U.S. government aimed its 'war on terror' techno-expertise at Americans to rob them of liberty
By jdheyes // 2023-05-02
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The deep state within the U.S. government, which really runs the country, has no so-called "war on terror" to fight anymore. So now, needing conflict of some sort in order to sustain itself, the deep state has turned inward and has identified an enemy within our national borders: Free-thinking, independent-minded -- and largely conservative -- Americans. "The U.S. government took the information techniques it learned after 9/11 and has turned them on Americans. America may have lost the Great War on Terror, but our technocratic elites could still win their war against American liberty," James Pinkerton wrote last week at Breitbart News. "That’s the argument made by Jacob Siegel in a 13,000-word Tablet magazine article titled 'A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century,' which seeks to explain 'a high-level hoax perpetrated against the American people' by elitists 'who believe themselves to be infallible,'" Pinkerton wrote, adding: Specifically, Siegel writes, these “infallible” elitists believe they are saving the world from “disinformation,” which is whatever they view as untruths about Russia, Ukraine, Donald Trump, Covid, climate change, election fraud, Brexit, etc. You name a flavor of disinfo, and they want to save us from it. And they’re operating in the State Department and other federal agencies, in numerous foundations and NGOs, and at a hundred academic “centers” that have sprung up like ‘shrooms since 2016. Groups and organizations that were initially trained in infowar tactics related to 9/11 and the War on Terror appear to have shifted their focus away from jihadist threats. Instead, these experts in infowar have transformed themselves into specialists in disinfowar. With access to budgets comparable to that of the Pentagon, their current objective is the American populace, which they view as being poorly informed or even worse, Pinkerton went on. “What started out as a way to fight a far-away foe,” Siegel argued, “has quietly metastasized into a totalitarian fantasy of endless warfare against the erroneous thoughts and feelings of ordinary citizens closer to home.” Siegel specifically points to the State Department’s Global Engagement Center, which was created during President Obama's tenure and, of course, remains in operation today. The agency's stated purpose is: "To direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations." Taken alone, the emphasis on foreign disinformation may appear acceptable. However, the Global Engagement Center (GEC) has adopted an extensive interpretation of its mandate, which encompasses domestic targets, including American citizens. According to Siegel, Michael D. Lumpkin, the inaugural director of the GEC, has criticized legislation that safeguards the rights of Americans, such as the Privacy Act of 1974, Pinkerton noted. As Lumpkin put it, “The 1974 act was created to make sure that we aren’t collecting data on U.S. citizens. Well, … by definition the World Wide Web is worldwide.” In short, that means everyone who uses the Internet, including Americans, are legitimate 'targets.' Siegel notes: “The message from the U.S. defense establishment was clear: To win the information war—an existential conflict taking place in the borderless dimensions of cyberspace—the government needed to dispense with outdated legal distinctions between foreign terrorists and American citizens.” Undoubtedly, combating terrorism is a legitimate and critical objective. However, we must place a significant level of faith in our protectors, and for them to earn our trust, they must be reliable and dependable, Pinkerton argues. And...are they? We know through the Twitter Files that the deep state cajoled big tech into censoring and throttling Americans with independent-minded viewpoints and alternative information that ran afoul of government narratives on a host of topics -- from politics to COVID-19. "Since then, the technique of labelling inconvenient information as disinformation has spread," Pinkerton notes. In conclusion, he writes: "The disinformation warriors have a plan, and it’s horrifying. And they aren’t joking." Sources include: Breitbart.com TabletMag.com
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