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Den såkaldte storm på Kongressen 6. januar var ikke spontan. Den blev iværksat af fire grupper professionelle udefra kommende, som målbevidst førte an og brugte folkemængden som kanonføde. Capitol Hill-politiet, normalt dygtige til at håndtere store menneskemængder, var ubemandet og rådvilde, som om nogen havde bestemt at de ikke skulle være forberedt.

Den halve million eller måske million mennesker som var kommet til Washington onsdag den 6. januar under mottoet «Save America», var der for at protestere mod at Kongressen ville dække over et valg som de var overbevist om var stjålet.

Allerede før folkemødet var afsluttet, blev det kompromitteret af de mennesker, som slap ind i Kongressen. Kongressen blev ikke «stormet», der var næsten intet politi til stede, til trods for at Kongressens eget politi havde lavet en rapport dateret 3. januar som advarede mod at noget kom til at ske. Alligevel var der næsten ingen politifolk til stede, og de som var der, åbnede dørene for demonstranterne.

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NTB (norske Ritzau) udsendte i nat:

Tre dage før flere tusind Trump-tilhængere stormede Kongressen, advarede en efterretningsrapport fra kongrespolitiet om at netop det kunne ske den 6. januar.

I den tolv sider lange rapport fra 3. januar beskriver kongrespolitiets efterretningsafdeling hvordan tusindvis af rasende demonstranter, ægget af Trump og flankeret af højreradikale og ekstreme militsgrupper, sandsynligvis ville strømme til Washington væbnet til kamp.

Denne gang var målet kongresmedlemmerne, skriver Washington Post.

– Tilhængere af den siddende præsident ser 6. januar 2021 som en sidste mulighed for at ændre valgresultatet, hedder det i rapporten.

– Denne følelse af desperation og skuffelse kan være et motiv til at udøve vold. I modsætning til tidligere protester efter valget, er målet for Trump-tilhængerne ikke nødvendigvis moddemonstranter som tidligere, men snarere er Kongressen selv et mål 6. januar.

Den interne rapport ser ifølge avisen ikke ud til at være blevet delt med andre myndigheder som fx FBI, og den er et af flere signaler som sikkerhedseksperter mener, burde føre til at sikkerheden ved Kongressen blev styrket 6. januar.

Under stormen på Kongressen blev én politimand og én indtrænger dræbt. Yderligere tre demonstranter døde af andre årsager, ifølge nyhedsbureauet AP.

Men NTB´s udenrigskorrespondent springer let over det helt centrale, ubesvarede spørgsmål: Hvordan kunne kongrespolitiet lade være med at have bemanding på plads, hvis de selv vidste at der ville ske noget?

Udenrigskorrespondenten kompenserer eller kamuflerer ved at dynge op med adjektiver: Det var ikke «tusindvis» som «stormede Kongressen», og det var ikke «højreradikale» og «ekstreme militsgrupper» «ægget af Trump».

Hvem var det da?

Det var en blanding af Antifa og føderale specialstyrker som ledede angrebet, og nogen af folkene fra demonstrationen gjorde som de blev fortalt: De fulgte efter.

Medierne stillede ikke de mest elementære spørgsmål: Hvorfor blev folk sluppet ind? 

Dette har vi fået et håndfast bevis på i en skræmmende stærk artikel i thefederalist.com, skrevet af J. Michael Waller. Waller er specialist i psykologisk krigsførelse og har undervist ved Fort Bragg, som nu skal ændre navn efter at Republikanerne i Senatet gav efter for Demokraterne også i dette krav.

Waller is senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy. His areas of concentration are propaganda, political warfare, psychological warfare, and subversion. He is a former professor at the Institute of World Politics, a graduate school in Washington, DC. A former instructor with the Naval Postgraduate School, he is an instructor/lecturer at the John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg.

The Federalist fik tilladelse til at publicere artiklen som oprindelig stod på hjemmesiden til centeret hvor Waller arbejder. Vi lægger ved en kopi i bunden af denne artikel, for vi er ikke sikre på at en så afslørende artikel vil være sikker.

Titlen og ingressen siger det meste:

I Saw Provocateurs At The Capitol Riot On Jan. 6
The deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol bore the markings of an organized operation planned well in advance of the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress.

