American journalists considered enemies of the state
What could possibly go wrong? The Department of Defense (DOD) claims this only applies to journalists sympathizing or cooperating with the enemy.
Please read on...
From the Huffington Post:
The Law of War manual, updated to apply for the first time to all branches of the military, contains a vaguely worded provision that military commanders could interpret broadly, experts in military law and journalism say. Commanders could ask journalists to leave military bases or detain journalists for any number of perceived offenses.
"In general, journalists are civilians," the 1,180 page manual says, but it adds that "journalists may be members of the armed forces, persons authorized to accompany the armed forces, or unprivileged belligerents."
A person deemed "unprivileged belligerent" is not entitled to the rights afforded by the Geneva Convention so a commander could restrict from certain coverage areas or even hold indefinitely without charges any reporter considered an "unprivileged belligerent."
Ken Lee, an ex-Marine and military lawyer who specializes in "law of war" issues and is now in private practice, said it was worrisome that the detention of a journalist could come down to a commander's interpretation of the law.
If a reporter writes an unflattering story, "does this give a commander the impetus to say, now you're an unprivileged belligerent? I would hope not," Lee said.
"I'm troubled by the label 'unprivileged belligerents,' which seems particularly hostile," said Kathleen Carroll, AP's executive editor. "It sounds much too easy to slap that label on a journalist if you don't like their work, a convenient tool for those who want to fight wars without any outside scrutiny."
Journalists working for The Associated Press and other news organizations have been detained or thrown out of embed arrangements for stories, video or photographs that the military found unflattering, even before the new manual was published on June 21. But the manual has raised concerns that commanders would feel even more free to find fault with reporting — or that other governments might use the U.S. rules to mistreat reporters working on their soil.
The Law of War manual pulls together all international laws on war applicable to the U.S. armed forces, and is designed as a reference guide for the military.
Why should this concern you? It's not like our police arrest journalists and photographers right? Wrong!
Not only do America's police treat journalists with contempt, they beat and arrest them, below are a few examples:
Journalists sue St. Louis County police for alleged battery, false arrest.
Journalist says NYPD beat and illegally arrested him during OWS march.
NYPD admits to arresting journalists for covering OWS.
Boston Police Commissioner wants to criminalize the recording of cops in public.
Boston police threaten to arrest journalists for recording Urban Shield drill.
And checkout "Photography Is Not A Crime" website that's been documenting police abuse of photographers and journalists for years.
If you've been paying attention the DOD and DHS have created a militarized police force in America. They're so intertwined with our police, you'd have to have blinders on and or stay indoors not see it.
Our police use the SAME tactics as our military and are trained on military bases across the country. If you doubt it, do a quick search for "Jade Helm" many former armed forces personnel receive preferential employment. Not to mention many of America's police chiefs have military backgrounds.
America's police look more like frontline combat troops and in some cases are better equipped than our National Guard and soldiers thanks to the DOD's 1033 program:
Rafael Rivera – who served in the U.S. Army for seven years – writes:
The police in Ferguson have better armor and weaponry than my men and I did in the middle of a war. And Ferguson isn’t alone — police departments across the US are armed for war.
Senator McCaskill pointed out that in some places local police departments are more heavily armed than the National Guard.
Someone identifying himself as an 82nd Airborne Army veteran, observing the Ferguson police scene, commented that “We rolled lighter than that in an actual warzone”
Many combat veterans have since pointed out that the SWAT officers are more heavily armed and outfitted than they themselves were while patrolling the streets of Iraq or Afghanistan.
"What we're seeing here is a gaggle of cops wearing more elite killing gear than your average squad leader leading a foot patrol through the most hostile sands or hills of Afghanistan. They are equipped with Kevlar helmets, assault-friendly gas masks, combat gloves and knee pads (all four of them), woodland Marine Pattern utility trousers, tactical body armor vests, about 120 to 180 rounds for each shooter, semiautomatic pistols attached to their thighs, disposable handcuff restraints hanging from their vests, close-quarter-battle receivers for their M4 carbine rifles and Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights. In other words, they're itching for a fight. A big one. It's a well-known horror that the US military greets foreign peoples in this fashion as our politicians preach freedom, democracy and peace. It's an abomination that the police greet black communities in the States with the same trigger-happy posture. Especially on the occasion of an unarmed teen's death by cop."