The "transformational" military. (Insider Report).

Writing in the April 1995 edition of Special Warfare, professor James J. Schneider of Fort Leavenworth's U.S. Command and General Staff College predicted that for the U.S. military, "the future will be dominated by a single overwhelming presence -- the United Nations." Since that time, the key buzzword in military planning and training has been "transformation," as our military -- once committed to preserving our national independence -- is changed into an entity suitable to the role Schneider described. "Operation Millennium Challenge 2002" (OMC02), a massive, multi-state training exercise involving all four armed services, is a key step in the "transformational" process.

Taking place from July 24th-August 15th, OMC02 "was mandated by Congress to help U.S. forces prepare for future wars," reported AP on July 18th. The exercise would involve 13,500 troops, using "the latest in military hardware," and playing out "a scenario that echoes real-world events involving simulated weapons of mass destruction, urban warfare, the United Nations and humanitarian relief," continued AP. "The hypothetical scenario begins with a military coup in a country stricken by a massive earthquake. At the same time, a decision by the World Court over disputed territory outrage[s] the coup leaders and prompts a military buildup and a shipping blockade. In response, the United Nations votes to impose sanctions."

Accordingly the 13,500 troops involved in OMC02 are being trained to enforce UN dictates. Additionally, they are being indoctrinated in what U.S. Joint Forces Command calls "Effects-Based Operations," or EBO. Dave Ozolek, an "experimentation director" for Joint Forces Command, explains: "Instead of focusing on how to defeat the enemy's military forces or how to occupy the enemy's terrain, [EBO] focuses on what plan [the military] needs to create to affect the enemy's behavior. How can we compel or coerce [the enemy] to behave differently than he's behaving right now." Cynics might observe that the disastrous Vietnam War strategy devised by the "Best and Brightest" was based on the same idea: Escalations followed by bombing "pauses" were supposedly intended to modify the Hanoi regime's behavior.

More troubling still is that OMC02 exemplifies the accelerating trend of blending the military with domestic law enforcement. In a July 18th Pentagon press conference, General William F. "Buck" Kernan, Commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, observed: "We are incorporating personnel and equipment from each of the [armed] Services, many DOD [Department of Defense] organizations and several other federal agencies." (Emphasis added.) Asked by a reporter if the exercise had "any involvement ... with domestic first responders [or] law enforcement," General Kernan said that although OMC02 "is focused on projecting combat power abroad, there is an awful lot of collateral benefits to this, and we will continue to do experimentation to promote homeland security."