by Niki Raapana and Nordica Friedrich, updated 10-01-05
Gulf States occupied during early test of NATO's Rapid Reaction Forces.
Foreign troops invited under the guise of "humanitarian assistance."
The United States is an "early test of the alliance's much-heralded NATO Response Force (NRF), a rapid reaction fighting unit created to allow it deploy in trouble zones across the globe within a matter of days." BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States asked NATO on Thursday for help in transporting European aid to victims of Hurricane Katrina amid concern that assistance is not getting through to the devastated region quickly enough. US seeks more NATO help on Katrina Reuters, September 8, 2005. "NATO ambassadors were expected to take a decision on the request on Friday [9-9-05], and a mission could be mobilised within three to five days [9-12 to 9-14] of an agreement on what was to be transported."
"Among their accomplishments were preparing and serving nearly 160,000 hot meals and performing 660 dental and medical exams.// Unarmed since leaving Mexico City on Sept. 7, the nearly 200 soldiers shook hands Monday with local dignitaries during a ceremony of appreciation before their expected departure early Tuesday for Mexico City. Army to leave U.S. after historic mission Wire services, September 27, 2005, at El Universal online. [Dental exams??? ~Ed.]
Why did we need foreign troops serving and performing exams on our citizens? Well...
"One medical assessment team - veterans of 31 disasters - can treat hundreds of patients a day, but for 11 days, it's been repeatedly redirected by FEMA from Alabama to Biloxi to Dallas to Galveston. So far, they've treated one small cut." Relief chaos in Katrina's wake-Indecision prevented aid from reaching those who needed it most By Lisa Myers & the NBC Investigative Unit, Updated: 7:46 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2005.
"WASHINGTON D.C. -- Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for
Emergency Preparedness and Response and head of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA), today urged all fire and emergency services departments not to
respond to counties and states affected by Hurricane Katrina without being
requested and lawfully dispatched by state and local authorities under mutual
aid agreements and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.//"The response to Hurricane Katrina must be well coordinated between federal, state and local officials to most effectively protect life and property," Brown
said. "We appreciate the willingness and generosity of our Nation's first
responders to deploy during disasters. But such efforts must be coordinated so
that fire-rescue efforts are the most effective possible."" http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18470 August 29, 2005.
Why weren't there enough cops in the streets to maintain order? Well....
"Deputy Police Supt. Warren Riley said about 700 of the city's 1,600-officer force was told to stay home until the storm passed so that they would be available to be deployed wherever they were needed."
Hundreds of Police Officers Missing in New Orleans Bush vows to step up federal response. Sept 8, 2005 By Julie Cart, Edwin Chen and Scott Gold, LA Times Staff Writers NEW ORLEANS.
The same day that Bush requested NATO NRF troops and vowed to step up the federal response, M-16 toting soldiers were already deployed.
"NEW ORLEANS — Police and M-16-toting National Guardsmen fanned out through nearly deserted neighborhoods Thursday to track down the last of the city's holdouts in advance of a mass forced evacuation." Crews Roust Holdouts, Brace for the Body Count By Scott Gold, Greg Miller and Stephen Braun Times Staff Writers Fri Sep 9, 7:55 AM ET.
FEMA and new hurricanes threaten constitutions in several U.S. states. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
It appears Mexican troops arrived on the U.S. border the night before Bush asked for NATO assistance, and the "mission" was mobilized way before the three to five days after the NATO agreement. Were the Mexican troops part of a different agreement? (A CFR idea perhaps?) "A convoy of 45 vehicles and 196 soldiers arrived at the border city of Nuevo Laredo Wednesday night [9-7-05]. It was to cross into U.S. territory early today, Gen. Francisco Ortiz Valadez told reporters as his men refueled at a local gas station."// "All of the convoy's partici pants will be unarmed. In July 2004, Mexican troops interrupted the funeral of a Mexican- born Marine killed in Iraq. They objected to the nonworking, ceremonial rifles carried by two Marines who came from the United States for the ceremony." Mexican military enters U.S. to give aid Thursday, September 08, 2005, Olga R. Rodriguez, Associated Press, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. (Linked from Alex Jones, an "alternative" news site that supports the dialectic.)
"Bush also refused to rule out appointing a reconstruction "czar" to steer a rebuilding effort that is expected to run into the hundreds of billions of dollars, even eclipsing the cost of the war in
Iraq."Search goes on for Rita victims as New Orleans reopens NEW ORLEANS, United States (AFP), Mon Sep 26,12:55 PM ET. See also GOP senators urge appointment of reconstruction czar By Greta Wodele, CongressDaily, September 15, 2005 and Small businesses struggle to win hurricane relief contracts By Kimberly Palmer, kpalmer@govexec.com September 26, 2005. "As in many emergency situations, contracts are being awarded quickly, outside the normal competitive process, meaning that relationships matter as much as skills."
