Civilian Detention Camps

by Carl Jensen

Operation Cable Splicer

Operation Cable SplicerOperation Cable Splicer is a Department of Defense operation for the orderly take-over of local and state governments. The development of this operation had its start while President Ronald Reagan was governor of California. Governor Reagan enlisted the assistance of the head of the state's National Guard to put an operation together, which would assist the government during times of civil unrest. This condition required the declaration of Martial Law. It's purpose was to legitimize the arrest and detainment of anti-war protesters and political troublemakers during the Vietnam era.

Initially the operation was presented to the public disguised as a program to protect against civil disturbances. Its' stated purpose was to: Keep the people from gathering in the streets. Isolate and neutralize the revolution's leadership. Disperse crowds and demonstrations. and prosecution followed
to: Validate the action of the police. Deny the defendant propaganda material. To deny them the opportunity to recover money damages against the police for arresting them.
This operation involved three different scenarios, which justified its use in controlling civil disturbances and ultimately taking over government functions in an emergency.

The scenarios are:
Scenario One- The police arrest someone and during the process a shooting occurs provoking the crowd. Threats against public officials occur and riots begin.
Scenario Two- Police vehicles are ambushed, a variety of assassinations are attempted against public officials, the public begins to gather in crowds protesting police or political actions, and the police lose control.
Scenario Three- Riots increase, crowds must be dispersed before they become sympathetic to the rioters, and the National Guard and local police lose control.

Does Operation Cable Splicer still exit today? Yes it does! After a Y2K meeting held in the city of Wayne, Michigan, on September 16, 1999, a Lieutenant from the Michigan State Police Emergency Management Division was asked if he was aware of Operation Cable Splicer. He said that he was, and did not appear happy that he was asked that question. He was also asked why stickers were being placed on the back of some highway signs in such a manner that they could be read as a code, and that if someone knew the code he could follow the stickers to police stations and/or prisons. He fumbled with his response and tried to say that these stickers were simply bar codes used to identify a sign if a sign was damaged and had to be replaced. The problem with his answer is that not all highway signs have these stickers on them.

In Conclusion, Prior to 1878 it was not unusual for civilian law enforcement agencies to call for military support to assist with enforcing civilian law. After the Civil War, southern states called for an end to this practice, citing abuses and oppression by the military. In 1878, Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act, which was to stop the use of federal troops in civilian law enforcement matters. Yet today, through DoD Directives, Executive Orders, and Federal laws, the Federal government has steadily increased its authority over what should be strictly local law enforcement issues, on the premise that these laws protect the government from violating the Posse Comitatus Act. In essence what they have done is to allow the federal government and the DoD to supply the equipment, the training, and the personnel to (figuratively speaking) hold the gun as long as someone from a local or state police agency pulls the trigger.

Waco is an example of a local law enforcement problem, which the federal government and the DoD should have allowed local police agencies to handle. When a government sends groups, which act as if they are immune to prosecution like the Nightstalkers and the FBI, into a civilian situation, it is inevitable that tragedies such as Waco and Ruby Ridge will occur. At Waco these groups were responsible for the death of 80 people, of which 23 were children. It means nothing to have Attorney General Janet Reno accept responsibility for what happened at Waco if she does not have to worry about any consequences.

Local and state governments can request federal assistance through federal representatives of the FBI and FEMA. If the request is approved, which during Martial Law will be a given, those federal troops approved to assist in controlling civil disturbances will remain under federal control, but will be overseen by the FBI and FEMA. Should this country experience a national emergency, whether real or fabricated, that grows into a perceived crisis situation, the President, through Executive Order 12919 may declare Martial Law, and federal resources will be committed with or without local or state requests. It should also be noted that FEMA will take control of all aspects of the government infrastructure, the Constitution will be suspended, and in fact this country will be under the control of a military dictatorship. Should the course of future emergencies lead to the above action, it will most assuredly result in civil unrest throughout the country, and the DoD will institute operations Garden Plot and Cable Splicer.