Waller er kategorisk. Han er sikker på det han så, og han beskriver det i detaljer. Vi kan se at det kommer fra en som er vant til at vurdere mennesker. Han tager ikke fejl af Trump-supportere, Antifa og professionelle.

Onsdag 6. januar var en professionel operation, planlagt lang tid i forvejen. Der var ingenting spontant ved det han så. Nogen ville bruge folkemødet til at fremprovokere en konfrontation. Medier som CNN tog det for gode varer. Siden har Demokraterne «fyldt på», og Republikanerne bøjer nakken.

Han opsummerer fire hovedpunkter:

  • Plainclothes militants. Militant, aggressive men in Donald Trump and MAGA gear at a front police line at the base of the temporary presidential inaugural platform;
  • Agents-provocateurs. Scattered groups of men exhorting the marchers to gather closely and tightly toward the center of the outside of the Capitol building and prevent them from leaving;
  • Fake Trump protesters. A few young men wearing Trump or MAGA hats backwards and who did not fit in with the rest of the crowd in terms of their actions and demeanor, whom I presumed to be Antifa or other leftist agitators; and
  • Disciplined, uniformed column of attackers. A column of organized, disciplined men, wearing similar but not identical camouflage uniforms and black gear, some with helmets and GoPro cameras or wearing subdued Punisher skull patches.

Waller beskriver i detaljer hvor han var og hvor tæt han var på disse mennesker. Der er noget trist over det han beskriver. Når føderale myndigheder går til angreb på Kongressen når den sidder i møde for at godkende valgmændene, er det det samme som en fortsættelse af det kup som begyndte som en kontraefterretningsoperation mod kandidat Donald Trump vinteren 2015/16. Dette var kulminationen: Først at stjæle valget, derefter give Trump nådestødet. Samtidig gav de hans modstandere en forhammer de kunne bruge til at stemple MAGA-bevægelsen som højreekstreme, som ikke fortjener fulde borgerrettigheder.

I processen skyllede de demokratiet ud med badevandet. Men det var en omkostning de tog allerede da de bestemte sig for at standse Trump.

USA styres af en elite som er skruppelløs, hensynsløs og ikke viger tilbage for noget middel.

Medierne skal have os til at tro at det her var et væbnet kup

Det kommer til at tage tid før hele denne operation trænger ind hos Trump-bevægelsen, som er et mere mangfoldigt fænomen end den fremstilles som. Fornuftige mennesker over hele verden følger med i dramaet i USA og er i stand til at afkode operationen mod Trump.

Så mange mennesker har været involveret, også allierede, over så lang tid, at mange har vidst at Trump ville blive fjernet, uanset hvad.

Waller siger, han så operationen mod Capitol Hill udfolde sig i realtime. Han var et vigtig historisk øjenvidne, og har et professionelt øje som så de forskellige stadier af planen:

All of these cells or groups stood out from the very large crowd by their behavior and overall demeanor. However, they did not all appear at the same time. Not until the very end did it appear there was a prearranged plan to storm the Capitol building, and to manipulate the unsuspecting crowd as cover and as a follow-on force.

Waller siger han skrev ned hvad han så natten til 7. januar, og han undlod bevidst at følge nyhederne for ikke at blive påvirket. Han ville have en mest mulig ren, upåvirket tekst.

Waller siger han selv har deltaget i talrige demonstrationer, efter at være blevet lært op af professionelle agitatorer fra Californien. Udenforstående undervurderer det faktum at universiteterne er blevet rugekasser for radikalisering, med lærere som driver rene partisoldat skoler.

11.30 går han og en kammerat på senatsiden af Capitol Hill, hvor de støder på kongrespoliti i fuldt uroudrustning.

I walked from near Union Station to the Senate side of Capitol Hill on 2nd and D Streets NW and noticed a small number of Capitol Police dressed in full riot gear, with shin guards and shoulder guards. One carried a black baton with side handle.

