Operation Falcon and the Looming Police = State=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

Operation Falcon and the = Looming=20 Police State

By Mike Whitney =

02/26/07=20 "ICH"=20 --- - On 29th June, 1934, Chancellor Adolph Hitler, = accompanied=20 by the Schutzstaffel (SS), arrived at Wiesse, where he = personally=20 arrested the leader of the Strum Abteilung (SA), Ernnst = Roehm.=20 During the next 24 hours 200 other senior SA officers were = arrested=20 on the way to Wiesse. Many were shot as soon as they were = captured=20 but Hitler decided to pardon Roehm because of his past = service to=20 the movement. However, after much pressure from Hermann = Goering and=20 Heinrich Himmler, Hitler agreed that Roehm should die. At = first=20 Hitler insisted that Roehm should be allowed to commit = suicide but,=20 when he refused, Roehm was shot by two SS men.=20 (Spartacus.schoolnet.co)

Later, Hitler delivered a = speech at=20 the Reichstag in which he justified the murders of his = rivals=20 saying:

"If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did = not=20 resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say = is this:=20 In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German = people,=20 and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people. = It was=20 no secret that this time the revolution would have to be = bloody;=20 when we spoke of it we called it 'The Night of the Long = Knives.'=20 Everyone must know for all future time that if he raises his = hand to=20 strike the State, then certain death is his lot." =

The Night=20 of the Long Knives is seen by many as the turning point = where Hitler=20 made it clear that he was above the law and the supreme = leader of=20 the German people.

Operation Falcon: = Blueprint for=20 removing dissidents and political rivals

The = Bush=20 administration has carried out three massive sweeps in the = last two=20 years, rolling up more than 30,000 minor crooks and = criminals,=20 without as much as a whimper of protest from the public.=20

Operation Falcon is the clearest indication yet that = the=20 Bush administration is fine-tuning its shock-troops so it = can roll=20 up tens of thousands of people at a moment=92s notice and = toss them=20 into the newly-built Halliburton detention centers. This = should be a=20 red flag for anyone who cares at all about human rights, = civil=20 liberties, or simply saving his own skin.

Operation = Falcon=20 was allegedly the brainchild of Attorney General Alberto = Gonzales=20 and his counterpart in the US Marshal's office, (Director) = Ben=20 Reyna. But its roots go much deeper into the nexus of = right-wing=20 Washington think tanks where fantasies of autocratic = government have=20 a long history. The name, Falcon, is an acronym for = =93Federal and=20 Local Cops Organized Nationally.=94 It relates to the more = than 960=20 state, local and federal agencies which are directly = involved in the=20 administration=92s expansive criminal dragnets. =

Typically, law=20 enforcement agencies are protective of their own turf and = wary of=20 outside intervention. The Falcon program overrides these = concerns by=20 streamlining the information-sharing processes and setting = up a=20 chain-of-command structure that radiates from the Justice=20 Department. This removes many of the traditional obstacles = to agency=20 interface. It also relocates the levers of power in = Washington where=20 thy can be manned by members of the Bush administration.=20

Dictatorships require strong centralized authority = and the=20 Falcon program is a logical corollary of that ambition. It = creates=20 new inroads for Bush to assume greater control over the = nationwide=20 police-state apparatus. That alone should be sufficient = reason for=20 alarm.

The first Operation Falcon took place during = the week=20 of April 4 to April 10, 2005. According to the US = Marshal=92s official=20 website, =93The emphasis centered on gang related crimes, = homicides,=20 crimes involving use of a weapon, crimes against children = and the=20 elderly, crimes involving sexual assaults, organized crime = and drug=20 related fugitives, and other crimes of violence.=94 More = than 10,000=20 criminal suspects were arrested in a matter of days. It was = the=20 largest criminal sweep in the nation=92s history and, = according to=20 U.S. Marshall chief Ben Reyna, =93produced the largest = number of=20 arrests ever recorded during a single initiative.=94 The = Washington=20 Times noted, =93The sweep was a virtual clearinghouse for = warrants on=20 drug, gang, gun and sex-offender suspects nationwide.=94=20

The emphasis was clearly on quantity not quality. =

Still, this doesn=92t explain why state and = federal=20 agencies had to be integrated with local law enforcement = simply to=20 carry out routine police work.

