In a chilling and insightful report from The Intercept, a symbolic fire bell in the night is ringing about a very real threat from a U.S. Army surveillance state initiative.

In essence, the U.S. Army has initiated an Information War (IW) against our citizens:

WHEN THE CHAIR of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley enters into his scheduled retirement later this year, one of the perks will include a personal security detail to protect him from threats — including “embarrassment.” 

Apparently this has been going on for over a decade, because a U.S. Army battalion received an award in 2009 for its skillful effort in protecting senior officials.  

In addition to real threats from very nasty individuals and organizations that were making credible threats against the wellbeing of generals, the unit protected senior leaders from “embarrassment”:

PERMANENT ORDERS 287-29 United States Army Protective Services Battalion 323d Military Police Detachment (1 January 2009 to 30 October 2009)

Award: Army Superior Unit Award

The unit's seamless security and agents' skillful efforts in preventing assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment provided an atmosphere of safety and enabled senior officials to lead the military without the distraction or concern of undue harm.

As a financial crime investigator for the U.S. House Committee on Rules, I was warned about real threats by real killers, such as the Russian mafia, by the American intelligence community.

I truly and sincerely appreciated all such teams that had my safety as their mission. Sadly my close friend Jack Wheeler, West Point 1966, was never warned and he was beaten to death. His murder has never been solved.

Jack Wheeler Was a Prominent Washington Public Servant. Police Still Don't Know Why He Was Murdered

It is critical to now note that the expanded intent of the Army protection mission intrudes on all Americans' First Amendment free speech rights because of the use of the word “embarrassment.” Once our Army is tasked and commended for successfully tracking discussion of embarrassing behavior by generals it is IW (information war) and they are violating Posse Comitatus safeguards.

The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385 limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States.

And, with the power of our modern surveillance society the danger of U.S. Army monitoring private citizens is very real. I pointed out this emerging trend in 2013 about the rise of the surveillance state:

Is America on the Eve of an Electronic Wave of Terror?

There is a pervasive and pernicious bipartisan consensus, which has unleashed information intrusion and government out of control.

The left instinctively trusts and encourages Big Government as the way to improve society, it was even said about Marxism, it is easy to define heaven it is the journey that is impossible. The right instinctively trusts Big Government on National Security, as evidenced by some immediately springing to defend the phone and ISP national “dragnet.”

What both camps often overlook is the human factor: who or what bureaucracy really executes policy?

Conceptually motives can be pure, but in practice some on both the left and right can and will abuse the trust and responsibility given to them by American citizens.

However, the history of sane responsible Army general officer stopping such foolishness comes directly from WWII, when America had generals who knew how to win wars.

Image: Wikimedia Commons // public domain