Der havde været et møde i Freedom Park, afløst af Trumps tale ved the Ellipse. Folk var begyndt at bevæge sig mod Capitol Hill i en afslappet, humørfyldt atmosfære:

The mood of the crowd was positive and festive. Strangers stopped to talk to one another along the way, resisting but ultimately giving in to offers from street vendors hawking Trump and MAGA memorabilia, or to taking pictures of Washington landmark

Deltagerne var et udsnit af Trump-tilhængere som slet ikke så ud som om de var klar til optøjer, stik imod mediernes beskrivelse:

Of the thousands of people I passed or who passed me along Constitution Avenue, some were indignant and contemptuous of Congress, but not one appeared angry or incited to riot. Many of the marchers were families with small children; many were elderly, overweight, or just plain tired or frail—traits not typically attributed to the riot-prone.

Mange var politifolk fra rundt omkring i landet. Dette har været rapporteret i anti-Trump-medierne med krav om at de skal have sparket.

Waller siger de så tusindvis af flag, men kun to sydstatsflag og kun et hvidt racistflag. Alligevel fremstiller medierne det som om der var sydstatsflag overalt.

Among the hundreds and hundreds of flags—perhaps thousands—displayed over the next few hours, I saw only two Confederate battle flags and one white supremacist sign, the latter of which some suspected aloud was a leftist plant. The two flags and one sign, I thought, would feature prominently in news reports to present a false image of the crowd.

Denne bevidste fejlrapportering gennem flere år er grunden til at de amerikanske græsrødder har vendt sig mod medierne og råber ”CNN sucks”! Det fremstilles af medierne som angreb på dem. Men hvem er det som bruger sin position til at angribe forsvarsløse, og er frække nok til at kalde folks reaktioner for «angreb på demokratiet»?

Opløftende nok har Trump fået stor støtte fra sorte, latinos og asiater. Det bliver forbigået af medierne.

A large group of African-American men sported shirts that said “Blacks for Trump.” Figuring that journalists would emphasize the solitary racist sign and Confederate flags, deliberately ignoring the rest, I took note of the fact that many demonstrators were black, Asian, and Latino, with a strong presence of Vietnamese- and Chinese-Americans.

En detalje: Byens myndigheder havde sat meget få toiletter og affaldskasser op, alligevel var der næsten rent for affald, i stærk modsætning til venstreorienterede demonstrationer, som efterlader sig rene svinestier.

Affald og urin er en måde at vise foragt og aggression på. Trump-folket gør det ikke. De har respekt for omgivelserne.

Menneskemængden var et tværsnit af den amerikanske arbejderklasse. Netop dette gjorde det let at se hvem, der ikke passede ind:

A very few didn’t share the jovial, friendly, earnest demeanor of the great majority. Some obviously didn’t fit in.

Grupper i tyveårs-alderen havde udstyret sig med MAGA-caps de bar frem, men udtrykkene og måden de opførte sig på, stemte ikke overens med tøjet:

Among them were younger twentysomethings wearing new Trump or MAGA hats, often with the visor in the back, showing no enthusiasm and either looking at the ground, glowering, or holding out their phones with outstretched arms to make videos of as many faces as possible in the crowd.

Some appeared awkward, the way someone’s body language inadvertently shows the world that he feel like he doesn’t fit in. A few seemed to be nursing a deep, churning rage.

They generally covered their faces with cloth masks, as opposed to the pro-Trump people, few of whom wore masks at all. They walked, often hands in pockets, in clusters of perhaps four to six with at least one of them frequently looking behind.

Waller kalder dem ”ikke-tilhørende”, og han mente de var Antifa. Han så dem ikke deltage i aktioner, men mistede dem af syne.

These outliers group looked like trouble. I presumed these fake Trump protesters were Antifa or something similar. However, that entire afternoon I saw none of them act aggressively or cause any problems. At least, not from my vantage point.

Angriberne

Den anden gruppe som skilte sig ud, var unge mænd i nye uniformer. De var åbenlyst godt trænet og bevægede sig på en anden måde end almindelige folk. De var disciplinerede og organiserede.

A second outlier group also stood out. While many marchers wore military camouflage shirts, jackets, or pants of various patterns and states of wear and in all shapes and sizes, here and there one would see people of a different type: Wiry young men in good physical condition dressed neatly in what looked like newer camouflage uniforms with black gear, subdued patches including Punisher skulls, and helmets.

