Military readies reservists for threats to 'domestic front'
Master Cpl. Brian Walsh/DNDReserve units across Canada
are being trained in securing perimeters in case of an emergency.The Canadian military has embarked on a wide-ranging plan to turn its reserve soldiers into focused units trained and equipped to respond to a nightmarish array of domestic threats, including terrorist "dirty bomb" attacks, biological agent containment, Arctic catastrophes and natural disasters.
The creation of seven units within each region of the country -- including unusual all-terrain vehicle (ATV) squadrons and perimeter security teams to cordon areas of potential devastation -- prepares reserve soldiers for operations on the "domestic front" while freeing regular force soldiers to concentrate on foreign battlefields.
(More...)
What's that got to do with nuclear power plants?
The proponents of nuclear energy routinely dismiss concerns about security and the possibility of terrorist attacks and the problem of dirty bomb fuel being stored at power plants. The Canadian army is not so dismissive and is preparing for just such possibilities."We all know the threat from dirty bombs, chemical contaminants. This is certainly one of the more dangerous situations that can arise," said Brig.-Gen. Collin.
"You can certainly get it from a terrorist act. You can also get it from a man-made disaster. You can get nuclear contamination from a nuclear power plant -- Three Mile Island, Chernobyl.
"We are training to establish a perimeter. Do I see a scenario when we might be obliged to keep people in? Probably. You need to be trained to be able to make sure that you don't become a casualty in the process of doing that security."
(Emphasis mine, JB)
One of the more disturbing things in General Collin's quote is when he says that soldiers guarding a perimeter could be deployed to keep people inside the perimeter. If people happen to be in the 30KM radius of a nuclear accident, toxic leak or chemical warfare attack, I would hope the military would be deployed to get them out -- not to keep them in.
This is another example of the public picking up the tab for nuclear power plant security. How many military units will be needed to guard against contamination from windmills, solar panels and distributed hydro power?
JimBobby
3 comments:
I see your concern, JimBobby. I also wonder whether this is preparation for political actions -- ie, against protestors or more broadly just against political opponents.
The Merkins have laws against deploying the military domestically (see, eg, Posse Comitatus). It became clear a few years ago that the Bushies were working on a few angles to get around those laws, sometimes openly, sometimes through their finagling with Blackwater, etc.
Under the SPP, the U.S. Homeland Security and our Public Safety dep'ts are doing a lot of organizing in the dark that they never tell us about, and of course there is deeper integration of the two militaries under what's known as Northcom. The upshot of all this could be that we would not only see soldiers in our streets but Merkin soldiers -- that's already being practised in little ways.
How do we stand on guard, we, the citizens, against all this stuff if they just do it without running it past us?
Thankee fer droppin' by, Skdaddler.
Once these units are trained, I would imagine they could, as you say, be used to "police" dissent and protest. Thing is... we Canajuns ain't too shit hot when it comes to protests. Massive street demonstrations are pretty few and far between. I think we're too reserved and polite to stand up in numbers and demand truth, justice and accountability.
I've often thought if we converted a lot of our military to fight the effects of natural disasters instead of fightin' wars, we'd be doin' a better service to the country.
We can count on severe weather, forest fires, landslides, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. We know these threats will turn into reality. It happens every year. It's happening even more with the effects of global warming.
Yeah... Merkans patrollin' Canajun streets. Wouldn't that be just ducky? Who's gonna stop 'em? SPP invites 'em and makes 'em welcome.
JB
There is real cause for concern for maintaining law and order in the streets of our fair Dominion and terrorists have nothing to do with it. A far more dangerous threat lurks just below the surface of the Canadian Identity. Hockey Hooligans.
Recent history shows that inebriated hockey fans are responsible for far more destruction in Canada than any terrorist.
Of course they only seem to riot when their team is in the Cup final which may not happen for some time. Certainly Toronto is safe from this threat.
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