Codename Section
11-11-2013, 12:53 PM
It's bullshit. They shouldn't even declare it a national holiday anymore.
https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1395168_941384447359_408884615_n.jpg
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/operation_vigilant_eagle_is_this_really_how_we_hon or_our_nations_veterans
Operation Vigilant Eagle: Is This Really How We Honor Our Nation’s Veterans?
By John W. Whitehead
May 20, 2013
“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly
for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her
perpetually.”—James A. Baldwin
Just in time for Memorial Day, we’re being treated to a generous
serving of praise and grandstanding by politicians, corporations and
others with similarly self-serving motives eager to go on record as
being pro-military. Patriotic platitudes aside, however, America has
done a deplorable job of caring for her veterans. We erect monuments for
those who die while serving in the military, yet for those who return
home, there’s little honor to be found.
Despite the fact that the U.S. boasts more than 23 million veterans who
have served in World War II through Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq
and Afghanistan, the plight of veterans today, while often overlooked,
is common knowledge: impoverished, unemployed, lacking any decent health
benefits, homeless, traumatized mentally and physically, struggling
with depression, thoughts of suicide, marital stress.
Making matters worse, thanks to Operation Vigilant Eagle, a program
launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2009, military
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are also being
characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats
because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the
psychological effects of war.” As a result, these servicemen and
women—many of whom are decorated—are finding themselves under
surveillance, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment,
or arrested, all for daring to voice their concerns about the alarming
state of our union and the erosion of our freedoms.
An important point to consider, however, is that the government is not
merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as
it is locking up individuals trained in military warfare who
are voicing feelings of discontent. Under the guise of mental health
treatment and with the complicity of government psychiatrists and law
enforcement officials, these veterans are increasingly being portrayed
as ticking time bombs in need of intervention. In 2012, for instance,
the Justice Department launched a pilot program aimed at training SWAT
teams to deal with confrontations involving highly trained and often
heavily armed combat veterans.
In the four years since the start of Operation Vigilant Eagle, the
government has steadily ramped up its campaign to “silence” dissidents,
especially those with military backgrounds. Coupled with the DHS’ dual
reports on Rightwing and Leftwing “Extremism,” which broadly define
extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment,
rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or
rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics have boded ill
for anyone seen as opposing the government.
One particularly troubling mental health label being applied to
veterans and others who challenge the status quo is “oppositional
defiance disorder” (ODD). As journalist Anthony Martin explains, an ODD
diagnosis
“denotes that the person exhibits ‘symptoms’ such as the questioning of
authority, the refusal to follow directions, stubbornness, the
unwillingness to go along with the crowd, and the practice of disobeying
or ignoring orders. Persons may also receive such a label if they are
considered free thinkers, nonconformists, or individuals who are
suspicious of large, centralized government… At one time the accepted
protocol among mental health professionals was to reserve the diagnosis
of oppositional defiance disorder for children or adolescents who
exhibited uncontrollable defiance toward their parents and teachers.”
The case of 26-year-old decorated Marine Brandon Raub—who was targeted
because of his Facebook posts, interrogated by government agents about
his views on government corruption, arrested with no warning, labeled
mentally ill for subscribing to so-called “conspiratorial” views about
the government, detained against his will in a psych ward for standing
by his views, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys—is a
prime example of the government’s war on veterans.
Raub’s case exposes the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that
is targeting Americans—especially military veterans—for expressing their
discontent over America’s rapid transition to a police state.
On Thursday, August 16, 2012, a swarm of local police, Secret Service
and FBI agents arrived at Raub’s home, asking to speak with him about
posts he had made on his Facebook page made up of song lyrics, political
opinions and dialogue used in a political thriller virtual card game.
Among the posts cited as troublesome were lyrics to a song by the rap
group Swollen Members and Raub’s views, shared increasingly by a number
of Americans, that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job.
After a brief conversation and without providing any explanation,
levying any charges against Raub or reading him his rights, law
enforcement officials then handcuffed Raub and transported him first to
the police headquarters, then to a medical center, where he was held
against his will due to alleged concerns that his Facebook posts were
“terrorist in nature.” Outraged onlookers filmed the arrest and posted
the footage to YouTube, where it quickly went viral. Meanwhile, The
Rutherford Institute came to Raub’s assistance, which combined with
heightened media attention, may have helped prevent Raub from being
successfully “disappeared” by the government.
In a hearing on August 20, government officials pointed to Raub’s
Facebook posts as the sole reason for their concern and for his
continued incarceration. Ignoring Raub’s explanations about the fact
that the Facebook posts were being read out of context, Raub was
sentenced to up to 30 days’ further confinement in a psychiatric ward.
