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Would US Troops Fire on Americans?

March 15, 2010


bonusarmy.jpgThere were more than one hundred dead and wounded, including children and babies,in 1932 when US troops dispersed a camp of WW1 veterans demanding only what had been promised them.


Have No Doubt America...

By M. Ernest Smith

msmith181@columbus.rr.com

(for henrymakow.com)

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The question often has been asked, especially during these last few years, if American military troops would indeed fire upon American citizens if so ordered by Washington.  The answer?  Have no doubt America, because it's already happened.

WWI was a terrible war that introduced new weapons and tactics resulting 100,000 US deaths as well as US 200,000 wounded and gassed in the first eighteen months alone.

The soldiers fighting that war for America earned between $1.00 and $1.50 per day while those serving under Selective Service in factories supporting the war earned as much as ten times that amount. After the war, the veteran soldiers demanded to be paid what they had lost during the war years as "adjusted compensation" as promised by the United States government. Later, their detractors would call it a "bonus".


FAST FORWARD TO 1928

Herbert Hoover, a self-made millionaire, said during his inaugural address that "the future of the country was bright with hope"...  Seven months later the Great Depression hit.  In 1932, there was 25% unemployment and many of the unemployed were WWI veterans and their families.  It was decided that the veterans lead by Walter W. Waters  would march on Washington, D.C.

By May of 1932, there were approximately 10,000 veterans and a few families totaling 30,000, who occupied what was called the Anacostia Flats neighborhood of Washington, D.C. where the vets slept in tents, barrels and some makeshift huts in almost a foot of mud. 

Later, the veterans and their families proceeded to march and demonstrate to remind the Congressional representatives to keep their promise of compensation to the WWI vet, so badly needed and necessary during this nationwide financial disaster. 

At first, the Congress approved the measure but the Senate soundly defeated it days later.  It was during this time President Hoover resolved to drive the veterans out of Washington D.C. back to their homes. However, the larger problem was that most of the veterans didn't have any homes.  Many were squatting in abandoned buildings.

Solution? President Hoover ordered the Washington, D.C. police to drive the vets out of the abandoned buildings.  As with any forcible action, it was met with resistance...people fought the police...bricks were thrown and the police opened fire: two vets were killed.

It seems that anytime there is a police action around a government capital, troops are called...reader, take notice.


GENERAL MACARTHUR


President Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur who led 200 Cavalry, 400 armed troops, tanks and other armored vehicles against AMERICAN citizens and veterans of a war the government sent them to fight and die!

General MacArthur was not the only "Who's Who" participating in this "tyrannyfest", General MacArthur's aide, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and then Major George Patton also had a hand in the action.  It should be noted that a witness, then seven year old Naamen Seigle, witnessed Major Patton draw his saber and lead the charge against the mass of veterans.

With Patton and the Calvary charging, the 400 ground troops dawned their gas masks and proceeded to hurl gas grenades into the crowd of veterans, a bitter reminder of battles such as in the Meuse-Argonne Forest in France. 

No, this gassing was compliments of their own government.  As the veterans ran choking from the effects of the gas, the troops with bayonets fixed, charged and jabbed their way into the crowd.  Hundreds of veterans were injured and several killed.

After General MacArthur gained control of the situation, President Hoover ordered the General to proceed no further. But General MacArthur had other ideas.  General MacArthur is quoted as saying "I cannot bother with pieces of paper during a military operation" and advanced on the Anacostia Flats encampment.  It was during this unauthorized attack that MacArthur ordered the burning of the encampment to the ground.

What justification did General MacArthur use? He felt a Communist plot for revolution was at hand Reader, beware

What do we learn from this piece of history?  The government will use our own military to suppress its citizenry if it feels threatened and it will use any excuse to do so.

--------------------------

Note: Posse Comitatus does not apply to Washington D.C. because it is a federal district governed by the U.S. Congress (U.S. Constitution, Article 1. Section 8. Clause 17).  As usual, they have their bases covered.

----
Mike Smith is a 49 year old Senior at Liberty University majoring in Psychology and preparing for his Masters work in Professional Counseling. " I find myself apolitical with only the best interest of humanity in mind and a firm believer in God and Truth."






Scruples - the game of moral dillemas

Comments for "Would US Troops Fire on Americans?"

Angelo said (March 16, 2010):

And it’s no different anywhere in the world.

There is a solution...probably over simplifies.

I request all people of the world...DO NOT JOIN THE POLICE FORCE OR THE MILITARY.

By doing so you remove the power from the vultures. Because without them both they have NO POWER!

PLEASE...PLEASE people of the World, wake up. As long as we volunteer to work for them they can and will use

Us against ourselves. As long as we give our Fathers, Mothers, Daughters, Sons...

So whose fault is it?

Remember this, no citizen of the world has ever caused a WAR...EVER! It’s the Elite/Government/Illuminati that cause WAR.

