Nate Kunstler was serving breakfast at the retreat centre a week later when the “big cheeses” again wheeled out the big tv to present some news coverage. This time it was about the backlash that happened after the military stepped-in to arrest the President and free the hostages.
A significant number of the hostages had died. Contrary to what the movies show, there is no such thing as a “safe” and “effective” knock-out gas. That’s why there are doctors called “anesthesiologists”--- because it’s very easy to overdose and die if someone isn’t monitoring your vital signs. It’s also why you are asked to fast before surgery, because it’s easy to vomit while under and then choke to death. The commandos knew that carfentanil gas would kill those who didn’t receive a dose of Narcan relatively soon after being incapacitated. So, there were also hostages who choked on their own vomit and a couple with underlying health conditions that resulted in heart attacks. Moreover, some of the Senators, Congressional staffers, reporters, or, pages who had hidden away in an over-looked closet or been among the last ones dragged out by Delta Force who ended up dying because they didn’t get their Narcan soon enough.
This was also why the soldiers hadn’t tried to help any of the occupiers. There simply wasn’t enough time to try to save everyone. The coupe de grâce administered by the commandos was generally unnecessary, as the hostage takers wouldn’t have woken up to cause any problems. The real reason for the bullets to the head was to absolutely ensure there were no survivors to convict, therefore no trial, therefore no media circus. Having been forced to stage a counter coup to stop Blunt from seizing power after losing the election, the military was damned if it was going to give the Republicans any room to maneuver
After the situation had been explained to them, the friends and relatives of the dead hostages tended to say that they thought Delta Force had made the best of a bad situation and placed the deaths of their loved ones at the feet of the “Put America Back On Top” types who’d stormed the Capital in the first place. The families of occupiers generally tended to refuse comment and kept a low profile, mostly out of embarrassment at the behaviour of their dead relations.
When the bodies were being sorted-out, several Republican members of Congress plus more of their staff were found among those who’d been shot and left behind by Delta Force. Most of these people had been found wearing PABOT hats---although one had been a staffer with a confederate flag patch on his jacket. None of them had zip-tied wrists or were otherwise obviously being kept hostage. Two had been recorded giving speeches decrying the “stolen election” and arguing against certifying the new president just before the mob stormed the building.
At this point the real news coverage ended and the usual “talking heads” showed up to pad the time. The tv went black.
Kelly Hughson walked onto the stage with two people that Nate had never seen before and said they were going to brief everyone on what was happening. One was a tall, very thin, elderly black man with a mid-sized, salt-and-pepper “Afro” hairdo. He spoke first.
“The Old Ones have been gathering information across the USA so our in-house experts can analyze it. They’ve come to the conclusion that soon there will be a “blossoming” of radicalization as it sinks in among the right-wing radicals that the armed forces have staged a very effective “counter-coup” against their saviour Norbert Blunt. The prime driver behind this backlash will be a spate of “lone wolf” attacks against whatever target that particular individual decides is important or easy to hit.”
“The theorists have been priming supporters for this behaviour for years. This started when it became obvious that the counter-terrorist security organizations are very good at preventing complex plots before they happen and “rolling-up” organized groups after an event. What they haven’t been able to stop are randomized individuals who act totally on their own. To that end, their propaganda has been aimed at convincing individuals that the best action is for someone deeply committed and has ‘nothing left to lose’ to ‘martyr themselves’ for the cause.”
“Having said that, there are specific types of terror attacks that we can expect won’t be successful. Using hijacked airliners as guided missiles, for example, has been relegated to the past for two reasons. First: reinforced, locked doors were installed in airliners to protect the crew cabin and pilots have been instructed to never allow hijackers to take over a plane no matter what they do. Second: passengers realize that they are doomed if they allow hijackers to take over---which means that since 9-11 every attempt to take over a plane has resulted in the passengers violently assaulting the would-be terrorists and quickly putting them out of action.”
“Unfortunately, what does still work are much simple things---like driving a motor vehicle into a crowd of people. Or taking a firearm into a mosque, nightclub, shopping mall, etc, and shooting everyone in sight. Because of the Republican ‘roll backs’ of the restrictions on gun laws, this has been made even easier by ‘open carry’ laws that have normalized the sight of individuals walking around with military grade weaponry in urban settings.”
The other person in front of the video screen was a short, very white elderly woman with very thick, very long hair that had been put into two thick braids that hung down over her shoulders. She added to what the first man had said: “The big threat that comes from this sort of terrorism aren’t the actual deaths, it’s the emotional backlash that comes from the general public and the politicians that pander to these strong feelings.”
“Osama Bin Ladin was very up front about the goal of 9/11 terror attacks on the US. Primarily, they were designed to goad the Bush administration into large-scale military adventures that would turn the majority of Arab and Islamic people against America. The idea was that this would mobilize large numbers of ordinary Muslims into an international war against modernity. He was remarkably successful.”
“America staggered around the world like a wounded bear. It invaded countries that had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, destabilized the middle East, destroyed the internal unity of their own democratic process, wasted enormous amounts of good will, threw away huge amounts of capital, and, reduced the USA from being the preeminent world power into being just one of several.”
“Probably the worst result of all this is that it served as a huge distraction from the existential threat of runaway climate change. The doomsday clock has been ticking away for decades and we have already wasted far too much time over what future generations will consider an extremely minor issue.”
“With this in mind, the Old Ones have decided that the fundamental focus of our response needs to be one of avoiding future distractions. To that end, we have decided to devote significant resources to fighting a two-pronged struggle against those elements whipping the ‘lone wolves’ into a frenzy and the populist politicians who attempt to use what every outrages happen into an excuse to go into “wounded bear” mode again. We will be asking many of you to help us with your specialized skills in the upcoming months. Be ready.”
The two Elders walked over to a table and started their breakfast like everyone else.
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