While in the psych ward, Raub reported being interrogated by medical
staff about his views about the government and threatened by a doctor
with brainwashing. Raub’s legal team, provided by The Rutherford
Institute, immediately began petitioning the courts for his release.
On August 23, Circuit Court Judge Allan Sharrett declared the
government’s case to be lacking in factual allegations and ordered Raub
immediately released. However, for the tens of thousands of individuals
detained—wrongfully or otherwise—under civil commitment laws every year,
regaining their freedom is nearly impossible, predicated as it is on a
bureaucratic legal and judicial system.
Within days of Raub being seized at his Virginia home on August 16,
2012, and forcibly held in a VA psych ward, news reports started
surfacing of other veterans having similar experiences.
That the government is using the charge of mental illness as the means
by which to immobilize (and disarm) these veterans is diabolically
brilliant. With one stroke of a magistrate’s pen, these service men are
being declared mentally ill, locked away against their will, and
stripped of their constitutional rights. Make no mistake, these
returning veterans are being positioned as enemy number one.
Given the government’s increasing view of veterans as potential
domestic terrorists, it makes one think twice about a new Michigan law
that adds a veterans designation on Michigan driver's licenses and state
IDs. Hailed by politicians as a way to “make it easier for military
veterans to access discounts from retailers, restaurants, hotels and
vendors across the state,” it will also make it that much easier for the
government to identify and target veterans who dare to challenge the
status quo.
....
Brandon Raub understands this all too well. While still serving with
the Marines in Afghanistan in November 2011, Raub put pen to paper in
order to flesh out some of his concerns about the dismantling of freedom
in America. His concerns echo those of countless Americans like myself
dismayed at the nation’s descent into authoritarianism:
America has lost itself. We have lost who we truly are… They are
controlling your media. They have dumbed you down through your school
systems. They have systematically dismantled the constitution. It is in
rags. The bill of rights is being systematically dismantled. Men have
spilled their blood for those rights. Your sons and daughters, your
brothers and sisters, and America’s best young men and women are losing
their limbs. They are losing their lives. They are losing the hearts.
They do not know why they are fighting. They are killing. And they do
not know why. They have done some extraordinary acts. Their deeds go
before them. But these wars are lies. They are lies. They deceived our
entire nation with terrorism. They have gotten us to hand them our
rights… We gave them the keys to our country. We were not vigilant with
our republic. There is hope. BUT WE MUST TAKE OUR REPUBLIC BACK.
https://scontent-a-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1395168_941384447359_408884615_n.jpg
https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/operation_vigilant_eagle_is_this_really_how_we_hon or_our_nations_veterans
Operation Vigilant Eagle: Is This Really How We Honor Our Nation’s Veterans?
By John W. Whitehead
May 20, 2013
“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly
for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her
perpetually.”—James A. Baldwin
Just in time for Memorial Day, we’re being treated to a generous
serving of praise and grandstanding by politicians, corporations and
others with similarly self-serving motives eager to go on record as
being pro-military. Patriotic platitudes aside, however, America has
done a deplorable job of caring for her veterans. We erect monuments for
those who die while serving in the military, yet for those who return
home, there’s little honor to be found.
Despite the fact that the U.S. boasts more than 23 million veterans who
have served in World War II through Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq
and Afghanistan, the plight of veterans today, while often overlooked,
is common knowledge: impoverished, unemployed, lacking any decent health
benefits, homeless, traumatized mentally and physically, struggling
with depression, thoughts of suicide, marital stress.
Making matters worse, thanks to Operation Vigilant Eagle, a program
launched by the Department of Homeland Security in 2009, military
veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are also being
characterized as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats
because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the
psychological effects of war.” As a result, these servicemen and
women—many of whom are decorated—are finding themselves under
surveillance, threatened with incarceration or involuntary commitment,
or arrested, all for daring to voice their concerns about the alarming
state of our union and the erosion of our freedoms.
An important point to consider, however, is that the government is not
merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as
it is locking up individuals trained in military warfare who
are voicing feelings of discontent. Under the guise of mental health
treatment and with the complicity of government psychiatrists and law
enforcement officials, these veterans are increasingly being portrayed
as ticking time bombs in need of intervention. In 2012, for instance,
the Justice Department launched a pilot program aimed at training SWAT
teams to deal with confrontations involving highly trained and often
heavily armed combat veterans.
In the four years since the start of Operation Vigilant Eagle, the
government has steadily ramped up its campaign to “silence” dissidents,
especially those with military backgrounds. Coupled with the DHS’ dual
reports on Rightwing and Leftwing “Extremism,” which broadly define
extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment,
rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or
rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics have boded ill
for anyone seen as opposing the government.