Sep 25, 2005--"Bush indicated that he wants more authority for the armed forces in natural disasters. The military is barred by law from performing any domestic law enforcement functions.// Bush first broached that idea in a speech to the nation from New Orleans last week.// The president said he wants to examine whether the Defense Department should take the lead in a natural disaster "of a certain size" as it would after any terrorist attack. "That's going to be a very important consideration for Congress to think about," he said. Bush Vows to Act on National Rescue Plan By JENNIFER LOVEN, 11:13 PM (ET). (Which "armed forces"?)
Where did our U.S. troops and local police train to set up checkpoints? Are NATO troops assigned to blockades?
"What we're doing here is illegal," he said. "But we need to know what's in there. We need to know what the rest of our lives are going to be like." Hackberry: Population Zero By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer, Mon Sep 26, 2005. [These very capable, strong American men were returning home. When did military roadblocks and "mandatory evacuations" barring private citizens from their homes become legal? Does High court upholds police roadblocks AP, January 14, 2004 apply to the disaster scenario? We keep searching, but there doesn't seem to be any "real" news or any good pictures of the American civilian reported "military roadblocks everywhere". ~ed. ]
Here's a sample of what local mainstream media tells Americans about NRF troops (which is nothing): "Marines from Mexico, Holland and the U.S. are part of an international Hurricane Katrina cleanup effort building up on ships about 20 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Four Canadian ships are on the way." Mexico, Holland send troops to Biloxi BY GEORGE PAWLACZYK Sun Herald, posted by Duluth News Tribune, Sep. 9, 2005. Not a peep about NATO or NRF.
So why did Bush insist WE have "plenty of troops?" Who's included in your "we" Mr. President?
"We've got plenty of troops to do both," Bush said after his first on-the-ground tour of cleanup efforts in the streets of New Orleans. "It is preposterous to claim that the engagement in Iraq meant there wasn't enough troops here, just pure and simple." Bush Balancing Agenda With Storm Response AP,
By NEDRA PICKLER, September 13, 2005.
Many sites have posted timelines of the events. What most of them easily show is a concerted effort by FEMA and the WH to delay assistance to the afflicted areas. After 12 days of orchestrated chaos the U.S. government called on NATO, although few timelines mention this fact. Katrina Response Timeline by RightWingNuthouse.com.
And the plot thickens-- "Puetz acknowledges that legal issues have arisen requiring the agency to look at executive orders and other regulations that limit spy agencies activities inside the United States to prevent spying on Americans. For instance, overhead reconnaissance is allowed domestically when it is not directed at specific U.S. citizens or companies./ She said situations are being handled internally by lawyers and policy officials, who are keeping an audit trail./ "We're breaking a lot of new ground here," Puetz said. Spy Imagery Agency Prepares to Record Rita By KATHERINE SHRADER Associated Press Writer, September 22, 2005. (Via William Arkin's blog).
"The internal affairs of a nation used to be off limits to the world community. Now the principle of 'humanitarian intervention' is gaining acceptance." America Abroad/Strobe Talbott, The Birth of the Global Nation, TIME, July 20, 1992, cited in Free Trade is about Creating a World State by Peter Myers at http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers/cobden.html.
"Three former high-ranking government officials from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are calling for a North American economic and security community by 2010 to address shared security threats, challenges to competitiveness, and interest in broad-based development across the three countries." Creating a North American Community - Chairmen's Statement Council on Foreign Relations Press, March 2005. Are we building a North American Community? "Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in association with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales./ North America is vulnerable on several fronts: the region faces terrorist and criminal security threats, increased economic competition from abroad, and uneven economic development at home. In response to these challenges, a trinational, Independent Task Force on the Future of North America has developed a roadmap to promote North American security and advance the well-being of citizens of all three countries./ When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Texas recently they underscored the deep ties and shared principles of the three countries.
The Council-sponsored Task Force applauds the announced "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," but proposes a more ambitious vision of a new community by 2010 and specific recommendations on how to achieve it." ["New communities" is a communitarian phrase.]
Bush shakes hands with a Mexican marine, but the AP only explains that the Mexican Navy is assisting in Katrina clean-up. (In Spanish, Marina means Navy and maybe that's the confusion?) AP describes the photo as: "In this image [above left] provided by the U.S. Navy, President Bush shakes hands with a marine from the Federal Republic of Mexico, Monday, Sept. 12, 2005, in Biloxi, Miss. The Mexican Navy is assisting the U.S. Navy in providing humanitarian assistance to victims of Hurricane Katrina." (AP Photo/ U.S. Navy, Thomas Coffelt). These are foreign troops on U.S. soil. What is wrong with this picture?