More importantly, it = doesn=92t=20 explain why local police ignored their duty to protect the = public=20 just so they could coordinate with outside agencies. = According to=20 one report =93162 accused or convicted of murder=94 were = picked up in=20 the first sweep. That means that the police knowingly left = murderers=20 on the street and put the public at risk while they = orchestrated=20 their raids with federal agencies.

That=92s = irresponsible. It=20 also suggests that there may be a more sinister motive = behind the=20 program than just ensuring public safety. The plan appears = to have=20 been devised to enhance the powers of the =93unitary=94 = executive by=20 putting state and local law enforcement under federal = supervision.=20 Once again, it=92s an attempt by the administration to = extend its grip=20 to the state and local level. We saw a similar strategy = unfold after=20 Hurricane Katrina when the Bush administration used the = tragedy to=20 seize control of local police and National Guard units so = they could=20 establish de facto martial law. Troops, armored vehicles and = mercenaries were deployed to New Orleans to fight = lawlessness and=20 looting even though desperate people were still stranded on = their=20 rooftops waiting for food, water and medical attention.=20

Operation FALCON II was another massive dragnet = which=20 covered the western half of the country and focused = primarily on=20 =93violent sex offenders=94. The raids took place from April = 17-23, and=20 succeeded in apprehending 9,037 alleged fugitives. The US = Marshals=20 web site boasts that the operation =93took some of the = country's most=20 dangerous wanted criminals off the streets and made = America's=20 communities safer=94.

Nonsense. Despite the claims = of success,=20 only 462 =93violent sex crime=94 suspects were arrested, = along with=20 1,094 =93unregistered sex offenders=94 and other minor = =93sex crime=94=20 suspects. That leaves 7,481 suspects who were rounded up for = other=20 unrelated reasons.

Who are they and what crime did = they=20 commit? Were these drug violations, dads who were delinquent = on=20 child-support payments, traffic tickets, jay-walking?!?=20

7,481 people who were incarcerated are unaccounted = by the=20 government=92s estimate. This means that the bulk of them = were=20 probably undocumented workers who were shunted off to the = INS=20 (Immigration and Naturalization) or dispatched to Cheney=92s = tent-city=20 gulags in western Texas. (See: Democracy Now =93Human Rights = Groups=20 Call for Closure of Texas Jail Holding Undocumented = Immigrants=94=20 2-23-07)

Similar inconsistencies appear in = =93Operation FALCON=20 III, which covered the eastern half of the country from = October 22 -=20 28, 2006.=94 State, local and federal police-units arrested = 10,773=20 fugitives; including 1,659 sex offenders, 971 unregistered = sex=20 offenders, 364 gang members, 140 homicide suspects, and = 3,609 drug=20 violations. Once again, the US Marshal=92s official tally = doesn=92t=20 pencil out. This time, 4,030 extra people were rounded up = without=20 any further explanation.

Who are they and have they = been=20 charged with a crime?

Furthermore, sex offenders, = drug users=20 and gang-bangers are not what we normally consider =93some = of the=20 country's most dangerous wanted criminals=94. In fact, there = are=20 indications that the great majority of these people are not = violent=20 at all. For example, of the 30,110 total fugitives who were=20 apprehended in all three Falcon sweeps, a measly 586 = firearms were=20 seized.

Clearly, the people who were arrested for = the most=20 part were not =93armed and dangerous=94 nor were they a = serious threat=20 to public safety. They were probably just the unwitting = victims of=20 an overzealous US Marshals office and an = ideologically-driven=20 Justice Department.

So, what was the real impetus = for the=20 Falcon raids? Was it just a bean-counting exercise to see = how many=20 people would fit in the back of a Paddy-wagon or are they a = dress=20 rehearsal for future crackdowns on potential enemies of the = state?=20

Bogus News Reports

The Falcon = operation=20 illustrates the incestuous relationship between the media = and the=20 state. They are two wings on the same plane. The Justice = Department=20 provided the TV networks with official footage of policemen = and=20 government agents raiding homes and handcuffing suspects; = and the=20 media dutifully aired the video on stations across the = country. The=20 scenes were accompanied by a reassuring commentary lauding = the=20 administration=92s new crime fighting strategies and linking = homeland=20 security with the nebulous war on terror.

