Jade Helm, Walmart and Martial Law — Dust off Your Tin Foil Hat

What better way to spice up a cool, cloudy Monday than with the hottest conspiracy theory circulating on the Internet? This summer, between July 15 and September 15, elite service members from all four branches of the military will be conducting exercises throughout the Southwest, including Southern California, in an operation called Jade Helm 15.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command said the exercise is designed to train special units to “successfully conduct worldwide operations in support of our nation’s interests.” This is the kind of vague gobbledygook that you might expect from the military, but it should be noted that these types of operations have been conducted before in various areas of the U.S., although this one is the largest to date.

Since the first mentions of Jade Helm, conspiracy theorists across the Internet have been telling anyone who will listen that this is the prelude to martial law in America. This seems a severe stretch of the imagination to me. Obama? Martial law? I don’t think so. However, there is a tantalizing sidebar to all of this that will only add fuel to the conspiracy fire.

Last week Walmart closed five stores on the same day, two in Texas, one in California, one in Oklahoma and one in Florida. The official excuse for shutting down the stores (and putting nearly 2000 people on unemployment) was plumbing problems. This response was met with skepticism, which was heightened when reporters found that none of the affected stores had applied for any plumbing permits from their respective municipalities.

Fast forward to today. A woman with a video camera went to the Pico Rivera, California store to check things out. That store has kept its pharmacy open to allow people with prescriptions there to continue getting their meds. The first thing she noted was that there were police cruisers parked at every entrance and exit to the Walmart. She then went into the section of the store that was open. There she found that shelving had been erected around the pharmacy that blocked any view of the rest of the store. She was eventually kicked out because she wasn’t filling a prescription.

There you go. There will be a huge military exercise in the Southwest this summer where four Walmarts closed unexpectedly and are under police guard. I seriously doubt that plumbing repairs would require that level of security. What’s really going on? I have no idea, but stay tuned.

The last thing America’s elites want to do is wake the sleeping giant

One of the longest running and most oft repeated conspiracy theories is that the American government is actively preparing to institute martial law or impose a national clamp down on dissent and arrest critics of the government, throwing them into FEMA-built concentration camps. This is the historical foundation of the survivalist movement and a tenet of a variety of other ultra conservative/Christian groups in this country. Conviction in this theory has grown markedly since 9/11 and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

To most people, the idea just seems plain nutty. Few can conceive of the American government attacking its own citizens in such a manner. I’m not one of those people. From the McCarthy era of the 1950s to the present day, our government has worked day and night to silence critics, whistleblowers and anyone who would seriously challenge the American hegemony. The Bush and Obama administrations have consistently punished or tired to punish the whistleblowers, not those involved in illegal activities. “National security” has become a catchall excuse for numerous undemocratic activities by the surveillance state.

However, do I believe the government will send troops into the streets of America’s cities and round up and jail dissidents en masse? I don’t think so, not out of any love for, or adherence to, democratic principals, but rather because America’s elites won’t allow it.

If you think about it, this country’s wealthy and powerful .01 percent have never had it better. They are making money hand over fist due to an economy rigged in their favor. They enjoy numerous tax loopholes that allow them to pay little or no taxes. Thanks to the Supreme Court, they can essentially buy their political candidates a seat in Congress. And the companies they run have the luxury of going anywhere in the world to exploit cheap labor. They know that the slumbering masses are far more concerned with which couple gets kicked off of Dancing With the Stars than who represents them in Congress, and I think they would like to keep it that way.

The last thing America’s privileged minority wants is to wake the sleeping giant of people currently placated by the entertainment industry and illusions of control.

The Martial Law theory

During the past seven years, there have been any number of conspiracy theories surrounding the actions of the Bush Administration, from being involved in 9/11 to deliberately lying us into war to rigging elections. Some theories have actually proven to be true (there’s no question Bush was wearing an electronic device during his debates with Kerry), some have extremely strong circumstantial evidence (spinning pre-war intel, election tampering) and some that are supported by very weak or questionable evidence.

One conspiracy theory that refuses to die is that BuschCo is planning to use some devastating tragedy in the United States to declare martial law before the 2008 elections. Over the years, bits and pieces of circumstantial evidence have been uncovered to suggest that this may in fact be a plan, but not nearly enough sway large numbers of people or the media. Progressive BlogGod Kos has dismissed the idea as nonsense.

My opinion on the martial law theory has always been, “hard to imagine, but I wouldn’t put anything past them.” The depths of deception to which people like Cheney, Rove and Bush will plunge knows no bottom. These have proven to be dangerous people in very influential positions.

An article in the latest issue of The Progressive raises the specter of the martial law theory once again. In “Exclusive! The FBI Deputizes Business” written by Matthew Rothschild, the author delves into a little-known partnership between private industry and the F.B.I and the Department of Homeland Security. The partnership is known as Infraguard, and its purpose is to keep essential private enterprises running during a terrorist attack or national crises…including martial law.

So the heads of companies critical to keeping the country’s infrastructure operating during a crises (transportation, agriculture, telecommunications, public health, etc.) receive early warning updates from the F.B.I on potential threats prior to the general public. At the same time, these companies are asked to report to the F.B.I any suspicious activity they might encounter.

It’s a fascinating and frightening article that everyone should read, but what it has to say about the martial law theory is extremely important. Here is a key passage:

This business owner says he attended a small InfraGard meeting where agents of the FBI and Homeland Security discussed in astonishing detail what InfraGard members may be called upon to do.

“The meeting started off innocuously enough, with the speakers talking about corporate espionage,” he says. “From there, it just progressed. All of a sudden we were knee deep in what was expected of us when martial law is declared. We were expected to share all our resources, but in return we’d be given specific benefits.” These included, he says, the ability to travel in restricted areas and to get people out.
But that’s not all.

“Then they said when—not if—martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn’t be prosecuted,” he says.

The author has confirmed from others that this was in fact what was talked about at the meeting. More circumstantial evidence, I know, but when it comes to the Bush Administration, we cant’ put anything past them.