New Army site Posted by Lorelei Kelly

My work on a civil-military project has brought some interesting new stuff into my inbox.

Here's an important new online presence from the Peacekeeping and Stablity Operations Institute at Army War College--a watercooler in cyberspace to share information, lessons and knowledge for the peace building/stability and support community.

Another site I recently visited to brush up on my civil-military relations knowledge is the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance in Hawaii (DMHA) here.. The "Working with the Military" video in the multi media library is an excellent Civics 101 short course. I listened to it in the time it took to make spaghetti.

Finally, my favorite wonk site for conflict resolution, Beyond Intractability

Comments

[Don Bacon]

The U.S. Army Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute

You've got to be kidding! The army has one objective: To close with and destroy the enemy. Peacekeeping and stability are the last things in the army mind and to believe otherwise one has to be pretty damned stupid. Peace can never be achieved with shock and awe unless it's the peace of the dead (mostly women and children).

to promote effective civil-military management in international humanitarian assistance, disaster response and peacekeeping through education, training, research and information programs.

The US military has a goal with the new Central Command of overturning the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and getting the military involved in domestic civil affairs, with the president as the Commander in Chief then in charge of everything in exact opposition to the way this republic was established. New Orleans was an example. In this sense "international" certainly includes the USA and in fact military control in the USA is the ultimate goal. In the southwestern US, we now have to deal with Border Control checkpoints as far as fifty miles from the border, asking questions about our citizenship, where we're coming from and where we're going, and searching the vehicle. The Border Patrol is being augmented with military.

First we were civil, then we were "civil-military" and then we are all potential Jose Padillas subject to arbitrary arrest and confinement absent habeas corpus rights forever. This will require a banana-republic-style "national emergency" which will make everything ready for military rule.