Attorney = General=20 Gonzales told reporters, =93Operation FALCON is an excellent = example=20 of President Bush=92s direction and the Justice = Department=92s=20 dedication to deal both with the terrorist threat and = traditional=20 violent crime.=94 He added, =93This joint effort shows the = commitment of=20 our federal, state, and local partners to make our = neighborhoods=20 safer, and it has led to the highest number of arrests ever = recorded=20 for a single initiative of its kind.=94

So far, not = one of the=20 more than 30,000 victims has been charged with a = terror-related=20 crime.

The media-hype surrounding the raids has been = celebratory and uniform; cookie-cutter articles appeared = throughout=20 the US press (most of them unsourced) highlighting the = cooperation=20 between the divers agencies while providing an upbeat = account of=20 what amounts to police repression. Thousands of nearly = identical=20 articles appeared in the nation=92s newspapers which seem to = have been=20 authored by high-ranking officials at Homeland Security and = prot=E9g=E9s=20 of George Orwell; although the difference between the two is = far=20 from certain.

Even stranger, most of the articles in = the=20 mainstream media can no longer be retrieved via a Google = search.=20 They seem to have vanished into the black-hole of Homeland=20 propaganda.

No matter. If the media was supposed to = make=20 Gestapo-like crackdowns look like normal police operations; = they=20 succeeded admirably. Mission accomplished.

Former = Governor=20 of Louisiana, Huey Long once opined, =93When fascism comes = to America,=20 it will come wrapped in an American flag.=94 Indeed, he = could have=20 added that the corporate media will gladly provide the flag = and the=20 public relations campaign as they have with Falcon.=20

Falcon; new drills for a new world order =

The=20 Falcon operations can only be understood in the broader = context of=20 the ongoing assault on the constitutional system of checks = and=20 balances; including the repeal of habeas corpus, warrantless = wiretaps and searches, and the use of torture.

For = the last=20 6 years, the Bush administration has been busy dismantling = the legal=20 safeguards which protect the citizen from the arbitrary and, = oftentimes, ruthless actions of the state. To that end, = detention=20 camps are being prepared by Halliburton within the U.S., = secret=20 courts have been established which deny due process of law, = American=20 citizens are arrested without charge, law enforcement is=20 increasingly militarized, and the media has strengthened its = alliance with the central government.

Additionally, = in=20 October 2006, George Bush quietly changed the Insurrection = Act,=20 which prevented the President from deploying troops inside = the=20 United States. Bush=92s revision effectively overturns the = Posse=20 Comitatus Act which put strict limits on the executive=92s = power to=20 use US troops in domestic situations. Just days earlier Bush = signed=20 a similar bill, "The John Warner Defense Authorization Act = of 2007"=20 which gives Bush the power to take command of National Guard = units=20 across the country which are traditionally under the control = of the=20 state governors.

Without fanfare, Bush has taken = control of=20 all armed forces and militias inside and outside of the = country and=20 now has a monopoly on all the state-sanctioned tools of = organized=20 violence. It=92s a coup that could never have succeeded = without the=20 tacit cooperation of the media.

Bush is now free to = declare=20 martial law in response to a natural disaster, a pandemic or = a=20 terrorist attack. The congress is powerless to stop him.=20

Also, Bush recently signed the Military Commissions = Act of=20 2006, which allows the president to arbitrarily declare = citizens and=20 non citizens =93enemy combatants=94 and imprison them = indefinitely=20 without charge. The new law gives Bush the authority to = disregard=20 the Geneva Conventions and the 8th amendment=92s ban on = =93cruel and=20 unusual=94 punishment and apply =93harsh interrogation=94 = which may=20 include torture. The act effectively repeals habeas corpus, = the=20 cornerstone of American jurisprudence and the Bill of = Rights.=20

The Military Commissions Act cannot coexist with the = US=20 Constitution; the two are mutually exclusive.

The = Military=20 Commissions Act, The John Warner Defense Authorization Act, = the=20 Homeland Security Act, the Patriot Act, and the myriad = presidential=20 signing statements have conferred absolute power on George = Bush. The=20 question is whether or not some incident will arise that = will=20 persuade Bush to use his extraordinary new powers. =

General=20 Tommy Franks predicted that a =93massive, casualty producing = event=94=20 might cause =93our population to question our own = Constitution and=20 begin to militarize our country;=94 a scenario that many see = as likely=20 now.

