Jade Helm 15, a military exercise, brings wild speculation in Texas about 'martial law'
Source: washingtonpost.com
For a made-up military mission, Jade Helm 15 is impressively elaborate: The two-month simulation planned for this summer spans much of the Southwest, requiring special forces from four branches of the military to carry out covert operations amid "hostile" territory in Texas, Utah and part of California.
In at least one of those states, hostility toward the operation has begun a few months early. Online and at in-person meetings, many Texans have expressed suspicion and outright opposition to the project. Some are understandably worried about how it’ll affect their daily lives, while conspiracy theorists claim it’s an attempt to institute martial law, possibly in collusion with Wal-Mart.
In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has ordered the State Guard to monitor federal troops there during the exercise.
“During the training operation, it is important that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property right and civil liberties will not be infringed,” Abbott wrote in a letter to Maj. Gen. Gerald Betty of the Texas State Guard Tuesday.
Events for the exercise are outlined in a map among unclassified documents posted online last month. Army sources have verified to The Washington Post that the map is legitimate.
U.S. Army Special Operations Command said simulated exercises like this are routine, though they are rarely so broad in size and scope, and that the public won’t experience any disruption in their day-to-day lives, since the entire operation takes place in pre-coordinated remote areas.
But that hasn’t convinced some Texans.
At an information session in Bastrop on Monday, command spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Lastoria fielded questions about whether Jade Helm 15 will involve bringing foreign fighters from the Islamic State to Texas, whether U.S. troops will confiscate Texans’ guns and whether the Army intends to implement martial law, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
“It’s the same thing that happened in Nazi Germany: You get the people used to the troops on the street, the appearance of uniformed troops and the militarization of the police,” Bastrop resident Bob Wells told the Statesman after the meeting. “They’re gathering intelligence. That’s what they’re doing. And they’re moving logistics in place for martial law. That’s my feeling. Now, I could be wrong. I hope I am wrong. I hope I’m a ‘conspiracy theorist.'”
According to the Statesman, Lastoria attempted to assuage residents’ concerns, saying the operation in Bastrop County will take place almost entirely on private land leased to the Army by the owner. And participants won’t be trying to sneak through the population undetected — everyone involved will wear uniforms or orange armbands signaling that they are part of the exercise, he said. Concerns about the operation extend beyond Bastrop. Texas talk show host and self-described “thought criminal against Big Brother” Alex Jones ran a story about the operation under the headline: “Feds preparing to invade Texas, list state as ‘hostile.'"
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Read the rest: washingtonpost.com
Citizens Fight Back Against Jade Helm Takeover
By Infowars
Youtube description: Infowars reporter Jakari Jackson talks to citizens in Bastrop, TX. after they flooded the Commissioners Courtroom in opposition to Operation Jade Helm.
Source: Infowars
