Thursday, February 19, 2009
Growing List of Officials and Experts Warn of Crash-Induced Violence
The number of high-level officials and experts warning that the economic crisis could lead to revolt and revolution world-wide - even in the U.S. - is growing every day:
- The U.S. Army War College in November warned in a monograph [click on Policypointers’ pdf link to see the report] titled “Known Unknowns: Unconventional ‘Strategic Shocks’ in Defense Strategy Development” of crash-induced unrest:
The military must be prepared, the document warned, for a “violent, strategic dislocation inside the United States,” which could be provoked by “unforeseen economic collapse,” “purposeful domestic resistance,” “pervasive public health emergencies” or “loss of functioning political and legal order.” The “widespread civil violence,” the document said, “would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.” “An American government and defense establishment lulled into complacency by a long-secure domestic order would be forced to rapidly divest some or most external security commitments in order to address rapidly expanding human insecurity at home,” it went on. “Under the most extreme circumstances, this might include use of military force against hostile groups inside the United States. Further, DoD [the Department of Defense] would be, by necessity, an essential enabling hub for the continuity of political authority in a multi-state or nationwide civil conflict or disturbance,” the document read.
- Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair said:
"The global economic crisis ... already looms as the most serious one in decades, if not in centuries ... Economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they are prolonged for a one- or two-year period," said Blair. "And instability can loosen the fragile hold that many developing countries have on law and order, which can spill out in dangerous ways into the international community."***
"Statistical modeling shows that economic crises increase the risk of regime-threatening instability if they persist over a one-to-two-year period."***
“The crisis has been ongoing for over a year, and economists are divided over whether and when we could hit bottom. Some even fear that the recession could further deepen and reach the level of the Great Depression. Of course, all of us recall the dramatic political consequences wrought by the economic turmoil of the 1920s and 1930s in Europe, the instability, and high levels of violent extremism.”
Blair made it clear that - while unrest was currently only happening in Europe - he was worried this could happen within the United States.
[See also this].
- Former national security director Zbigniew Brzezinski warned "there’s going to be growing conflict between the classes and if people are unemployed and really hurting, hell, there could be even riots."
- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned the the financial crisis is the highest national security concern for the U.S., and warned that the fallout from the crisis could lead to of "greater instability".
- The head of the World Trade Organization
- The head of the International Monetary Fund
- The head of the World Bank
- Senator Christopher Dodd
- Congressman Ron Paul (radio interview on March 6, 2009)
- Britian's MI5 security agency
- Leading economic historian Niall Ferguson
- Leading economist Marc Faber and billionaire investor Jim Rogers
- Leading economist Nouriel Roubini
- Leading economist John Williams
- Top trend researcher Gerald Calente
- European think tank Leap2020
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Obviously there is no reason for there to be unrest in the US unless the government ignores the economic plight of ordinary Americans and showers trillions on the wealthy and the banks -- oops!
ReplyDeleteIt would be a lot less expensive to take rational action against those who caused the meltdown and use the power and funds of government to help those hurt most. Of course one might not get a lot a campaign contributions/bribes if one took that course of action.
Don't forget about the crime and violence produced by law enforcement agencies who want to keep their funding in a depression. The "protection racket" is the major cause of such.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget:
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7893890.stm
And don't forget the Italy civil "patrols":
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Italia/endurece/penas/violacion/elpepuint/20090220elpepuint_14/Tes
And this post:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north689.html
We have more than 4.000.000 jobless (Spain)
It is my belief that as bad as the news is, and as bad as the possible future problems might be, they are being down played.
ReplyDeleteThis is bad, because if you think the whole mess is going to, maybe, get bad, and, or, it might turn around next quarter. Then you are unlikely to take the action necessary, to really protect yourself.
I think it will be much worse than people think, or pontificate.
People need to make plan on how to survive a depression and, they should be working on it now.
No. They should have been working on it years ago.
Wait, soon the commercial real estate will be coming unglued.
We can do much to make the best of the situation, but, it must be more than hope.
Good, I've been working out and now its time to get something back on my investment down the gym.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting reading, though in truth it isn't like any of this is news to me.
ReplyDeleteI've been saying for over a decade what the 21st century will bring and in what order, and I'm happy to say that we're right on schedule.
Of course 10 years ago,I was a lunatic, and now, while I say what must happen in the future in spite of the common citizen believing that they "have a voice" or "that one person can make a difference" will again call me insane.
We are sitting, right now, on the little snow flake which is at the peak of the proverbial iceberg...
so this is nothing... nothing at all.
There are basic logic's which dictate causality.
1: It is idiotic for governments to spend billions or trillions of dollars. It is counter productive and will ensure self fulfillment.
we don't have anything by which we measure currency any longer beyond that of good faith, yet, the more we print, in order to "fix" our economic situations, the more our currencies depreciate.
Of course all the nations are doing that very thing, so then... think about it... Country A says 'we'll use xxx billion to offset our economic woes!'
then Country B, which trades and functions with Country A says, "we'll use xxx trillion to offset our economic woes'
and what do you get?
a perfect balance of depreciation with inflation...
causality.
what does that return? It returns null.
basic math.
if you up it on both sides of the scale you end up with a balance. Whether a balance is zero on the left and zero on the right, or 1000 on the left and 1000 on the right it is still a balance.
which means nothing occurs.
:)
people really believe in the most ridiculous concepts.
I've never left a comment, and rarely I comment on other blogs but I read you everyday, and often more than once a day.
ReplyDeleteI support you on this and I'll try to leave few words here and there.
anti keylogger