The
Begining Phases of Urban Warfare and Gun Control?
By David M. Bresnahan
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
Gov. George W. Bush, R-Texas, says
it is not his job to get involved in the concerns over Army Night Stalkers using live
ammunition in a civilian area of his state.
The Army Special Operations Command
at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has confirmed Operation Last Dance began in Kingsville Feb.
8 and has been continuing in other small towns near Corpus Christi.
Little warning was given to
civilians in Kingsville prior to the event that has prompted some to seek crisis
intervention counseling. Angry citizens are now calling for the dismissal of the police
chief and his assistant.
The exercise involved the elite
forces of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment -- the Night Stalkers. A
specially trained helicopter regiment stationed in both Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Hunter
Army Airfield, Georgia.
Night Stalkers got their name
because of their special training to fly just over tree tops at high speeds in the dark.
They were on just such a training mission in Kingsville last week. Eight black helicopters roared into
town, with one nearly crashing as it hit the top of a telephone pole and started a fire
near a residence. The soldiers on board staged a mock raid on two empty buildings, using
real explosives and live ammunition in machine guns. The two-hour gun battle has residents
and some officials furious -- and some scared to death by what they heard and saw. Police
Chief Felipe Garza and Mayor Phil Esquivel were the only city officials in Kingsville
involved in approving the military training exercise. At least one other Texas Mayor
turned the military away for a similar request and accused them of offering a bribe.
Both Garza and Esquivel have refused
to provide details, insisting that they were sworn to secrecy by the Army. Numerous
attempts were made to find out the reaction of Bush. When WorldNetDaily contacted his
office, aides were not aware of Operation Last Dance. On Monday an aide acknowledged that
calls had been coming in about the event, but no statement had been issued by Bush.
Late on Monday a public relations
spokeswoman called with a response. "Apparently you need to contact Fort Bragg if you
need more information about this," she said. "Apparently in these types of
exercises the Army goes through local law enforcement and local officials and not through
the state.
"So this really isn't an issue
that would be dealt with by the governor's office. We're going to look into it further,
but at this point all I can tell you is that you need to contact Fort Bragg for more
information.
According to the Army, they have
notified local law enforcement in all the communities that they are doing these exercises
in," she told WorldNetDaily. Kingsville is not the only place to experience Operation
Last Dance. Other Texas communities are also witnessing similar events.Tomas Sanchez,
emergency management coordinator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency s not pleased
about what happened in his town. Yesterday he met with county commissioners in a special
session to brief them on his own investigation.
Sanchez was not notified of the
exercise in advance. The police claim they were engaged in a hazardous materials training
drill with the Army; however the fire department and Sanchez were not included in that
training. Sanchez does not believe the police department claims and told WorldNetDaily
that there is a group asking for the removal of Garza and his assistant.
Sanchez is a highly decorated
Vietnam veteran with 30 years service in Navy intelligence work. He has worked with
Special Operations and knows how they operate. He was asked by WorldNetDaily to describe
the nature of the training mission. "I can tell you specifically. In my humble
opinion, based on my background, the scenario if I were creating this ops plan," he
described. He gave his belief as to the scenario the Night Stalkers were working under.
"Martial law has been declared
through presidential powers and war powers act, and some citizens have refused to
give up their weapons. They have taken over two of the buildings in Kingsville. The police
cannot handle it.
So you call these guys in. They show
up and they zap everybody, take all the weapons, and let the local P.D. clean it up,"
he said. "In urban warfare, the militarization of the police, this thing got out of
order. The citizens did not comply with executive order so and so. They refused to give up
their weapons," he re-emphasized. Sanchez and other military experts questioned by
WorldNetDaily all pointed to Presidential Decision Directive 25 as the document being used
to authorize the military to participate in domestic police action. PDD 25 is classified
as Top Secret, and even Sen. Orrin Hatch was unable to obtain a copy as chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee. Only a brief summary is available to the public.
Sanchez and others believe the 1878
Posse Comitatus Act has been eliminated by PDD 25. The posse comitatus act forbids the use
of the military as a domestic police force. "That was a big issue a few years ago,
because when they set this thing up back a few years ago, the legal folks, the jack folks
were saying, 'Hey, that may have applied one time, but no more. It doesn't apply anymore.'
So that's the reason," explained Sanchez. "They kind of give them the carte
blanche where they can do what they want to do. They are guaranteed they will not be tried
under the uniform code of military justice. They're exempt. There's no way to nail these
guys. Even if we got them to court they would get presidential pardons," said
Sanchez. "It's a done deal. I think there's some U.N. folks involved in this thing
too," he added.
Sanchez, 56, is now a lieutenant
colonel in the Texas State Guard. He says that he takes the oath he raised his hand to
very seriously. "You know, we took an oath when we got sworn in to defend the country
against foreign and domestic enemies. It doesn't say what kind of domestic enemies. It
could include guys in black uniforms in the assassination squads and so on," he
declared.
Sanchez was cleared for top secret
clearance and was what he calls a "spook" for Naval Intelligence. One of the
most decorated veterans of Vietnam, he was disabled and wounded in action. He survived two
plane crashes and other close brushes with death.
In the Navy he was assigned the
responsibility to find bad officers and bad military police. He says he is just continuing
to do what he once did for the Navy.
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David M. Bresnahan, a contributing
editor for WorldNetDaily.com, is the author of "Cover Up The Art and Science of
Political Deception," and offers a monthly newsletter "Talk USA Investigative
Reports." He may be reached through email and also maintains a website.
© 1999
WorldNetDaily.com
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