Operation Falcon: Blueprint for removing dissidents and political rivals
The Bush administration has carried out
three massive sweeps in the last two years, rolling up more than 30,000
minor crooks and criminals, without as much as a whimper of protest
from the public.
So far, not one of the more than
30,000 victims has been charged with a terror-related crime.Operation
Falcon is the clearest indication yet that the Bush administration is
fine-tuning its shock-troops so it can roll up tens of thousands of
people at a moment’s notice and toss them into the newly-built
Halliburton detention centers. This should be a red flag for anyone who
cares at all about human rights, civil liberties, or simply saving his
own skin.
Operation Falcon was allegedly the brainchild of
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his counterpart in the US
Marshal's office, (Director) Ben Reyna. But its roots go much deeper
into the nexus of right-wing Washington think tanks where fantasies of
autocratic government have a long history. The name, Falcon, is an
acronym for “Federal and Local Cops Organized Nationally.” It relates
to the more than 960 state, local and federal agencies which are
directly involved in the administration’s expansive criminal dragnets.
Typically,
law enforcement agencies are protective of their own turf and wary of
outside intervention. The Falcon program overrides these concerns by
streamlining the information-sharing processes and setting up a
chain-of-command structure that radiates from the Justice Department.
This removes many of the traditional obstacles to agency interface. It
also relocates the levers of power in Washington where they can be
manned by members of the Bush administration.
Dictatorships
require strong centralized authority and the Falcon program is a
logical corollary of that ambition. It creates new inroads for Bush to
assume greater control over the nationwide police-state apparatus. That
alone should be sufficient reason for alarm.
The first
Operation Falcon took place during the week of April 4 to April 10,
2005. According to the US Marshal’s official website, “The emphasis
centered on gang related crimes, homicides, crimes involving use of a
weapon, crimes against children and the elderly, crimes involving
sexual assaults, organized crime and drug related fugitives, and other
crimes of violence.” More than 10,000 criminal suspects were arrested
in a matter of days. It was the largest criminal sweep in the nation’s
history and, according to U.S. Marshall chief Ben Reyna, “produced the
largest number of arrests ever recorded during a single initiative.”
The Washington Times noted, “The sweep was a virtual clearinghouse for
warrants on drug, gang, gun and sex-offender suspects nationwide.”
The emphasis was clearly on quantity not quality.
Still,
this doesn’t explain why state and federal agencies had to be
integrated with local law enforcement simply to carry out routine
police work.
More importantly, it doesn’t explain why local
police ignored their duty to protect the public just so they could
coordinate with outside agencies. According to one report “162 accused
or convicted of murder” were picked up in the first sweep. That means
that the police knowingly left murderers on the street and put the
public at risk while they orchestrated their raids with federal
agencies?
That’s irresponsible. It also suggests that there
may be a more sinister motive behind the program than just ensuring
public safety. The plan appears to have been devised to enhance the
powers of the “unitary” executive by putting state and local law
enforcement under federal supervision. Once again, it’s an attempt by
the administration to extend its grip to the state and local level. We
saw a similar strategy unfold after Hurricane Katrina when the Bush
administration used the tragedy to seize control of local police and
National Guard units so they could establish de facto martial law.
Troops, armored vehicles and mercenaries were deployed to New Orleans
to fight lawlessness and looting even though desperate people were
still stranded on their rooftops waiting for food, water and medical
attention.
Operation FALCON II was another massive dragnet
which covered the western half of the country and focused primarily on
“violent sex offenders”. The raids took place from April 17-23, and
succeeded in apprehending 9,037 alleged fugitives. The US Marshals web
site boasts that the operation “took some of the country's most
dangerous wanted criminals off the streets and made America's
communities safer”.
Nonsense. Despite the claims of success,
only 462 “violent sex crime” suspects were arrested, along with 1,094
“unregistered sex offenders” and other minor “sex crime” suspects. That
leaves 7,481 suspects who were rounded up for other unrelated reasons.
Who are they and what crime did they commit? Were these drug
violations, dads who were delinquent on child-support payments, traffic
tickets, jay-walking?!?
7,481 people who were incarcerated are
unaccounted by the government’s estimate. This means that the bulk of
them were probably undocumented workers who were shunted off to the INS
(Immigration and Naturalization) or dispatched to Cheney’s tent-city
gulags in western Texas. (See: Democracy Now “Human Rights Groups Call
for Closure of Texas Jail Holding Undocumented Immigrants” 2-23-07)
Similar
inconsistencies appear in “Operation FALCON III, which covered the
eastern half of the country from October 22 - 28, 2006.” State, local
and federal police-units arrested 10,773 fugitives; including 1,659 sex
offenders, 971 unregistered sex offenders, 364 gang members, 140
homicide suspects, and 3,609 drug violations. Once again, the US
Marshal’s official tally doesn’t pencil out. This time, 4,030 extra
people were rounded up without any further explanation.