They showed tidiness and discipline. They strode instead of walked, moving at a more rapid pace than most of the people, sometimes breaking into a short jog, and generally keeping to the left side of Constitution Avenue in pairs of two or small groups of three. Unlike others in old military clothes who tended to be affable and talkative, these sullen men seemed not to speak to anyone at all. As we would see, they were the disciplined, uniformed column of attackers.

Waller gik bag en folkemængde han anslår til to–tre tusind mennesker. Langs vejen stod Washington DC-politi. Men da de kom frem til hvor kongrespolitiet har ansvaret, lagde de mærke til en mærkelig ting: Der var ikke noget politi til stede.

When we crossed First Street NW to enter the Capitol grounds where the Capitol Police had jurisdiction, I noticed no police at all. Several marchers expressed surprise.

Waller havde været på samme sted nogle dage i forvejen. Da var man i gang med at rejse stilladser til indsættelsen 20. januar, og området var afspærret. Nu var afspærringerne fjernet, og det var som om de ansvarlige ville sige: Come on in!

Passing by a few days earlier, I had noticed that, with presidential inaugural platform construction underway, the Capitol’s West Front lawn had been blocked off with plastic. On this day, there was no barrier blocking the paved footpath with its high granite curbs on either side leading up the Senate side of the hill. The openness seemed like a courtesy gesture from Congress, which controls security.

Waller og kammeraten lagde mærke til at flagene vajede fra Capitol Hill, hvilket betød at Kongressen var samlet. De vidste at en stor folkemængde skulle samles nedenfor. Alligevel var det næsten ingen security-folk. Det var påfaldende.

Yet no Capitol Police appeared anywhere from what we could see, and I commented on to my companion that it was very strange for there to be no police during a joint session of Congress, with or without a gigantic crowd.

Mængden fulgte efter hinanden og kom frem til pladsen ved bunden af Capitol Hill, hvor podiet for indsættelsen stod færdig. Men ingen politifolk var at se:

No police could be seen on the platform for now. No police could be seen anywhere.

Waller siger Capitol Hill-politiet er specielle. De er vant til at behandle tusindvis af mennesker hver dag. De er gode til at håndtere folk. Men ikke 6. januar.

Normally, the Capitol Police are excellent at communicating with crowds. Not today.

Der begyndte at ske ting oppe foran, og Waller så ikke alt. Han så bare 40–50 Capitol Hill-politi med peberspray. Foran var de udefrakommende uromagere i civilt tøj. Men det var ikke disse politiet skød mod. De skød mod mængden.

For a few seconds I saw what looked like police in a tussle with some of the marchers up front—what appeared to be an organized group in civilian clothes. This organized group are the cell I call the “plainclothes militants.” They fit right in with the MAGA people.

Suddenly energy surged from the front of the crowd as the anti-riot police, above on the inaugural platform, visibly tensed up. Some sighted their pepper ball weapons toward the densely packed people. One fired a teargas canister—not at the plainclothes militants at the front line, but into the crowd itself. Then another. Flash grenades went off in the middle of the crowd.

Waller har set oprørspolitiet i aktion før. Det, som var specielt ved disse, var at de virkede til at være rådvilde, uden ledelse. De vidste ikke hvad de skulle gøre. De var overladt til sig selv.

I had seen anti-riot police in action before. They moved with a decisive sense of purpose. Now, the Capitol Police crew seemed confused, as if without a leader or perhaps inadequate rules of engagement. These professionals seemed directionless. (…)

Most of the police ended up leaving the surreal scene. Nobody could tell why.

Normalt bruger politiet megafoner til at kontrollere folkemængden. Her var der ingenting.

No bullhorn or sound system could be heard for the police to communicate with the swelling mass of people.

Politiet trak sig tilbage, og menneskemængden skød fremad, indtil det kom til en ny konfrontation i fortroppen. Politiet skød tåregas ind i mængden og sårede en pige. Folk blev afsindige.

The police disappeared and a crowd surged up the stairs to the plaza at the Senate entry level. People inside the façade tore through to wave flags. As another canister of tear gas went off, a few people started pushing against the current of incoming marchers to leave the area.

