Clergy response team
There have been reports that the Bush II administration plans to use, in the event that Bush declares martial law, what they apparently call clergy response teams to go door to door in an effort to calm citizens and encourage them to cooperate with the government.
As sinister as this sounds, we have not been able to find more than one source for this – a report from KSLA-TV of Shreveport, Louisiana; all the other reports reference either this link, or a White House document which does not confirm it without a very heavy-handed reading between the lines.
We are currently seeking more information about this supposed initiative.
Links
- 2007-08-26 Government training clergy to "quell dissent"
- 2007-08-23 Homeland Security Enlists Clergy to Quell Public Unrest if Martial Law Ever Declared, KSLA-TV
- 2007-08-22 White House Web Page Confirms Martial Law "Clergy Response Team" Program: claims that a White House document confirms the initiative, but I don't see this. There are elements in common, but nothing is mentioned about the clergy encouraging citizens to comply with government instructions
- 2007-08-17 'Clergy Response Teams' Pave The Way For Martial Law By Collecting Weapons In Church
- 2007-08-16
There is some question about the date of the KSLA report; KSLA's site gives the date as 2007-08-23, but other pages reference it as early as 2007-08-16. Possibly the TV report happened on the 16th and the web page was only posted on the 23rd?