Mercenary Firm Offers to 'Detain Troublemakers' on Election Day

[sabra]

Source: WIRED News

CIA-linked private military contractor Evergreen Defense & Security Services offered to post sentries at Oregon election offices on Tuesday, "detaining troublemakers" and making sure voters "do not get out of control."

In an e-mail to local election supervisors, obtained by the McMinnville, Oregon News Register, Evergreen president Tom Wiggins said he "recognized the potential conflict" that could occur on November 4th. "Never has there been a more heated battle in the race for president."

The company, he said, 'proposes to post sentries at each voting center on November 4th to assure that disputes amongst citizens do not get out of control. All guards will be unarmed, but capable of stopping any violence that may occur and detaining troublemakers until law enforcement arrives.'

Evergreen's website describes its security arm as having "nearly five decades of experience working with the U.S. Armed Forces, the Department of Defense, the Department of Interior, the United Nations, NASA, and the U.S. Air Mobility Command. Many of our contracts include highly sensitive work-scope, and take place in locations ranging from the deserts of the Middle East to the jungles of South America to the highest peaks of Mt. McKinley in Alaska."

Read more: http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/11/spooky-defense.html#more

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UPDATE: As several commenters have pointed out, Evergreen's offer is particularly weird, since the state does its voting by mail. Voters get ballots sent to them, and can then return them to county election offices by 8pm on Tuesday. Perhaps that's where Evergreen was looking to keep the peace.

[Bake]

1. Because voters, of course, must be kept "under control."

Voting is such a subversive activity!

Bake

[roguevalley]

29. fuck that. down with nazi militias. forever.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Right..just what we need....mercenaries guarding polling places...

I hope that this offer was dealt with the way it should have been...as an attempt to intimidate voters.

[barbtries]

3. they want to ensure

that they'll still have a payday after obama's in office. for myself, i'm all for getting rid of all the private armies. and demilitarizing the police, and remilitarizing the military. down with profiteering.

[Blues Heron]

4. Thanks but no thanks guys - we got this one.

Might be some out-of-control dancing tho.... :bounce:

[FamousMortimer]

5. Doesn't everyone mail in their vote in Oregon?

I believe that's how it worked when I lived there.

[L. Coyote]

11. NO. We have mail-in balots that can be dropped at drop boxes.

Maybe they know something we don't, like Republicans planning armed assaults of drop boxes in a liberal county :rofl:

Also, you can drop ballots at the County Elections offices, if you can get past building security.

[ladywnch]

12. what makes anyone think they are planning to confine their 'help'

to just Oregon?

[Oilwellian]

20. My thought exactly

I wonder what republican bastions of the country took Evergreen up on their offer?

[Pastiche423]

41. Why even mention Oregon?

The article only mentions Oregon, yet we have no "election offices". We've been voting by mail for almost ten years. It looks like someone did no research for this article.

Besides, the majority of Oregon voters have already voted. I did last week!

[The Stranger]

6. This needs to be resisted, and if anyone is "detained," the mercenaries need to be arrested.

By citizens, if need be.

[bagrman]

28. Thanks for letting us know they will be unarmed.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

7. Troublemakers?

That wouldn't be anything like black people simply trying to vote, would it?

[Strato222]

8. Step #3: Create a thug Claste

Copied from Naomi Wolf: "10 steps to close down an open society"

3 Develop a thug caste

When leaders who seek what I call a "fascist shift" want to close down an open society, they send paramilitary groups of scary young men out to terrorize citizens. The Blackshirts roamed the Italian countryside beating up communists; the Brownshirts staged violent rallies throughout Germany. This paramilitary force is especially important in a democracy: you need citizens to fear thug violence and so you need thugs who are free from prosecution.

The years following 9/11 have proved a bonanza for America's security contractors, with the Bush administration outsourcing areas of work that traditionally fell to the US military. In the process, contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars have been issued for security work by mercenaries at home and abroad. In Iraq, some of these contract operatives have been accused of involvement in torturing prisoners, harassing journalists and firing on Iraqi civilians. Under Order 17, issued to regulate contractors in Iraq by the one-time US administrator in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, these contractors are immune from prosecution

Yes, but that is in Iraq, you could argue; however, after Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security hired and deployed hundreds of armed private security guards in New Orleans. The investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill interviewed one unnamed guard who reported having fired on unarmed civilians in the city. It was a natural disaster that underlay that episode - but the administration's endless war on terror means ongoing scope for what are in effect privately contracted armies to take on crisis and emergency management at home in US cities.

Thugs in America? Groups of angry young Republican men, dressed in identical shirts and trousers, menaced poll workers counting the votes in Florida in 2000. If you are reading history, you can imagine that there can be a need for "public order" on the next election day. Say there are protests, or a threat, on the day of an election; history would not rule out the presence of a private security firm at a polling station "to restore public order".

[JJ]

13. Kinda like Pinkerton going after early Union Organizers

[Joe Chi Minh]

31. Exactly. If that doesn't sound like suicide, I don't know what would.

Somehow, I don't think the unaccountable mercenaries will play a role in the US under Obama's Democrats.

[petronius]

9. Setting aside the total screwed-uppedness of this offer,

what kind of work does a mercenary/security firm do on Mt. McKinley? Are the Russkies trying to steal our good mountaineering resources? :shrug:

(I guess this company could have an SAR division as well, which would make them not a total waste...)

[Vidar]

10. Send in the 82nd Airborne with "shoot to kill" orders & exterminate the fucking vipers.

[shadowknows69]

14. I have high hopes if the shit ever hits the fan in this country

That real Officers of the Law will side with citizens against the merc army of the fascists.