Akkurat der var det, at de professionelle «soldater» tog over og førte an:

Then, a loud, bellowing shout from behind: “Forward! Do not retreat! Forward!”

Retreat? Nobody was retreating. They were trying to escape the tear gas. But the man kept yelling not to “retreat,” as if this were a military operation. In a powerful voice, he exhorted the crowd to remain on the plaza and not to disperse on the lawn or depart down the steps to the footpath. Thousands more people continued pouring in from Constitution Avenue.

Then two other men, standing across from one another on the high granite curbs on either side of the footpath, bellowed variations of “Forward! Don’t you dare retreat!” Some made direct eye contact at people and pointed directly at them, as if trying to psyche them into submitting.

De professionelle opførte sig som om de ledede et angreb.

A third man standing on a chair, also shouting “Forward,” reached down to grab me by the shoulder and barked, “Don’t retreat! Get back up there!” It wasn’t an expression of enthusiasm or solidarity; it sounded like a military order. And it wasn’t from a wild kid; this guy was probably in his 50s. He looked furious with me.

What did he care what I did? What difference would the departure of ten or even a hundred of us make, with so many more surging in. The furious man crouched down and yelled in my face: “We’re going into the Capitol!” I ignored him, broke away, and worked my way down the steps.

Det var først derefter at Waller indså at han havde set en nøje planlagt operation udfolde sig, hvor folkemængden bare var brikker i et spil:

What the barking men were doing didn’t hit me until later, when we found out about the attack: They appeared to be part of an organized cell of agents-provocateurs to corral people as an unwitting follow-on force behind the plainclothes militants tussling with police—but who, we would later learn, were actually breaking into the Capitol beneath the Great Rotunda to storm Congress. It was just before 3 o’clock.

These apparent agents-provocateurs placed hundreds of unsuspecting supporters of the president in physical danger. They attempted to block exits for people seeking to escape tear gas. They endangered vulnerable people, including children, the frail, and the elderly.

They funneled and pushed hundreds if not thousands of innocent people into a crush toward the Capitol. They did so with the goal of forcing those people into a confrontation with federal police defending Congress.

Den såkaldte storm på Kongressen var ikke spontan. Den var deres værk. Nogen med magt.

Waller har arbejdet som ung student i Kongressen. Han kender bygningerne og området ud og ind. Han vidste at det at, storme Kongressen ville være umuligt pga. al sikkerheden. Men han tog fejl. Hvis dem på indenfor var parat til at samarbejde med dem udenfor, var alt mulig.

Having spent decades around the Capitol since my days as a junior Senate and House staffer, and loving the building and its history as one of our greatest national treasures, I was confident that the Capitol would remain safe. But the lack of perimeter police presence, and the confused actions of those firing tear gas, flash grenades, and pepper balls from the presidential swearing-in platform had me thinking that something was wrong at the command level.

Waller stod sammen med kammeraten og undrede sig. Han vidste at det ikke bare var at vandre direkte ind i Kongressen. Men så:

Then, from the north, a column of uniformed, agile younger men walked briskly, single-file, toward the inaugural stand. They came within two feet of me. Their camouflage uniforms were clean, neat, and with a pattern I couldn’t identify.

Some had helmets and GoPro cameras. Some uniforms bore subdued insignia, including the Punisher skull. These were the disciplined, uniformed column of attackers. I had seen them in groups of two or three among the marchers on Connecticut Avenue from the Ellipse.

Now there were a good three dozen of them, moving in a single, snakelike formation. They were organized. They were disciplined. They were prepared.

“We’re taking the Capitol!” the first or second announced.

“You’re gonna get arrested,” someone called out.

“They can arrest some of us, but not all of us,” another member of the uniformed contingent shouted to no one in particular.

Nogle af de almindelige demonstranter slog følge. De blev forledt af de professionelle. Waller og kammeraten bestemte sig for at forlade området. Det føltes ikke trygt. De var i chok over det de så.

We didn’t know what to say or do. It didn’t seem real, but it was. The time was 3:32 p.m. We went home in silence.

 

 

Oversættelse: Karsten Søberg

 

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