In previous opinions we’ve discussed the possibility of US law enforcement and military assets being deployed to Main Street at the onset of any major crisis. Discussions by our comment contributors included all manner of thought on such a scenario, with arguments for and against the possibility that troops, police and private contractors would, if ordered to, fire on US citizens. As we’ve seen in the middle east over the last several weeks, and are seeing in real time in Libya today, once military is deployed things can spiral out of control very quickly.

Revisiting the question in a recent article, Zero Hedge contributor Cognitive Dissonance asks Would US Police/Troops Fire Upon US Citizens?:

So while I can’t answer the title’s question for you I can offer my own opinion as to whether or not Americans will be fired upon. The short answer is that of course they will. Why would you think otherwise when US history offers up dozens of examples to choose from. The powers that be are ego maniacs, the elites have hundreds of years of experience controlling the masses and the masses are mostly living their lives in denial. I consider it inevitable that when the uprisings begin and they turn really ugly that those who are paid to protect the powerful and their assets will follow orders and do precisely that.

Once again you can’t see this from your own point of view because you most likely won’t be the one holding the riot gear and facing the screaming mobs. While I’m certain some within the police, military and National Guard will follow their heart and refuse to fire or even follow orders if doing so means hurting their fellow citizens, in effect declaring conscientious objector status, they will for the most part be a small minority and will be quickly weeded out of the ranks by the second or third round of protests.

Considering the insanity the police and troops will be facing as well as the economic collapse that threatens them as well, the police/troops will rally around each other and protect their own closed community using whatever means necessary. Throw in the mercenaries, the agent provocateurs, the psyops campaigns, the meddling from the various intelligence agencies and the only question I have is not if but when and how much.

Someone in the comment section the other day said that since the military is now an all volunteer fighting force, the standard of conduct has been raised and no one in the military would ever fire on their fellow citizens. While I would love to believe this, I see it from a different point of view. Those in the military want(ed) to be in the military, thus they were more likely to buy into military groupthink and its attendant mind control and propaganda. Rest assured that long before any uniformed service person (police or military) is asked to confront their fellow citizens they will be subjected to a barrage of intensive conditioning and will be propagandized to the nth degree.

In my opinion, to believe that the various forces arrayed against the protesting public won’t fire on them is to continue to believe in American exceptionalism and more specifically in the desire of the rich and powerful to finally see the error of their ways and thus immediately cease and desist from further exploitation and pillage. If this is the case, if this is what you believe, then all I can say is that you live in a dream world Neo.Once again you can’t see this from your own point of view because you most likely won’t be the one holding the riot gear and facing the screaming mobs. While I’m certain some within the police, military and National Guard will follow their heart and refuse to fire or even follow orders if doing so means hurting their fellow citizens, in effect declaring conscientious objector status, they will for the most part be a small minority and will be quickly weeded out of the ranks by the second or third round of protests.

Considering the insanity the police and troops will be facing as well as the economic collapse that threatens them as well, the police/troops will rally around each other and protect their own closed community using whatever means necessary. Throw in the mercenaries, the agent provocateurs, the psyops campaigns, the meddling from the various intelligence agencies and the only question I have is not if but when and how much.

Someone in the comment section the other day said that since the military is now an all volunteer fighting force, the standard of conduct has been raised and no one in the military would ever fire on their fellow citizens. While I would love to believe this, I see it from a different point of view. Those in the military want(ed) to be in the military, thus they were more likely to buy into military groupthink and its attendant mind control and propaganda. Rest assured that long before any uniformed service person (police or military) is asked to confront their fellow citizens they will be subjected to a barrage of intensive conditioning and will be propagandized to the nth degree.

In my opinion, to believe that the various forces arrayed against the protesting public won’t fire on them is to continue to believe in American exceptionalism and more specifically in the desire of the rich and powerful to finally see the error of their ways and thus immediately cease and desist from further exploitation and pillage. If this is the case, if this is what you believe, then all I can say is that you live in a dream world Neo.

As with Libya and Bahrain, when the control infrastructure of the power elite is threatened, they will take whatever steps are necessary to maintain power.

Certainly, as mentioned, there will be those, likely in the tens of thousands, who will simply refuse orders and go home to take care of their families – after all, society would have to be falling apart if military personnel are being deployed. Likewise, however, there will be just as many, if not more, who simply have no clue that they are the pawns of Kings and Queens fighting to the death on the Grand Chessboard. When the order is given, they will gladly follow. Military planners are quite astute when it comes to these types of planning strategem, so it is quite likely that National Guard and other military units will be deployed cross-state, into areas where they will have no friends or family. The fact that you speak English will not matter.

The domestic contingency plans are clearly documented, and we know for a fact that the National Guard is  Training For Riot Control and Mass Detentions, while the Pentagon and Military Are Actively War Gaming “˜Large Scale Economic Breakdown” and “Civil Unrest”, so this is not as unlikely as many would hope or believe. The plethora of Presidential Executive Orders designed to respond to national emergencies should lay to rest any idea of this not being a realistic possibility.

The ultimate question of how far government policing intervention is willing to go remains to be seen. But given what we’ve seen throughout history, our recommendation is to simply stay home and get out of the way if at all possible, otherwise you risk the real possibility of being thrown into a refugee reeducation camp or worse.