One particularly troubling mental health label being applied to
veterans and others who challenge the status quo is “oppositional
defiance disorder” (ODD). As journalist Anthony Martin explains, an ODD
diagnosis
“denotes that the person exhibits ‘symptoms’ such as the questioning of
authority, the refusal to follow directions, stubbornness, the
unwillingness to go along with the crowd, and the practice of disobeying
or ignoring orders. Persons may also receive such a label if they are
considered free thinkers, nonconformists, or individuals who are
suspicious of large, centralized government… At one time the accepted
protocol among mental health professionals was to reserve the diagnosis
of oppositional defiance disorder for children or adolescents who
exhibited uncontrollable defiance toward their parents and teachers.”
The case of 26-year-old decorated Marine Brandon Raub—who was targeted
because of his Facebook posts, interrogated by government agents about
his views on government corruption, arrested with no warning, labeled
mentally ill for subscribing to so-called “conspiratorial” views about
the government, detained against his will in a psych ward for standing
by his views, and isolated from his family, friends and attorneys—is a
prime example of the government’s war on veterans.
Raub’s case exposes the seedy underbelly of a governmental system that
is targeting Americans—especially military veterans—for expressing their
discontent over America’s rapid transition to a police state.
On Thursday, August 16, 2012, a swarm of local police, Secret Service
and FBI agents arrived at Raub’s home, asking to speak with him about
posts he had made on his Facebook page made up of song lyrics, political
opinions and dialogue used in a political thriller virtual card game.
Among the posts cited as troublesome were lyrics to a song by the rap
group Swollen Members and Raub’s views, shared increasingly by a number
of Americans, that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an inside job.
After a brief conversation and without providing any explanation,
levying any charges against Raub or reading him his rights, law
enforcement officials then handcuffed Raub and transported him first to
the police headquarters, then to a medical center, where he was held
against his will due to alleged concerns that his Facebook posts were
“terrorist in nature.” Outraged onlookers filmed the arrest and posted
the footage to YouTube, where it quickly went viral. Meanwhile, The
Rutherford Institute came to Raub’s assistance, which combined with
heightened media attention, may have helped prevent Raub from being
successfully “disappeared” by the government.
In a hearing on August 20, government officials pointed to Raub’s
Facebook posts as the sole reason for their concern and for his
continued incarceration. Ignoring Raub’s explanations about the fact
that the Facebook posts were being read out of context, Raub was
sentenced to up to 30 days’ further confinement in a psychiatric ward.
While in the psych ward, Raub reported being interrogated by medical
staff about his views about the government and threatened by a doctor
with brainwashing. Raub’s legal team, provided by The Rutherford
Institute, immediately began petitioning the courts for his release.
On August 23, Circuit Court Judge Allan Sharrett declared the
government’s case to be lacking in factual allegations and ordered Raub
immediately released. However, for the tens of thousands of individuals
detained—wrongfully or otherwise—under civil commitment laws every year,
regaining their freedom is nearly impossible, predicated as it is on a
bureaucratic legal and judicial system.
Within days of Raub being seized at his Virginia home on August 16,
2012, and forcibly held in a VA psych ward, news reports started
surfacing of other veterans having similar experiences.
That the government is using the charge of mental illness as the means
by which to immobilize (and disarm) these veterans is diabolically
brilliant. With one stroke of a magistrate’s pen, these service men are
being declared mentally ill, locked away against their will, and
stripped of their constitutional rights. Make no mistake, these
returning veterans are being positioned as enemy number one.
Given the government’s increasing view of veterans as potential
domestic terrorists, it makes one think twice about a new Michigan law
that adds a veterans designation on Michigan driver's licenses and state
IDs. Hailed by politicians as a way to “make it easier for military
veterans to access discounts from retailers, restaurants, hotels and
vendors across the state,” it will also make it that much easier for the
government to identify and target veterans who dare to challenge the
status quo.
....
Brandon Raub understands this all too well. While still serving with
the Marines in Afghanistan in November 2011, Raub put pen to paper in
order to flesh out some of his concerns about the dismantling of freedom
in America. His concerns echo those of countless Americans like myself
dismayed at the nation’s descent into authoritarianism:
America has lost itself. We have lost who we truly are… They are
controlling your media. They have dumbed you down through your school
systems. They have systematically dismantled the constitution. It is in
rags. The bill of rights is being systematically dismantled. Men have
spilled their blood for those rights. Your sons and daughters, your
brothers and sisters, and America’s best young men and women are losing
their limbs. They are losing their lives. They are losing the hearts.
They do not know why they are fighting. They are killing. And they do
not know why. They have done some extraordinary acts. Their deeds go
before them. But these wars are lies. They are lies. They deceived our
entire nation with terrorism. They have gotten us to hand them our
rights… We gave them the keys to our country. We were not vigilant with
our republic. There is hope. BUT WE MUST TAKE OUR REPUBLIC BACK.