Arkin: "We, Ladies and Gentlemen, are the potential enemy"

[liveoaktx]

http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2005/12/the_american_ba.html

This is the man behind the NBC Nightly News piece on the Pentagon spying on Americans

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The problem here is that the United States is seen as another battlefield in the war on terrorism. We, ladies and gentleman, are the potential enemy.

The collection of intelligence information in the United States on anti-military activity, even lawful political protest, occurs because of a presumption of a "threat." Threat is what drives every military mission, and in the case of "force protection," that is, the actions needed to protest Defense Department installations, persons, and interests, the threat demands not just more guards and better fences and more cooperation between the military and law enforcement agencies. The threat demands offense. After all, offense is the post 9/11 mantra.

To me, then, the only real way to "review" what the military is doing to fulfill its domestic "force protection" mission is to ask about the so-called "threat."

....And here's the problem: The "terrorism threat level," which is the validated official measure to assist force protection officers to determine their level mission speaks of "anti-U.S." activity, thus suggesting that protest and political activity by Americans, even lawful protest, is somehow "anti" American?

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