Today the people "in charge" of the U.S. need the Canadian and Mexican Navy to clean up after our disasters. (pictures on left and right). It's obvious these foreign soldiers are "helping" and we think that's very nice of them. But it seems very odd to us that we don't have Americans down there cleaning up after the storm. Local citizens are being relieved of their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms (NRA filed a complaint on 9-22-05) at the same time foreign troops are invited into the country to give us internationalist "humanitarian aid."
Are these troops armed? [9-23, According to Mauser Girl there are also Dutch and German troops in NO, they're unarmed, and are all there "purely as aid workers."] We followed Mauser's lead and went to Technishes Hilfswerk where they tell us (translated), "The evacuation measures took place in close coordination with the American disaster control authority FEMA and the European Union Coordination Head, Peter Kaas Kaas-Claesson." That's the first time we've heard there's an EU Coordination Head from the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the USA. OCHA is the United Nations. So these "troops" are all unarmed European Union and United Nations "aid workers." Who knew?
NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders tells us the Mexican "relief" ship Papaloapan is also a "warship." Is the warship ship unarmed too? USS Bataan Official Website explains: "Bataan Sailors became part of a multi-national relief effort by working with Sailors from other nations to help the people of the United States in a time of need. The Dutch frigate HNMS Jan van Amstel (F 831) sent as many as 67 sailors each day into Mississippi to support the relief efforts, the Mexican amphibious ship Papaloapan (P 411) sent up to 100 sailors daily and three Canadian ships, HMCS Athabaskan (DDH 282), HMCS Ville de Quebec (FFH 332) and HMCS Toronto (FFH 333), sent up to 258 sailors daily." According to the Canadians at National Defense, "Overall, about 900 Canadian Forces sailors, soldiers and aircrew constitute our contribution to the colossal relief efforts underway south of the border." They also claim, " As part of Operation UNISON, more than 1000 Canadian Forces personnel were deployed to the U.S. on September 6."
"Bush strode across the empty lawns to give one of the most important speeches of his presidency, committing himself, and the nation, to two daunting, expensive and complex missions: not only to resurrecting the city of New Orleans and the region but to uplifting them, making them "even better and stronger than before the storm." Not a New Jerusalem, perhaps, but a Better Easy." Money, Money, Everywhere By Howard Fineman, Newsweek Sept. 26, 2005 issue. [A "New Jerusalem?" ~ed.]
Recent News
*
Bush: Gov't May Tap Petroleum Reserve
By LARA JAKES JORDAN Sep 26, 8:33 PM (ET)WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush urged Americans on Monday to cut back on unnecessary travel to make up for fuel shortages caused by Hurricane Rita. He prepared to take his seventh trip to the Gulf Coast."
* MAJOR VICTORY FOR FIREARMS OWNERS AND FREEDOM IN LOUISIANA, NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol. 12, No. 38 9/23/05-
On Thursday, NRA filed a motion in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana seeking a temporary restraining order to block authorities from confiscating law-abiding citizens' firearms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, we are happy to report, the Court sided with NRA and issued a restraining order to bar further gun confiscations from peaceable, law-abiding victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans./ Federal Judge Jay Zainey granted NRA's motion for an indefinite temporary restraining order and ordered those in power to cease and desist gun seizures. The authorities were also ordered to return guns seized by them or their agents to anyone "...who lawfully possessed them, upon presentation of identification and execution of a receipt therefore."
* Health Emergency Declared for Texas, La. By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 23, 2:54 PM ET-- "WASHINGTON - Federal officials declared a public health emergency for Texas and Louisiana Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Rita's strike..." [Ed note: "The Model Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA) was developed for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and provided to state legislatures for adoption. In states where it has been adopted, MEHPA gives local authorities the power and the right to enforce quarantines, vaccinate people, ration medical supplies, confiscate food and fuel, and seize and destroy private property without compensation-all in the name of a public-health emergency. (See "Bioterror Act Creates Its Own Terror," Health Care News, May 2002.)/ To date [8-30-02], only seven states-Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Hampshire-and the District of Columbia have passed portions of MEHPA. No state has passed all, or even nearly all, of the model MEHPA legislation./ A dozen states-California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming-have affirmatively rejected or shelved MEPHA, while four others-Louisiana, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont-effectively rejected the measure by passing an alternative bill."]