[Buenaventura]

26. historically, "real officers of the law" are the first to lie down and

lick the boots of their new masters.

[Joe Chi Minh]

32. These are strange times. Historical precedents would not necessarily be a

reliable guide.

[CitizenPatriot]

15. it's illegal to have police at polling places in many states

because they were used to intimidate voters. They can show up if there is a problem, but they aren't supposed to hang out there. Is their effort to circumvent that?

How truly anti-American of them. Unruly voters? We didn't hear of any problems with early elections, and some people stood in 10 hour lines.

No logic behind this BS argument of theirs. Per usual.

[truthisfreedom]

16. Nice of Evergreen to identify themselves so we can keep an eye on them.

And perhaps post sentries to "keep them under control."

[glitch]

18. Indeed. And to let Blackwater know they have some competition.

Maybe they can wipe each other out.

[Joanne98]

17. We need to OUTLAW the mercs!

[democrank]

19. Post sentries?

Are they frigging nuts?

[DiverDave]

21. I'll have to stop the thugs if they

try it at my polling place.

I'm not a violent person, but if I see any sort of intimidation, I'm gonna speak up.

I cannot stand by and watch my country go down to the fascist's that want to rule me and mine, I won't allow it.

Dave

[JimboBillyBubbaBob]

22. Mercenaries at Polling Sites

I would remind so called mercenaries of one thing.....

Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.


This is the sort of thing the framers had in mind. True citizens will resist such actions.
:patriot:

[LeftishBrit]

23. That REALLY sounds sinister.

[yellowcanine]

24. To be fair, voters have been known to attack election judges with sample ballots.

Multiple paper cuts are not something to take lightly. Someone could lose an eye.

[SpiralHawk]

25. Republicons plan to make facism profitable

How decidedly amoral and unAmerican.

[bvar22]

27. One of the more troubling aspects of the last 8 years....

...is the rapid growth of Private, For Profit Police/Military Forces.
They are accountable only to their Bosses, not the American People.

We have seen Private Police before.






Some aspects of a Democratic Society should NEVER be Privatized because Privatazitation removes these agencies from accountability to The People.
In a DEMOCRACY, it is the responsibility of The People to supervise them.

*The Police

*The Military

*The Courts

*The Prison System

[Joe Chi Minh]

30. What an incredible cheek!

[VaYallaDawg]

33. This could not be tolerated in most states!!

In most states in the south, elections are closely scrutinized by the Justice Dept., and this would never be possible - NAACP would be raising holy hell - and rightly so.

[BlooInBloo]

34. kickety kickety kickety!

[aldo]

35. Mercenaries and contractors = the Republican treason forces

All those wearing the U.S. uniform take an oath to support the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. Mercenaries don't. Unamerican swine.

[GinaMaria]

36. How about, Troublemakers offer to detain Mercenary Firm?! nt

[Judi Lynn]

37. These guys could have come in handy in Florida in 2000, when the Florida Highway Patrol

was utilized by Jeb Bush to intimidate voters there.

[dixiegrrrrl]

38. From Evergreen website:

they have their own air force..

http://www.evergreenaviation.com/edss/exp.html


edit to add:
Guess what else they do?
Products and Gifts from Evergreen Orchards offer a wide range of Northwest specialties, featuring Oregon Hazelnuts fresh from our farm.
http://www.evergreenorchards.com/gifts.html

[FamousMortimer]

39. Fascism and delicious treats to boot!

[PSPS]

45. Evergreen Aviation? They're a long-known CIA front operation.

In Oregon, it's been known for at least 30 years.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. but they have hazel nuts....CIA hazel nuts...

by the gift pack, support your local fascist front.

good lord.

[zelta gaisma]

40. goodbye free elections

[bemildred]

42. How about if we "detain" these fascist assholes instead? nt

[Marthe48]

43. Palin was here in Marietta OH Sunday

The head of the college repugs said Dems were welcome to come, as long as they behaved themselves. Later the head of the repug headquarters said the same thing. Is that how the repugs are going to categorize us? As hooligans? What a bloody crock. Lest we forget, here is a link to a picture of the Republicans who rioted during the recount in Florida in 2000:


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://vermontdailybriefing.com/%3Fp%3D968&h=289&w=420&sz=35&hl=en&start=17&usg=__-72mwK9LT0dp6W1XKtkdGeTxox0=&tbnid=TwLRD1eYn15XyM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRepublicans%2Bprotesting%2BFlorida%2Bvote%2Bcount%2B%2B2000%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

[Marthe48]

44. Palin was here in Marietta OH Sunday

The head of the college repugs said Dems were welcome to come, as long as they behaved themselves. Later the head of the repug headquarters said the same thing. Is that how the repugs are going to categorize us? As hooligans? What a bloody crock. Lest we forget, here is a link to a picture of the Republicans who rioted during the recount in Florida in 2000:


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://vermontdailybriefing.com/%3Fp%3D968&h=289&w=420&sz=35&hl=en&start=17&usg=__-72mwK9LT0dp6W1XKtkdGeTxox0=&tbnid=TwLRD1eYn15XyM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRepublicans%2Bprotesting%2BFlorida%2Bvote%2Bcount%2B%2B2000%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

[ArmedAmerican]

47. goose stepping their way into memory...bye bye fascists!

Turns out Americans don't like the hob nailed boot and black trenchcoat look anymore. So long assholes! Don't let the door to the polling place hit your ass on the way out!

[not fooled]

48. Chief Wiggum...er, Wiggin on the job!

Effin' fascist