gun battles that took place in Kingston, Jamaica between May 20, 2010 and June 1, 2010,” along with, “Flight records showing the location and registration numbers of all Department of Homeland Security aircraft that were in Jamaican airspace between May 20, 2010 and June 1, 2010.”
The only document they provided was an incredibly brief “Significant Incident Report” which is heavily redacted in typical government fashion.
The report is completely devoid of any mention of the 73 murdered civilians and mentions that, “No arrests were observed during the flight.”
They do mention that “All scenes were continuously recorded,” but still refuse to release this damning footage for the above listed preposterous reasons.
The menace of airborne surveillance in the United States is one that I have covered extensively, especially relating to drones and the Department of Homeland Security.
As the recent case of a Predator B drone being used in an arrest in North Dakota proved, we are facing a quite serious situation here in the continental United States, but apparently the despicable DHS is branching out to foreign nations as well.
I also find it quite troubling that the Jamaican government so readily compromises sovereignty – and attempts to cover up this fact – especially to a body like the DHS.
The only people the DHS is protecting with their exemptions are themselves, as they are the true criminals actively attempting to cover up the massacre of civilians.
If the United States government cared even remotely about the sanctity of human life and the most basic of human rights, they would release the footage and help hold all responsible accountable.
However, if you’re holding your breath for this you’re likely to get a brutal wakeup call when you slam into the floor and realize you passed out from anoxia.
This is just another symptom of the cancerous, corrupt system which has spread virulently across the world and is now in the final stages of clamping down and destroying the rights of every man, woman and child in the United States and around the globe.