Is that it? Will another terrorist attack = provide the=20 rationale for overturning republican government and = declaring=20 martial law?

If so, then we should know what to = expect.=20

According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management = Agency) it=20 would mean =93the suspension of the normal functions of = civilian=20 government, implying the cancellation or postponement of = state and=20 federal elections.=94 (Global Research) It would also = =93close public=20 and government facilities not critical for continuity of = essential=20 operations.=94 (FEMA)

Northern Command would assume = control=20 and under =93the classified 'Continuity of Government=94 = (COG)=20 Operations Plan' a secret 'shadow government' would become=20 functional, redeploying key staff to secret locations.=94 = (Global=20 Research)

Also, =93all forms of public gatherings or = citizen's=20 protests which question the legitimacy of the emergency = procedures=20 and the installation of a police state=94 would be banned. = The=20 military would be deployed to carry out =93police and = judicial=94=20 functions.

Martial law in the US would be applied = with the=20 utmost attention to public sensibilities and perceptions, = avoiding=20 the garish display of force we see in Iraq. It would be a = =93kinder=20 and gentler=94 martial law with a limited number of military = personnel=20 on the streets (just enough to remind us that things have = changed)=20 and an emphasis on =93preemptive=94 policing operations. = (Expect=20 Falcons=92 4, 5 and 6 etc) It would probably be disguised by = a=20 carefully crafted public relations campaign and a = predictably cheery=20 moniker, such as, =93The Security Enhancement and Homeland=20 Fortification Act=94. The possibilities are limitless. =

The=20 Bush administration is also prepared if some unforeseen = tragedy=20 befalls congress, like another anthrax attack.

In = fact, the=20 American Enterprise Institute, to which the Bush team is = closely=20 aligned, has already "issued proposals for the operation of = Congress=20 following a catastrophic terrorist attack". They advocate = the=20 "APPOINTING" of individuals to the House of Representatives = "to fill=20 the seats of dead or incapacitated members, a first in = American=20 history" "The Continuity of Government Commission is=20 self-commissioned', its members being neither elected nor = appointed=20 by any government body and mostly made up of professional=20 lobbyists". (Read the whole article:=20 http://www.conservativeusa.org/cog-ronpaul.htm) = (Coincidentally,=20 Newsweek article =93White House Rehearses for Domestic = Attack=94=20 2-23-07; =93The White House is staging a high-level exercise = Saturday=20 to test responses to the prospect of a massive domestic = terrorist=20 attack.=94 These drills are a critical part of the C.O.G. = regimen=20 dating back to the Reagan administration)

According = to the=20 AEI=92s plan, the future United States congress will be = comprised of=20 lobbyists and industry representatives. What else would one = expect=20 from an organization that believes that corporate interests = should=20 determine policy?

These are the chilling precedents = which=20 have paved the way for further government lawlessness and = abuse.=20 They foreshadow the ominous transition from representative=20 government to autocratic rule; from inalienable rights to = martial=20 law.

The Falcon operations are just a small part of = this=20 larger paradigm. The program is not designed for rounding up = minor=20 crooks and drug dealers, (which no one really cares about = anyway)=20 but for removing leftists, dissidents and political rivals. = These=20 are the real targets. The power of the state is measured in = terms of=20 how effectively it defeats or eliminates its enemies. And, = the Bush=20 administration has shown a remarkable aptitude for crushing = its=20 rivals.

The Crawford Fuehrer

One day, = after a=20 particularly savage domestic purge; we can expect President = Bush to=20 stride to the presidential podium and reiterate the same = words that=20 were uttered by his German predecessor 60 years ago: =

"If=20 anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the = regular=20 courts of justice, then all I can say is this: In this hour = I was=20 responsible for the fate of the American people, and thereby = I=20 became the supreme judge of the American people=85.Everyone = must know=20 for all future time that if he raises his hand to strike the = State,=20 then certain death is his lot."

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In accordance with Title = 17 U.S.C.=20 Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to = those=20 who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the = included=20 information for research and educational purposes. = Information=20 Clearing House has no affiliation whatsoever with the = originator of=20 this article nor is Information ClearingHouse endorsed or = sponsored=20 by the=20 originator.)

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