MILITARY EXERCISES TERRORIZE CIVILIAN POPULATION by Ian Williams Goddard The Washington Times (A1, 6/6/96) reports that: Nine Army helicopters swooped into Pittsburgh in the middle of the night this week and turned parts of the city into war zones, complete with sounds of explosions and gunfire that frightened residents and sent one pregnant woman into labor. One witnesses reported that the helicopters fired into a warehouse. He also observed a helicopter knocking over a large barrel with the backwash from the its propellers indicating that the helicopters went much lower than FAA regulations would permit. Real and simulated explosions were used to recreate war-type conditions. Over 100 people called the Pittsburgh Police Department soon after the siege began around 10 p.m last Monday. The operations, conducted by U.S. Army Special Operations Command, were to have continued all week but were called off due to the large number of angry citizens. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ken McGraw said that similar urban warfare training has been conducted in other major cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and Detroit. He said ÒIn the past we received complaints, but we received more complains on this one than for any other exercises weÕve conducted.Ó Col. McGraw also stated that the Army notified police and citizens in the Òimmediate vicinityÓ of the four training sites several HOURS before the pseudoassaults on those communities. Are you ever out of the house for several hours? I know I am, and obviously many people were out and did not get this warning in time to avoid being terrorized. Can you imagine getting a message like this: ÒDo not panic. In a few hours your neighborhood will be turned into a urban warfare training zone for the U.S. Army. Please remain calm and try to avoid explosive devices.Ó Something is very wrong here. TOYS FOR THEIR MILITARY MASTERS Not only is it outrageous to give only a few hours warning, the ArmyÕs actions gave citizens no choice in the matter at all. It shows utter disregard for the sovereignty and dignity of the people and their communities. It turns the people and their properties into toys for those forces increasingly aligned to wage war on the people through such pretexts as the ÒWar on Drugs.Ó WeÕve heard about Òblack helicoptersÓ conducting operations around populated areas. We've also heard conspiracy theories that such operations are a preliminary feature of a conspiracy to subjugate the US population to control by the United Nations. While that may be a stretch of the imagination, it is indeed a fact that the US Army has been conducting urban warfare training in major cities across the nation and people who speak out are assumed to be crazy because there is a virtual media blackout. Is this an act of intimidation? Is it an effort to teach people to tolerate military occupation? I donÕt know, but these seem to be questions that should be raised. Always question authority. It is comforting to know that we need not worry about black helicopters filled with jack-booted thugs descending our communities, because as Col. McGraw informs us, they are dark olive green helicopters not black. June 6, 1996 (c) Ian Williams Goddard -- free to copy nonprofit with attribute GODDARD'S JOURNALISM GODDARD'S HOME PAGE