Green Label, Dangerous Ingredients

by Don Irish, WAMM

Asked to envision a "garden plot," you might imagine a neatly planted area with succulent greens, bright red tomatoes, fat pea pods, thick zucchini, green peppers, orange pumpkins, and other colorful edibles.

In contrast there is another "Garden Plot"--one that the Pentagon has been developing and wants us to accept. (The Pentagon has such nice-sounding terms applied to its projects for violence! "Peacekeeper" was a missile. "Desert Storm" arose not naturally but from the nature of Pentagon planners. "Peace through Strength" seems to be about Americans getting a "bigger piece"!)

Operation Garden Plot is a US Air Force 55-2 "Civil Disturbance Master Plan" (with other elements added). It is only the latest such endeavor in American history. Originated in 1968, following the findings of the Kerner Commission, the operational plan has been updated several times in the past three decades. Under its implementation the US military is training troops and police to suppress civilian democratic opposition movements. [An edited version of the source utilized here appears in an article by Frank Morales in Covert Action Quarterly, no. 69, Spring/Summer 2000].

Kerner Commission consultant Anthony Downs reflects a startling attitude. "It would be far cheaper to repress future large-scale urban violence through police and military action than to pay for effective programs against remaining poverty."

Indeed, the Garden Plot operation was activated during the Los Angeles riots of 1992. (Such procedures may also have been utilized in the anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle, anti-World Bank protests in Washington, DC, and in recent demonstrations outside the Republican Convention in Philadelphia and the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles.)

Morales presumes that "these measures have sought to thwart the aims of social justice movements," embodying the concept that within the civilian body politic lurks an enemy that one day the military might have to fight. "The Civil Disturbance Plan 55-2 documents reveal that U.S. military training for the 'suppression' of civilian disturbances is in full readiness now."

U.S. armed forces and "elite" militarized police units are being trained to eradicate "disorder," "disturbances," and "civil disobedience" [my emphasis!] in America, Morales warns.

The U.S. Army Field Manual, 19-15 Civil Disturbances (November 1985), includes guidance to military staff in providing assistance to civil authorities to control civil disturbances: "Civil disturbances in any form are prejudicial to public law and order." They "arise from acts of civil disobedience," coming most frequently "when participants in mass acts of civil disobedience become antagonistic toward authority and authorities must struggle to wrest the initiative from an unruly crowd."

They are brought about by "political grievances" and "urban economic conflicts" . . . but mostly "urban conflicts and community unrest arise from highly emotional social and economic issues." The manual suggests that such disruptions may arise since "economically deprived inner-city residents may perceive themselves treated unjustly or ignored by the people in power."

The Army's stated goal is to "isolate the people creating the disturbance from those who have not yet become actively involved." The Field Manual permits the Army to gather "intelligence" about civilians. Morales suggests that martial rule as distinguished from martial law is not formally written and thus is a superior arrangement for law enforcement agents. He continues: "If martial law is imposed, the civilian population must be informed of the restrictions and rules of conduct that the military can enforce."

The military recognizes the impact of free speech: "During a civil disturbance, it may be advisable to prevent people from assembling . . and forbid gatherings at any place and time." During such efforts "authorities must be prepared to detain large numbers of people forcing them into existing, though expanded "detention facilities." With approval of the Army Chief of Staff, the Armed Forces may detain and incarcerate citizens en masse."

If detainees produce writs of habeas corpus issued by a state court, demanding "their day in court," "the Army will respectfully reply that the prisoner is being held by authority of the United States." Garden Plot training indicates that personnel must be trained "to perform distasteful and dangerous duties with discipline and objectivity." [Digested from (AFIB) U.S. Military Civilian Disturbance Planning: The War at Home. Research Supplement, July 7, 2000, Frank Morales].

So the Garden Plot continues to plant schemes that threaten democratic, nonviolent, mass citizen actions, cultivating the support of the powerful elites and proceeding to harvest a suppressed, less democratic American society.

Now that President Clinton has appointed a "domestic military czar," advocates of peaceful social change need to be aware of plans afoot to thwart their endeavors. To be effective against the authoritarian forces, they need to do their own difficult but vital strategic planning. Movements for social justice will need to be carefully planned, conducted with great group and individual discipline, accepting of personal risks and prepared for the long haul.

Garden Plot Resources

Covert Action Quarterly
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