Who are they and have they been charged with a crime?
Furthermore,
sex offenders, drug users and gang-bangers are not what we normally
consider “some of the country's most dangerous wanted criminals”. In
fact, there are indications that the great majority of these people are
not violent at all. For example, of the 30,110 total fugitives who were
apprehended in all three Falcon sweeps, a measly 586 firearms were
seized.
Clearly, the people who were arrested for the most
part were not “armed and dangerous” nor were they a serious threat to
public safety. They were probably just the unwitting victims of an
overzealous US Marshals office and an ideologically-driven Justice
Department.
So, what was the real impetus for the Falcon
raids? Was it just a bean-counting exercise to see how many people
would fit in the back of a Paddy-wagon or are they a dress rehearsal
for future crackdowns on potential enemies of the state?
Bogus News Reports
The
Falcon operation illustrates the incestuous relationship between the
media and the state. They are two wings on the same plane. The Justice
Department provided the TV networks with official footage of policemen
and government agents raiding homes and handcuffing suspects; and the
media dutifully aired the video on stations across the country. The
scenes were accompanied by a reassuring commentary lauding the
administration’s new crime fighting strategies and linking homeland
security with the nebulous war on terror.
Attorney General
Gonzales told reporters, “Operation FALCON is an excellent example of
President Bush’s direction and the Justice Department’s dedication to
deal both with the terrorist threat and traditional violent crime.” He
added, “This joint effort shows the commitment of our federal, state,
and local partners to make our neighborhoods safer, and it has led to
the highest number of arrests ever recorded for a single initiative of
its kind.”
So far, not one of the more than 30,000 victims has been charged with a terror-related crime.
The media-hype surrounding the raids has been celebratory and
uniform; cookie-cutter articles appeared throughout the US press (most
of them unsourced) highlighting the cooperation between the divers
agencies while providing an upbeat account of what amounts to police
repression. Thousands of nearly identical articles appeared in the
nation’s newspapers which seem to have been authored by high-ranking
officials at Homeland Security and protégés of George Orwell; although
the difference between the two is far from certain.
Even
stranger, most of the articles in the mainstream media can no longer be
retrieved via a Google search. They seem to have vanished into the
black-hole of Homeland propaganda.
No matter. If the media was
supposed to make Gestapo-like crackdowns look like normal police
operations; they succeeded admirably. Mission accomplished.
Former
Governor of Louisiana, Huey Long once opined, “When fascism comes to
America, it will come wrapped in an American flag.” Indeed, he could
have added that the corporate media will gladly provide the flag and
the public relations campaign as they have with Falcon.
Falcon; new drills for a new world order
The Falcon operations can only be
understood in the broader context of the ongoing assault on the
constitutional system of checks and balances; including the repeal of
habeas corpus, warrantless wiretaps and searches, and the use of
torture.
For the last 6 years, the Bush administration has been busy
dismantling the legal safeguards which protect the citizen from the
arbitrary and, oftentimes, ruthless actions of the state. To that end,
detention camps are being prepared by Halliburton within the U.S.,
secret courts have been established which deny due process of law,
American citizens are arrested without charge, law enforcement is
increasingly militarized, and the media has strengthened its alliance
with the central government.
Additionally, in October 2006,
George Bush quietly changed the Insurrection Act, which prevented the
President from deploying troops inside the United States. Bush’s
revision effectively overturns the Posse Comitatus Act which put strict
limits on the executive’s power to use US troops in domestic
situations. Just days earlier Bush signed a similar bill, "The John
Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" which gives Bush the power to
take command of National Guard units across the country which are
traditionally under the control of the state governors.
Without
fanfare, Bush has taken control of all armed forces and militias inside
and outside of the country and now has a monopoly on all the
state-sanctioned tools of organized violence. It’s a coup that could
never have succeeded without the tacit cooperation of the media.
Bush
is now free to declare martial law in response to a natural disaster, a
pandemic or a terrorist attack. The congress is powerless to stop him.