Good Luck World, we need it.


Hilf said (March 16, 2010):

In response to the above article and the link to the Stanford Prison Experiment, one saying springs to mind. "" Fear God, but fear more the one who is not afraid of Him". Without fear of the Almighty, man is capable of the most demonic acts.


Tony said (March 16, 2010):

he operative word in this question, Henry, is "myrmidon." People should look it up in older dictionaries. Myrmidons will execute any order from whomever pays them without question or mercy. They don't pity anyone or any circumstance some else may be in. We run into them every day when dealing even with the most low level bureaucrats. The military is full of them. Why do you think local cop shops like to hire ex MPs and other military cops? They're trained from day one of enlistment to be myrmidons. Hell, they're trained from day one of their lives. Neighborhood watch and other spy on your neighbors organizations are made to order for such training.


Derel said (March 16, 2010):

Hi. In reference to the article "Would US Troops Fire on Americans?" I would respond with an emphatic YES!!! Regardless of the romantic version of what most average Americans believe about their beloved defenders of their liberties, the truth is quite different. If you and your reader's have noticed the escalating number of news stories that involve police initiated violence against citizens for some of the most frivolous of reasons, then you know it's not at all hard to believe that both the military and the police will prey on civilians whether or not they are order to or not. Both the military and the police serve the same master. They are the enforcement arm of the state. They enforce the will of the state(laws). I've become accustomed to the aforementioned news stories but I can hardly believe many of the comments that follow. People electro-shocked by taser, beaten, and even killed by the "good guys" and people think they deserved it. Forget about blaming the actual aggressor or the one who introduces violence in, what is frequently a verbal conversation. I could go on but I won't. The answer to the question above is yes for me. How can it be otherwise? The military is trained to follow orders and leave the moral justification to its masters. Just like their domestic counterparts the cops, they're not held accountable for the bulk of their violent actions. After all, they're just doing their jobs, right? They're all heroes right? Yeah right. If any other individual did what they did and didn't wear uniform we would be considered criminals. Enough said.


Geoff said (March 16, 2010):

Well I guess people forget the Whisky Rebellion when that POS George Washington sent 10,000 U.S. Army troops into the Alleghenies to shut down the stills that were out competing his slave run distillery. Do'nt forget the draft riots in New York put down by the mass murdering degenerate Abraham Lincoln along with 200,000 southern Americans. Don't forget the Haymarket Riot. Remember the Washita,Sand Creek and Wounded Knee Massacres perpetrated on the First Americans. Since Kent State was brought up,anybody remember the Jackson State Massacre and all the black kids gunned down during the same period as Kent State. How about the Ludlow Massacre of the miners as well as their women and children in Colorado! Hell yes the U.S. military will pull the trigger on Americans. Land of the free and home of the brave my big white@$$! They will do it without a thought or a tinge of conscience,if they have one,which is doubtful! Freedom ain't free and the American people have been remiss in paying the bill,which is why we are in the mess we are in!


JD said (March 16, 2010):

Of course the military will fire on Americans. However, this is 2010 and there is a new spirit among the people including the military. Few citizens, military included, trust the government. And since Waco and Ruby Ridge, Americans are bit put out with government muscle.

Will there be fighting in the streets? I don't think so, that's to say not immediately. There will be some scuffles and some will die and be maimed on "Main Street America," but the real fighting will unfold in a much more sinister manner. Both sides will pick high value targets and eliminate them as though they were farmers eliminating pesty varmints. Then the government provocateurs will play their hand and this is where the government will make their fatal mistake. All hell will break loose.

It's at this point the rumors of hundreds American of detention camps will be proven true or false. I assume the former and pray the latter is true. The government is drunk with power at the moment and if John, Traitor, McCain gets his bill through people will mysteriously disappear without charges or trial. This out of control power will rear its ugly head for violence is all tyrants understand and they will forego their better judgment to crush any and all threats. It what tyrants do.

Lock and load and wait for the right time. Its coming as sure as the sun rises in the east. Expect the worst. This witch's brew has been conjured up and fermenting for many decades. Americans are going to discover, first hand, the nature of a tyrant like Lenin, Stalin or Mao. Millions will die, but fear not for it is better to die for the truth than to live a lie.

Be of good cheer and of a Brave Heart! (WW) Good day.


The Author Mike Smith said (March 16, 2010):

The Kent State incident was not intentional and was the result of nervous Ohio Army National Guard troops, not federal troops led by a career General who sent his secretary to fetch his uniform for the specific occasion. Again, the Waco incident, not the same: these were armed citizens (I’m not saying what the government did was right, I’m just citing the circumstance) with an array of concerns---they were murdered while defending themselves. What makes the “Bonus March” unique is:

1. This was a peaceful demonstration.

2. This was a mass of people exercising Constitutional rights.

3. This was a group of people calling attention to the government to fulfill promises it had made.

4. This group was unarmed and consisted of troops that had served the government faithfully and some of their families.

5. This group was mostly homeless, jobless and in some cases, starving before they arrived and received assistance.

6. This group was embarrassing the government.

7. The Hoover administration made a conscience decision to send the troops in with the intention of doing harm.

While the Waco incident had its merits, the government could hide behind a lie of enforcing the law. In the case of the Bonus March, the government made an outright decision to attack its own citizenship.


