US Northern Command and Hurricane Rita
The Militarisation of Disaster Relief
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20050924&articleId=991
The response to the national disaster is not being coordinated by the civilian government out of Texas, but from a remote location and in accordance with military criteria. US Northern Command Headquarters will directly control the movement of military personnel and hardware in the Gulf of Mexico. As in the case of Katrina, it will override the actions of civilian bodies. Yet in this case, the entire operation is under the jurisdiction of the military rather than that of the FEMA.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had ordered NorthCom and "the myriad forces" under its jurisdiction "to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency and homeland security". On the 21st of September, a major deployment of military personnel and hardware was ordered in anticipation of the disaster. Troops have been deployed on the eastern Texas coastline:
"Amphibious vessels carrying 1000 Marines and equipment were taking up position in the Gulf of Mexico, ready to move in the moment the storm has passed through. More than 5000 Texas National Guardsmen were also on emergency standby."
Until the 24th of September (pm, EST), there was no indication, from official and/or media sources of Secretary Rumsfeld's presence at NorthCom Headquarters. According to the DoD, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England "have no public or media events on their schedules" from the 22nd to the 24th of September.
In recent news, it is now confirmed that a top level meeting was held under NorthCom auspices, which included the participation of President Bush, Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld, DHS secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Director Vice Adminral Thad Allen. This meeting had been planned well in advance, yet it was not mentioned by president Bush at his Sept 23 Press Conference.
(Bloomberg News, 24 September, 2005,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aILvKBBSP6mU&refer=top_world_news )
The emergency procedures will be closely coordinated by US Northern Command out of the Peterson Air Force Base, together with Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA.
What is unfolding is a national rather than a regional emergency scenario, under the control of Northern Command. Moreover, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a total of 42 states and Washington, D.C. have enacted emergency procedures, even though they were not directly affected.
Northern Command would, as part of its mandate in the case of a national emergency, oversee a number of civilian functions:
In addition to defending the nation, U.S. Northern Command provides defense support of civil authorities in accordance with U.S. laws and as directed by the President or Secretary of Defense. Military assistance is always in support of a lead federal agency, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Military civil support includes domestic disaster relief operations that occur during fires, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. Support also includes counter-drug operations and consequence management assistance, such as would occur after a terrorist event employing a weapon of mass destruction.
Generally, an emergency must exceed the management capabilities of local, state and federal agencies before U.S. Northern Command becomes involved. In providing civil support, the command operates through subordinate Joint Task Forces.
(See US Northcom website at http://www.northcom.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=s.who_civil ).
President Bush had stated barely a week ago, that "the Government and the US military needed broader authority to help handle major domestic crises such as hurricanes."
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff subsequently classified Hurricane Rita as an "incident of national significance," which justifies the activation of a so-called "National Response Plan"(NRP).
The latter is characterized by a comprehensive framework. The period of time during which the NRP would be in operation would extend far beyond the emergency period in the disaster area. In all likelihood, the NRP would modify the functions of civilian government:
The National Response Plan (NRP) is effective upon issuance with a phased implementation process during the first year. During the first 120 days of this implementation process, the Initial NRP (INRP), Federal Response Plan (FRP), U.S. Government Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan (CONPLAN), and Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan (FRERP) remain in effect.
(For further details, consult the complete document at
http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/NRPbaseplan.pdf
Homeland Security
FULL REPORT:
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