As part of NATO's planned multi-year and multi-billion dollar investment
in an increased global surveillance capability, building what it calls
an 'Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS)' system, the 28-nation military
alliance penned a deal with defense contractor Northrop Grumman on
Sunday for a fleet of unmanned aerial drones along with the requisite
command and control base stations needed to operate them.
The signing of the deal took place between Northrup executives and NATO officials in a quiet room away from the boisterous street protests
taking place outside the NATO summit on the streets of Chicago, where
citizens voiced their opposition to NATO's continued military presence
in Afghanistan and it's increasingly violent role in world affairs in
recent years.
NATO has relied heavily on the use of drones owned and operated by the
United States in its recent military operations in Afghanistan and in
Libya, but this acquisition will allow it to have a vast capability all
its own. The system will cost close to $1.7 billion dollars, with
billions more needed to maintain and operate the system over the next
two decades. More...
In a recent article entitled “America: Arms Dealer to the World,” reporter William Astore wrote, “From 2006 to 2010, the U.S. accounted for nearly 1/3 of the world’s arms exports.” However, in 2010, Astore claimed that, in spite of a recessionary downswing, “The U.S. increased its market share to a whopping 53%.”
As the undisputed masters of war, America shipped weapons to 62 different countries.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, of the top 20 global weapons dealers, 16 are U.S. corporations. These include: (1) Lockheed Martin, (2) Boeing, (3) Northrop Grumman, (4) General Dynamics and (5) Raytheon.
Rounding out, the biggest arms selling nations in the world include Russia, Germany, France, Britain and China. Taken together with the U.S., these countries supply more than 80% of total weaponry. When asked where the hottest spot on the globe is for this type of nefarious activity, Houston-based international defense attorney Frank A. Rubino replied: “Africa, because of all the warlords and private armies in countries such as Somalia who are always looking to acquire arms.” More...
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct National Level Exercises related specifically to "terrorism prevention and protection" on U.S. soil from July 27 thru July 31, 2009. The exercises will cover the Washington D.C. area, and the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The exercises will also involve troops from Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
According to Media Monarchy, "Northrop Grumman [ a corrupt government contractor akin to Halliburton] will conduct and evaluate the 2009 Tier 1 National Level Exercise, which is the largest and most complex national disaster drill conducted by FEMA’s National Exercise Division"
Source Watch claims: "Northrop Grumman is the third largest arms manufacturer in the world. The US company generates $18.7bn in revenue from its defense operations. Products areas include defense electronics, warships, radar and missile systems and space systems. Specific products include the B-2 Stealth Bomber and the Global Hawk Unarmed Aerial Vehicle. The company employs approximately 120,000 people worldwide, serving U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
"The company spent $16,729,865 for lobbying in 2006. Of this total, $1,336,995 went to 17 outside lobbying firms or individual lobbyists including The Livingston Group and Morris Amitay.
"In December 2001, CommonDreams.org wrote about Northrop Grumman's lobbying, "It doesn't hurt that Northrop Grumman has friends in high places, like Secretary of the Air Force James Roche, former Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems chief. Since September 11th, Roche has emphasized the need for more spending on intelligence systems, specifically mentioning Northrop Grumman's AWACS plane. Not content to rest on its laurels, the company is lobbying Congress for a $300 million to upgrade the $1.3 billion B-2 Stealth Bomber, which has successfully completed bombings run in Afghanistan."
According to Washington Technology, "Northrop Grumman Corp. spent $5.6 million to lobby the federal government in the first six months of 2007, the highest amount spent among the largest federal IT contractors, according to the latest disclosure forms filed with the Senate."
Congressman Brad Sherman: Martial Law if We Voted No
October 2, 2008, U.S. House of Representatives. Congressman Brad Sherman [D-CA] asks:
"But why are we bailing out the Bank of China? Why are we bailing out the Saudi royal family?...
The only way they can pass this bill is by creating and by sustaining a panic atmosphere...
A few Members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted ``no.''
National Level Exercise 2009 (NLE 09) - FEMA Website
National Level Exercise 2009 (NLE 09) is scheduled for July 27 through July 31, 2009. NLE 09 will be the first major exercise conducted by the United States government that will focus exclusively on terrorism prevention and protection, as opposed to incident response and recovery.
NLE 09 is designated as a Tier I National Level Exercise. Tier I exercises (formerly known as the Top Officials exercise series or TOPOFF) are conducted annually in accordance with the National Exercise Program (NEP), which serves as the nation's overarching exercise program for planning, organizing, conducting and evaluating national level exercises. The NEP was established to provide the U.S. government, at all levels, exercise opportunities to prepare for catastrophic crises ranging from terrorism to natural disasters.
NLE 09 is a White House directed, Congressionally- mandated exercise that includes the participation of all appropriate federal department and agency senior officials, their deputies, staff and key operational elements. In addition, broad regional participation of state, tribal, local, and private sector is anticipated. This year the United States welcomes the participation of Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom in NLE 09.
EXERCISE FOCUS
NLE 09 will focus on intelligence and information sharing among intelligence and law enforcement communities, and between international, federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector participants.
The NLE 09 scenario will begin in the aftermath of a notional terrorist event outside of the United States, and exercise play will center on preventing subsequent efforts by the terrorists to enter the United States and carry out additional attacks. This scenario enables participating senior officials to focus on issues related to preventing terrorist events domestically and protecting U.S. critical infrastructure.
NLE 09 will allow terrorism prevention efforts to proceed to a logical end (successful or not), with no requirement for response or recovery activities.
NLE 09 will be an operations-based exercise to include: activities taking place at command posts, emergency operation centers, intelligence centers and potential field locations to include federal headquarters facilities in the Washington D.C. area, and in federal, regional, state, tribal, local and private sector facilities in FEMA Region VI, which includes the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
EXERCISE OBJECTIVES
Through a comprehensive evaluation process, the exercise will assess prevention and protection capabilities both nationally and regionally. Although NLE 09 is still in the planning stages, the exercise is currently designed to validate the following capabilities:
Intelligence/Information Sharing and Dissemination
Counter-Terrorism Investigation and Law Enforcement
Public and Private Sector Alert/Notification and Security Advisories
International Coordination
VALIDATING THE HOMELAND SECURITY SYSTEM
Exercises such as NLE 09 are an important component of national preparedness, helping to build an integrated federal, state, tribal, local and private sector capability to prevent terrorist attacks, and rapidly and effectively respond to, and recover from, any terrorist attack or major disaster that occurs.
The full-scale exercise offers agencies and jurisdictions a way to test their plans and skills in a real-time, realistic environment and to gain the in-depth knowledge that only experience can provide. Participants will exercise prevention and information sharing functions that are critical to preventing terrorist attacks. Lessons learned from the exercise will provide valuable insights to guide future planning for securing the nation against terrorist attacks, disasters, and other emergencies.
