The People's Militia - An Exercise in Sanity

Even a cursory look into world affairs shows that quite a few groups have resorted to an age old technique to address problems in their universe. For hundreds, if not thousands of years, leaders of various groups gathered about them men and materials capable of doing their bidding – whatever that was.

Romans employed mercenaries to fight their battles, and keep the rabble in check through out the world. Sulla and Pompey come to mind as they maintained large “armies” loyal to them. One reason Sulla was so successful was the fact that his militia kept Rome’s politicians in check. There were disadvantages – not necessarily to Sulla - to this method of maintaining the status quo. Sulla marched on Rome, became a Dictator for life and impaled the heads of his enemies on pikes lining the way to the Senate.

Lately we have seen the resurgence of militia – armies by another name - in many Muslim countries. The al-Mehdi militia of the Shia Hojetoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr in Iraq is often in the news for the murder and mayhem it causes to both American troops, and Iraqi citizens. The Somali Islamic Militia is bent on killing anyone who does not agree with them.

Hezbollah, the surrogate Iranian terror militia, makes headlines everyday, as the body count of their intifada radiates throughout Israel. They have perfected killing by teaming up with Iran and Syria in an international tag team match aimed at the destruction of Israel, and eventually all Christian territories and nations.

What do all these militia have in common? They are not nation states, nor do they formally represent nation states. They are not armies in the sense of a national army. They are rogue groups whose mission in life is destroying those who do not think like them, feel like them or worship like them. They act outside of government oversight even though in many cases they are financed by governments. They are the “made men” of Islam. They are killers, and must be eliminated by any means available, and soon.

So how do in the United States deal with Militia that cause death and destruction? We do this in various ways. Police target the leaders of drug cartels, the mob bosses, and the gang leaders in order to break up the organization. Throughout history, a tactic in wars has been to kill the leader of a command and control center, thus effectively cutting off the leadership. The best thing about this approach is that it works.

Perhaps when we deal with Islamofascist Militia we need to take a page from the book used in the Mid-East. Saudi Arabian criminal law allows victims of a crime to determine the punishment for the crime against them. In Saudi Arabia, if a member of your family is murdered by someone, you get the opportunity to either murder him, or suggest how you would like the punishment to be meted out. Suppose we use this method to deal with the Hezbollah Militia. They targeted Israel and its cities, and in return Israel bombs them. It may be more effective to target the individual responsible for the decision to bomb Israeli cities, rather than bomb entire cities in attempts to kill the leaders. Using the Saudi model, we would simply be choosing the means to punish whoever perpetrated the war, or terrorist act. One choice would be to remove the leadership in a clean, personal, surgical strike. That is cost effective, saves lives, and is relatively safe for the operatives who are chosen to carry out this task. All we need are politicians and leaders who see that the best way to kill a snake is to behead it rather than try to train it.

So, should our goal be to eliminate all militia? Not so fast, as there may be a place in the world for militia. Militia seem to form whenever the government under which people live either ignores citizen’s problems, makes problems worse, or supports another group that does the same. Most of the time, when that happens in America, we usually bitch to a friend, wife or colleague, and move on to the next thing we must address. Foolishly, we toil on hoping for a better outcome next time, but usually we do nothing. It is the author’s position that the time for doing nothing is past. .

There already are militias in the United States. Some are not called Militia, they are called Gangs. In part, Gangs form because they have no avenue to redress grievances other than violence. They organize along quasi military lines, have a command and control organization, and specific objectives. Their actions to address grievances may not be reasonable from many perspectives. That is beside the point. The point is that Gangs act like Militia, and they get the job done. They are often crude, but quite effective. Can we take a page or two from their book? Why not?

How many times have we felt impotent in the face of bureaucratic incompetence? How many times have we sat around with friends and loved ones, and wondered what, if anything, we could do to effect change in government agencies that do nothing to improve our lives? Many of us have felt the bludgeoning done by Town Councils, County Supervisors, Selectmen, City Planners, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Fire Marshal, and the State Department of This and That. Others, millions in fact, are frustrated by rampant, and seemingly unsolvable, problems such as illegal immigration, a problem basically ignored by pandering politicians. Only a militia – The Minutemen – has had the courage to take on both the politicians and the INS.

