Socialist Action /April 1999
Marine 'Urban Warriors' Meet Bay Area Protests
OAKLAND, Calif.-Under the guise of providing "humanitarian aid and
disaster relief" to the beleaguered masses, the U.S. Navy and Marine
Corps "Urban Warriors" sailed, hovercrafted, and humveed themselves
into the San Francisco Bay Area March 15-21.
They planned to "penetrate, thrust, and swarm" into the "urban
littorals" of Oakland's Oak Knoll Hospital and the former Alameda Naval
Air Station in war games designed to train U.S. soldiers in the art of eliminating
local hostile elements in the event of possible future social unrest.
According to Urban Warrior strategists, over 70 percent of the world's
population will be congregated in cities close to large bodies of water
by the year 2025-cities containing "all the ingredients for conflict."
"Many areas will have scarce resources, including the most basic
ones like food and shelter. As populations grow and resources shrink even
further, the chances for conflict will naturally grow with it."
The war exercise was originally slated to take place on the shores of
San Francisco's historic Presidio Army Base, but it was cancelled after
objections by environmental groups and the National Park Service.
Later, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown took the Marine Corps' bait when the
promise of an infusion of approximately $4.5 million into the local economy
was dangled in front of his eyes.
In spite of weeks of organized protests by local activists, a few city
council members, and the birth of the Coalition Against Urban Warrior-as
well as a takeover of the Oakland mayor's City Hall office by a group of
local high school students, which resulted in about 20 arrests-the exercises
commenced as scheduled.
The Marines held a week-long military warfest in the Oakland area, which
included some 14 waves of hovercraft landings, 40 aircraft overflights,
and the detonation of 60 "flashbang" grenades and 24,000 rounds
of extremely loud machine gun fire.
The public was invited to observe the daily events, which finally culminated
in a gala event at Jack London Square on the Oakland waterfront, complete
with Marine Marching Band, Precision Military Drill Team, U.S. Armed Forces
recruitment booths, and a multi-billion-dollar, protester-dubbed "Weapons
Petting Zoo"!
But no word yet has come of the military's making good on its promise
of a $4.5 million boost to downtown Oakland's economy.
-WILLIAM WOLFE
Visit the Coalition Against Urban Warrior on the web: http://www.sirius.com/~marcel
lo /cauw.htm.
Socialist Action /April 1999 |