• Is D.C. prepping for widespread unrest?
By Victor Thorn
Is the federal government, which is tasked with protecting the United States inside the confines of our borders, preparing for a domestic war in the coming years? In the past three years, officials have stockpiled over a billion rounds of military-grade ammunition, leaving many people to wonder why the feds are in possession of so much deadly firepower.
As part of its ominous sounding Homeland Battlefield Bill, Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to purchase 200 million rounds of ammunition in 2009, including double-ought shotgun shells, followed by another order of 450 million hollow-point bullets in March 2012. This second transaction was made with ATK Armament Systems, the world’s largest ammunition manufacturer. Not satisfied, DHS officials issued a solicitation request for 750 million more rounds of ammo.
Hollow-point bullets are so lethal the Geneva Convention does not allow their use on the battlefield in time of war. Hollow-point bullets don’t just stop or hurt people; they penetrate the body, flatten out, fragment and thus cause maximum damage to the body’s organs. Death often follows.
In an August 15 article, Brett Redmayne-Titley described what hollow-point ammo is used for: “These are bullets designed for one thing—close quarter killing of human beings. American human beings. The double-ought buckshot has limited accuracy, but will cut a man in half at a distance of less than 20’.” DHS has also placed orders for ammonium nitrate and A-5 Flake RDX, which are used to construct bombs.
Adding to concerns is the fact that DHS officials have purchased 9,300 bulletproof checkpoint booths, which many expect will be used on U.S. highways and will be under the control of the Transportation Security Administration, an agency inside the DHS. These booths will be used to monitor the flow of travelers from one point to another.
DHS has attempted to downplay its stockpiles, explaining that the ammunition will be distributed to various offices and training facilities across the country and the explosives will be used for training purposes; but many people are concerned.
But DHS isn’t the only agency acquiring large amounts of ammo. Social Security Administration officials recently acquisitioned 174,000 rounds of .357 hollow-point bullets, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration requested 46,000 .40-caliber hollow points, the Federal Bureau of Investigation awarded contracts for 100 million rounds of ammo on November 15, 2011, and the Department of Agriculture issued bids for 321,000 rounds of various ammo types.
Some of these bullets are reportedly “frangible rounds,” which James Smith of the website Activist Post described as being “designed to break apart when they hit walls or other hard surfaces to prevent ricochets during close-quarter combat.”
The total ammunition from all of these governmental agencies comes in at a whopping 1.4 billion rounds. With only 311 million people in the U.S., why would the feds need nearly a billion and a half rounds of ammo, more than three bullets per citizen?
One reason that many commentators point to is November’s upcoming presidential election. For example, some worry that if Barack Obama loses the election, angry mobs of urban blacks, spurred on by Black Panther agitators, would stage riots in cities around the country. Also possible is the expectation of a catastrophic economic collapse, which would likely lead to widespread havoc and increased support for secessionist movements that seek to break up the U.S. Finally, Second Amendment proponents wonder if the government foresees ammunition shortages or a lockdown on manufacturers.
Further perplexing about DHS are a plethora of scandals surrounding this agency.
On June 11, 2010, Washington, D.C. journalist Matthew Harwood in a report published online exposed massive corruption endemic at DHS. The charges included allegations of illicit drugs, illegal alien smuggling, bribes, kickbacks, child pornography and attempted child sex abuse. “These are just some of the crimes DHS employees and contractors were convicted of in fiscal year 2009,” wrote Harwood.
Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and author of over 40 books.
