Forbes: 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It's Time For A National Conversation

[Fire Walk With Me]

Kimberly Boldt ‏@FederalistNo2

Forbes: 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It's Time For A National Conversation
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2013/03/11/1-6-billion-rounds-of-ammo-for-homeland-security-its-time-for-a-national-conversation/ … #policestate

The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America.

Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation. As observed by “paramilblogger” Ken Jorgustin last September:

[T]he Department of Homeland Security is apparently taking delivery (apparently through the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico VA, via the manufacturer – Navistar Defense LLC) of an undetermined number of the recently retrofitted 2,717 ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ MaxxPro MRAP vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.”

These MRAP’s ARE BEING SEEN ON U.S. STREETS all across America by verified observers with photos, videos, and descriptions.”

(More at the link. Remember that this "homeland security" scam has a $1 trillion budget and some are becoming very, very rich from it, while simultaneously installing a firewall against protest and uprising.)

There are two important factors regarding the DHS/TSA which are rarely taken into consideration:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022486390

[limpyhobbler]

1. If this doesn't alarm people, nothing will.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. This takes FUBAR to a whole new level.

Its nice that Forbes offers a rational way out for the administration:

Cancelling, or at minimum, drastically scaling back — by 90% or even 99%, the DHS order for ammo, and its receipt and deployment of armored personnel carriers, would be a “fourfer.”

The federal government would set an example of restraint in the matter of weaponry.
It would reduce the deficit without squeezing essential services.
It would do both in a way that was palatable to liberals and conservatives, slightly depolarizing America.
It would somewhat defuse, by the government making itself less armed-to-the-teeth, the anxiety of those who mistrust the benevolence of the federales.

BUT Why was this procurement ever even initiated?

[Demeter]

3. Cheney Lives

They've probably cloned him.

[bonzotex]

4. this is a very questionable source

The guy "reporting" this is Ralph Benko who is a hardore wingnut blogger, not a reporter. There is a lot of nonsense in his article and it is jut being parroted by the tin-foil circuit.

I have no great love or trust for DHS but there is just not much indicating that anything this guy says is true.

[wilsonbooks]

5. Let the right spread their own lies, we don't need to help them.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/ssabullets.asp

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. I find the last sentence interesting, about the MRAP armored vehicles.

This was with us in LA on Mayday last year:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12522688#post3

This has long since occurred here and in other cities. The militarization of the Anaheim PD is most obvious and frightening. Some pics a bit down the page here:

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-leaked-2006-citigroup-plutonomy-memo.html

I'm sorry to learn that the blog writer isn't a legit source, sorry about that, but anyone who's marched with Occupy and seen the DHS, TARU, Terrorist and other jackets and vehicles on-scene knows that this is true and is getting worse.

[dtom67]

8. saw plenty of military style cops

With grenade launchers (I presumably tear gas )do at right-to-work protest in Lansing; the regular cops seemed decent, but the swat guys looked eager to rock out. And I was inside the Rotunda; I didn't see any of the action outside.

No sense trying to warn anyone here about this, though. Most cannot wait to surrender their Liberties and Democracy. Who cares if the political leadership are right wingers; as long as they are Democrats...

[TexasTowelie]

9. I believe that the ammo request is part of an Alex Jones farce

that began in November after the election.

[99th_Monkey]

6. They're simply prepping for the reign of "Brennan The Draconian" at CIA's helm.

[sabrina 1]

10. There is no question that this country needs to start talking about what we are

becoming. Little by little they are slipping in more and more military personnel and equipment onto the streets as we saw during OWS.

Does anyone in public office even care about the Constitution anymore, or like Bush, do they all now view it as 'quaint'?

Thanks Fire for all the work you do for this forum.