Also,
Bush recently signed the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which allows
the president to arbitrarily declare citizens and non citizens “enemy
combatants” and imprison them indefinitely without charge. The new law
gives Bush the authority to disregard the Geneva Conventions and the
8th amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual” punishment and apply “harsh
interrogation” which may include torture. The act effectively repeals
habeas corpus, the cornerstone of American jurisprudence and the Bill
of Rights.
The Military Commissions Act cannot coexist with the US Constitution; the two are mutually exclusive.
The
Military Commissions Act, The John Warner Defense Authorization Act,
the Homeland Security Act, the Patriot Act, and the myriad presidential
signing statements have conferred absolute power on George Bush. The
question is whether or not some incident will arise that will persuade
Bush to use his extraordinary new powers.
General Tommy Franks
predicted that a “massive, casualty producing event” might cause “our
population to question our own Constitution and begin to militarize our
country;” a scenario that many see as likely now.
Is that it?
Will another terrorist attack provide the rationale for overturning
republican government and declaring martial law?
If so, then we should know what to expect.
According
to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) it would mean “the
suspension of the normal functions of civilian government, implying the
cancellation or postponement of state and federal elections.” (Global
Research) It would also “close public and government facilities not
critical for continuity of essential operations.” (FEMA)
Northern
Command would assume control and under “the classified 'Continuity of
Government” (COG) Operations Plan' a secret 'shadow government' would
become functional, redeploying key staff to secret locations.” (Global
Research)
Also, “all forms of public gatherings or citizen's
protests which question the legitimacy of the emergency procedures and
the installation of a police state” would be banned. The military would
be deployed to carry out “police and judicial” functions.
Martial
law in the US would be applied with the utmost attention to public
sensibilities and perceptions, avoiding the garish display of force we
see in Iraq. It would be a “kinder and gentler” martial law with a
limited number of military personnel on the streets (just enough to
remind us that things have changed) and an emphasis on “preemptive”
policing operations. (Expect Falcons’ 4, 5 and 6 etc) It would probably
be disguised by a carefully crafted public relations campaign and a
predictably cheery moniker, such as, “The Security Enhancement and
Homeland Fortification Act”. The possibilities are limitless.
The Bush administration is also prepared if some unforeseen tragedy befalls congress, like another anthrax attack.
In
fact, the American Enterprise Institute, to which the Bush team is
closely aligned, has already "issued proposals for the operation of
Congress following a catastrophic terrorist attack". They advocate the
"APPOINTING" of individuals to the House of Representatives "to fill
the seats of dead or incapacitated members, a first in American
history" "The Continuity of Government Commission is
self-commissioned', its members being neither elected nor appointed by
any government body and mostly made up of professional lobbyists".
(Read the whole article) (Coincidentally, Newsweek article “White House
Rehearses for Domestic Attack” 2-23-07; “The White House is staging a
high-level exercise Saturday to test responses to the prospect of a
massive domestic terrorist attack.” These drills are a critical part of
the C.O.G. regimen dating back to the Reagan administration)
According
to the AEI’s plan, the future United States congress will be comprised
of lobbyists and industry representatives. What else would one expect
from an organization that believes that corporate interests should
determine policy?
These are the chilling precedents which have
paved the way for further government lawlessness and abuse. They
foreshadow the ominous transition from representative government to
autocratic rule; from inalienable rights to martial law.
The
Falcon operations are just a small part of this larger paradigm. The
program is not designed for rounding up minor crooks and drug dealers,
(which no one really cares about anyway) but for removing leftists,
dissidents and political rivals. These are the real targets. The power
of the state is measured in terms of how effectively it defeats or
eliminates its enemies. And, the Bush administration has shown a
remarkable aptitude for crushing its rivals.
The Crawford Fuehrer
One
day, after a particularly savage domestic purge; we can expect
President Bush to stride to the presidential podium and reiterate the
same words that were uttered by his German predecessor 60 years ago:
"If
anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular
courts of justice, then all I can say is this: In this hour I was
responsible for the fate of the American people, and thereby I became
the supreme judge of the American people….Everyone must know for all
future time that if he raises his hand to strike the State, then
certain death is his lot."
Writings 
On 29th June, 1934, Chancellor Adolph Hitler, accompanied by the Schutzstaffel (SS), arrived at Wiesse, where he personally arrested the leader of the Strum Abteilung (SA), Ernnst Roehm. During the next 24 hours 200 other senior SA officers were arrested on the way to Wiesse. Many were shot as soon as they were captured but Hitler decided to pardon Roehm because of his past service to the movement. However, after much pressure from Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, Hitler agreed that Roehm should die. At first Hitler insisted that Roehm should be allowed to commit suicide but, when he refused, 
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