Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall of that conference call? Who was in attendance; who chaired; were Homeland Security, FBI, and other federal "agencies" represented? This thing is taking on a really weird 60s flashback quality to it. Before you know it, they'll have revived Cointelpro. I kid you not, folks. Stay alert for infiltrators. In the meantime, an Examiner correspondent — sorry, foolish Daily Kos poster; this dude has solid journalistic creds; talk about passing the "smell test" for trashing a blog (Examiner) while contributing to one (Daily Kos)! — reports the following:Speaking on a BBC radio show, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan says she was recently on a conference call with 18 cities dealing with 99 Percent occupations and that they were discussing how to handle the situation:
QUAN: I was recently on a conference call of 18 cities across the country who had the same situation where what had started as a political movement and political encampment ended up being an encampment of the people who started them.
I believe this is credible information coming from a credible source. Why? Because I don't see what the downside is, from the Feds' POV if it's supposed to be misinformation. Who wins, who loses? The Feds are definite winners; it's quite possible this is a deliberate, or controlled leak. Does anyone really think Homeland Security would mind if we thought they were coordinating the crackdown on the Occupy movement? Or the FBI? The Obama administration, yes? You do — really? Then you're very foolish indeed, Daily Kos poster. President Obama has taken a half & half hands-off approach, saying it's up to the municipalities to decide how they will deal with the OWS encampments and protests. But should they need logistical or tactical support, or advice, please feel free to drop your helpful, friendly spooks, Secretary Napolitano and Director Mueller, a line. Or a tweet? Count on it.Over the past ten days, more than a dozen cities have moved to evict "Occupy" protesters from city parks and other public spaces. As was the case in last night's move in New York City, each of the police actions shares a number of characteristics. And according to one Justice official, each of those actions was coordinated with help from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.
The official, who spoke on background to me late Monday evening, said that while local police agencies had received tactical and planning advice from national agencies, the ultimate decision on how each jurisdiction handles the Occupy protests ultimately rests with local law enforcement.
According to this official, in several recent conference calls and briefings, local police agencies were advised to seek a legal reason to evict residents of tent cities, focusing on zoning laws and existing curfew rules. Agencies were also advised to demonstrate a massive show of police force, including large numbers in riot gear. In particular, the FBI reportedly advised on press relations, with one presentation suggesting that any moves to evict protesters be coordinated for a time when the press was the least likely to be present.
It's not really all that sinister. In fact it's more like spook bureaucrat institutional-think: They probably see it as a great opportunity for interagency coordination right down to the state municipality level. Does anyone really think Homeland Security would pass up such an opportunity to test their nationwide security network, to conduct a nationwide eviction sweep with minimal First Amendment implications? Hell, it's a lot better than a dry run exercise. What they don't quite understand is that this movement is a lot bigger than they realize, and before they know it they'll be wading in even deeper still.
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