There may be a solution – Form a new American Militia that operates on a variety of levels. It is possible for a citizen’s militia to stop a Supervisor or Selectman from promulgation law and regulation that only burden people – organize and show up at meetings. What if, the EPA had to face an angry citizen militia whenever they declared a “crooked tailed ergot” as an endangered species? What if retribution for that act was not far away? What if City Planners tried to stop a necessary shopping mall, church or park, when the citizenry wanted it, and as a result were faced with an angry militia? What if the militia were organized in such a way that they had a chain of command, monitored events in an area, had a budget, and refused to allow their area to be overrun by anyone who did not have their best interests at hand?

More importantly, what if we had a voice in important of issues of the day, like the security of America? What if we had been able to discuss the Israeli-Hezbollah-Iran conflict with our representatives, as well as the State Department and told them not to cave, not to give in to world pressure? What if millions of Americans from a variety of states participated in a message that says “not over our dead bodies” will you empower Hezbollah, and do so in conjunction with the morally bankrupt United Nations. What if Iran knew that there were millions of Americans ready to vote “YES” to blowing its nuclear facilities sky high if Iran does not comport with international will in this matter?

Anarchy some may say, Not in America! Why not? We don’t have to resort to drive by shootings, car bombs, or suicide bombers. No we don’t – at least not yet. We can, however, euphemistically tar and feather someone. While we cannot take a liberal Politician, lock him in a room, and not let him leave until all have had a chance to voice their free speech imperative, we can attack him with our pens and computers. We also organize and gather in large numbers at meetings, rabble rouse, disrupt, and act just like Liberal Activists.

So what can we do to develop a type of Militia that effectively addresses government? How do we demand law and regulation that makes sense, understands the dangerous world we live in, and places the nation’s safety above political aspirations, recognizes who our friends are and deals effectively with our enemies? Many are fed up with the political correctness that catalyzes congressional actions, and the lack of moral clarity that seems to permeate both the Senate and the Congress. So why not declare Political Correctness (PA) DOA?

Most Americans know that the latest threats from radical Muslims are very real, but how much has been done about it? If our politicians are locked in mortal combat with each other, how do we get their attention and remind them that the threats are real, and we don’t give a damn about their posturing. We want a plan that says “If Iran does X we do Y, and we do it in Z minutes.” We want to profile anyone who may enjoy killing Americans, and do not give a damn if certain groups call us racists because of it. I think it safe to say that most of us would rather be called a racist, and be safe, than to keep quiet, close our eyes, and be dead.

How do we get that message to our representatives? Anyone who has tried to contact their Congressman or Senator, at either State of Federal levels knows how impossible that has become. The usual reply is a “Thank you for your correspondence … We enjoy hearing from you … etc, etc, etc. ….” , and nothing happens. We curse and wonder why we wasted the time to write. One of the latest examples of the incredible hubris demonstrated by our elected officials is their absolute unwillingness to listen to citizens, and to respond to the concerns about illegal immigration. Basically the responses demonstrate the politicians’ interests, and their take on the matter. Somewhere in the response is the intimation that we just don’t get it, and should not even try to understand the complexity of this, or frankly any other issue, so stop bothering them.

This is only one example that reflects the reality that our politicians no longer represent us. They represent themselves. What would happen if an organized group of citizens descended on them, tied up their U.S Mail, email accounts and Internet web sites, demanding that the issue at hand, whatever it is, be resolved in a manner that pleases the citizenry?

One way is to develop our own gang. That gang would be a militia, a solid American Citizen Militia (ACM) that takes as its modus operandi the concept that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Would that we could have a few million subscribers at a $2.00 each membership? Would that they were localized in each Congressional and Senatorial district? Would that there was a Blog and Web Site that constantly hectored all the politicians in the United States, the Liberal Media, the United Nations and whoever needed to be set straight, and never let up? Could there be? Why not?

The technology is there, computers, as well as the appropriate software abound. Mass e-mailings, coupled to media presentations, both the main stream and alternative media, and print outlets can be used. Can we do it? Did the Founding Fathers do it? Did the Constitutional Congress do it? Did the North defeat the South? Did the Yankees ever beat the Red Sox? Did Reagan beat the Evil Empire? To all of these we say “YES”. We can do it – The new American Citizen Militia. Get out your pens, and prepare to use them!

There is no other choice…..


Jerry De Angelis
August, 2006