Bob said (March 16, 2010):

have no doubt they would kill fellow citizens after being desensitized to killing and cruelty. At the time of writing I am watching a documentary on the US Seventh Cavalry during the Korean war. They interview a couple of the veterans who admit that they killed dozens of Korean refugees after being ordered to do so by their commanders. The Commanders told them that there may be North Koreans soldiers amongst the refugees so it's O.K to kill the refugee?
These poor men were deeply troubled by what they did, some said they have never had a good nights sleep since killing these refugees, goes to show mankind is a spiritual being.


Darryl said (March 16, 2010):

I am a retired Marine GYSGT (77-97). I believe around the mid 1980's there was a survey that stated about 25% of troops would fire upon civilians. Then before I retired there was another poll that stated over 50% of troops would fire upon civilians.

I believe the articles were in the Navy/Marine Corps Times. There was no doubt in my mind that most of the military people I knew would have no problems shooting civilians. When I tried to discuss Waco & Ruby Ridge most of my peers thought I was crazy & also deserved to be shot! So Be Prepared People!


Edward said (March 16, 2010):

Kent State??" Are you kidding? How about Waco? IMO The beast Attorney General ordered the slaughter of those people. Mossad uses a technique called "blooding." It is a method of desensitization used to train troops to fire on citizens without hesitation. The soldiers are placed in situations where they are often ordered to assault and kill civilians just like our troops in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan are doing. Upon their return to the states, like those being rotated into Northcom (The U.S. military organization being deployed around the nation to deal with civil disorders and opposition to government excesses), a significant percentage are so habituated to urban homicide that they will not hesitate.

Just recall the out-of-state National Guardsmen confiscating citizen's weapons in New Orleans leaving them defenceless against looters. There are several vids on the net which depict American soldiers playing loud rock music in their vehicles as they fire at random on Iraqi citizens who were unlucky enough to attempt a trip to market just as these killers were passing by. Appalling numbers of soldiers, returning from their service as mercenaries to Zionist tactical and strategic designs in the Middle East, are horribly damaged mentally and suffering from PTSD, suicidal thoughts and hostile guilt complexes.

There have been recent reports that this horrendous conditioning in domestic urban warfare is even showing up in boot camp training. A soldier from a local National Guard base I met in the grocery store assured me that the question, "If ordered to do so by your superior officer, would you shoot an American citizen" had better be answered in the affirmative if you did not want to be "peeling potatoes" for the rest of your career.

Anyone who doubts the pliability of humans to be tricked into unmitigated cruelty, should read about the "Stanford Prison Experiment"... http://www.prisonexp.org/legnews.htm ...in which hoity-toity, upper class students were turned into soulless clones who would not hesitate to torture a fellow student to the apparent edge of death just to satisfy the proctor and get a good grade. Listen up folks...Ozzie and Harriet have left the building!!!"


Jason said (March 16, 2010):

I have some mixed feelings on what US troops are capable of and what they are not, however, the common misconception that most service men in the US armed forces is that they believe once they have committed them selves to the military they have waived all of their rights as citizens and cannot challenge any order they are given. This is not true due to the fact military personnel take an oath to the US constitution, not federal government. ANY US military personnel can challenge a direct order which usually leads to a military court hearing (Court Marshal) but if the order was indeed unconstitutional, the order will be dismissed along with the charges brought against the military individual who challenged it. If US service men knew their options and rights, they would more likely stand with the citizens. Especially today since disgust for the federal government has grown even into the very core of the US military, including military generals.


Randy said (March 16, 2010):

I feel that perhaps 5% would. In any group of people, you will have those sociopathic types that will do anything they are told. But in this age of nearly instant information transfer, I think not. At the time that MacArthur did that, info was not freely transferable, except by controlled sources like newspapers. Today, with troops knowing they were lied to and used to fight an illegal war. and having families "out there", most won't fire.

People do have a conscience, collective or otherwise, and it has been raised in awareness in the last few years. Just think what would happen if troops were ordered to fire on US citizens, and they did, except the turned around and fired on the ones that gave the orders. I think it's more of a possibility that most people think. At least I hope I'm right.


Irish Dan said (March 16, 2010):

I was surprised to see no reference to The Kent State University shootings in the article. Surely this is the most pertinent example of misuse of Armed Forces where absolutely no serious threat was present to the authorities, or at least a threat that in anyway justified that use of force!


Henry Makow received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto in 1982. He welcomes your comments at