Iowa National Guard To Search For Firearms Dealer

You might expect something like this in Chicago, with its political machine, but in the country's heartland?

The Iowa National Guard is going to hold a 3 day exercise by invading Arcadia, Iowa and get "training" in using urban military operations. This military maneuver
is bound to raise many eyebrows.

The ostensible purpose of the Guardsmen's training mission which will happen April 2nd through 4th, is to gather intelligence, and then search for, locate, and "arrest" a person suspected of being an "illegal weapons dealer."

The weekend "drill" will include military convoys into Arcadia, reconnaissance missions, street patrol, roadblocks, voluntary searches, and house to house questioning of cooperating participating Arcadians.
The national Guard will also use a Blackhawk helicopter to command and control from overhead. There may be simluated helicopter medical evacuations.

The "drill" will end, of course, when the suspected arms dealer suspect is arrested, just like in the movies where the "good guys" always win in the end.

This looks and sounds suspiciously like domestic street sweeping training for military law enforcement, illegal in the United States. Training like this regularly takes place, but it is normally held in areas on military bases.
Wouldn't it be interesting if some of the "cooperating" citizens gave the military false and misleading information to send them on a wild goose chase. It would certainly add some realism to the exercise.

Attorney General Holder and his cronies will undoubtedly take a keen interest in this Urban military street maneuver. This "drill" is a not so subtle poke at the "Posse Comitatus" Act, which was meant to curb power of the Federal Government in using the US Military for law enforcement here in the states.

Illegal weapons sales within the United States can be violations of both federal and state laws. Enforcement and jurisdiction for this type of law breaking is restricted solely to state and federal sworn law enforcement agencies.

In the political climate of today, it is interesting that this "drill" targets a seller of arms, and not a scimitar toting fanatical mid east terrorist. No wonder red flags go up, and there is citizen concern and harsh criticism when exercises of this type are executed in any US city. This whole military exercise smells worse than road kill.

Such training is at the least, misguided. Troop convoys, Military roadblocks, house to house questioning, searches, and a military armed show of force for a State or Federal lawbreaker appear eerily ominous, especially in a training mission.