* 1 million flee Gulf Coast as 165-mph Rita races toward landfall By PAM EASTON,
Associated Press, September 21 2005, 4:35 PM EDT. " GALVESTON, Texas -- As many as 1 million people were ordered to clear out along the Gulf Coast, and hospital and nursing home patients were evacuated Wednesday as Hurricane Rita turned into a rare Category-5, 165-mph monster that could slam Texas by the weekend and inflict more misery on New Orleans.
* Preparations For Hurricane Rita Shift Into High Gear FEMA News, September 20, 2005, Release Number: HQ-05-283. "President Bush has issued an emergency declaration in Florida per the request of the Governor," said Acting FEMA Director R. David Paulison. "FEMA is pre-positioning rescue personnel and commodities in Florida and we are working very closely with all of our federal, state, and local partners."
*
Bush declares state of emergency by Agence France-Presse, news.com.au, September 22, 2005
* The Boston Globe on September 19, 2005 reported a state of emergency declared in Maine and New Hampshire both.
* The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of New Hampshire September 19, 2005, White House Press Release.
* Statement on Federal Emergency Assistance for Louisiana August 27, 2005 WH Press Release.
* Statement on Federal Assistance for Maine White House Press Release, September 19, 2005.
* Gov. Bush Declares State Of Emergency In Florida September 19, 2005, by Christina Ficara - All Headline News Staff Reporter.
* National Homeland Security Knowledgebase including comprehensive Homeland Security information resources, Homeland Security news, Homeland Security research, Homeland Security technology sectors, Homeland Security marketplace, directories and a collection of links on Homeland Security related topics.
* Bush Has Declared Katrina-Related Emergencies in 40 States, District of Columbia by NANCY BENAC Associated Press Writer, ABC News Sept 15, 2005.
Where did our U.S. troops and local police train to set up checkpoints? Are NATO troops assigned to blockades?
"Three former high-ranking government officials from Canada, Mexico, and the United States are calling for a North American economic and security community by 2010 to address shared security threats, challenges to competitiveness, and interest in broad-based development across the three countries." Creating a North American Community - Chairmen's Statement Council on Foreign Relations Press, March 2005. Are we building a North American Community? "Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations in association with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales./ North America is vulnerable on several fronts: the region faces terrorist and criminal security threats, increased economic competition from abroad, and uneven economic development at home. In response to these challenges, a trinational, Independent Task Force on the Future of North America has developed a roadmap to promote North American security and advance the well-being of citizens of all three countries./ When the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Texas recently they underscored the deep ties and shared principles of the three countries.
The Council-sponsored Task Force applauds the announced "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America," but proposes a more ambitious vision of a new community by 2010 and specific recommendations on how to achieve it." ["New communities" is a communitarian phrase.] 
Today the people "in charge" of the U.S. need the Canadian and Mexican Navy to clean up after our disasters. (pictures on left and right). It's obvious these foreign soldiers are "helping" and we think that's very nice of them. But it seems very odd to us that we don't have Americans down there cleaning up after the storm. Local citizens are being relieved of their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms (NRA filed a complaint on 9-22-05) at the same time foreign troops are invited into the country to give us internationalist "humanitarian aid." 
Are these troops armed? [9-23, According to Mauser Girl there are also Dutch and German troops in NO, they're unarmed, and are all there "purely as aid workers."] We followed Mauser's lead and went to Technishes Hilfswerk where they tell us (translated), "The evacuation measures took place in close coordination with the American disaster control authority FEMA and the European Union Coordination Head, Peter Kaas Kaas-Claesson." That's the first time we've heard there's an EU Coordination Head from the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the USA. OCHA is the United Nations. So these "troops" are all unarmed European Union and United Nations "aid workers." Who knew? 
NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders tells us the Mexican "relief" ship Papaloapan is also a "warship." Is the warship ship unarmed too? USS Bataan Official Website explains: "Bataan Sailors became part of a multi-national relief effort by working with Sailors from other nations to help the people of the United States in a time of need. The Dutch frigate HNMS Jan van Amstel (F 831) sent as many as 67 sailors each day into Mississippi to support the relief efforts, the Mexican amphibious ship Papaloapan (P 411) sent up to 100 sailors daily and three Canadian ships, HMCS Athabaskan (DDH 282), HMCS Ville de Quebec (FFH 332) and HMCS Toronto (FFH 333), sent up to 258 sailors daily." According to the Canadians at National Defense, "Overall, about 900 Canadian Forces sailors, soldiers and aircrew constitute our contribution to the colossal relief efforts underway south of the border." They also claim, " As part of Operation UNISON, more than 1000 Canadian Forces personnel were deployed to the U.S. on September 6."