Being Woke to the Praetorian Guard, Version 1

This post has since been superseded by Version 2, and a Version 3.

I've just written an epistle or two which I want to save for possible future reference.  Here they are:

My Dear Beloved Friends,

Last night, several of you asked why and how I associate the CIA of 1963 with the CIA of today, with regard to meddling in domestic politics.  Separately, Glenn forwarded us an article four days ago which pondered the question of why Trump voters are still loyal.  And I'm forwarding here my response to an article forwarded by my sister-in-law about taking seriously the possibility of a Trump coup.  The short answers are as follows:

• The CIA is similar to the Praetorian Guard:   Power and ability to spy, using the most advanced tools with an enormous budget, to learn the truth and the secrets and to use any means necessary to "safeguard the realm" form institutions with continuity beyond a single generation.
• Most Trump voters distrust the mainstream media / cultural narrative, and thus support him as a kindred spirit.
• Trump does not have the support of the CIA / military industrial intelligence complex, and thus is unlikely to be successful with respect to a coup.

My longer epistle below provides more flesh to go with these bare bones and, of course, I'm happy to discuss.

Love and hugs,

Dan

313-580-7082 

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Dan Secrest <danielsecrest@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 12, 2020 at 11:52 AM
Subject: Re: The Atlantic: ‘This Must Be Your First’

Hi, ...

Thanks for sharing the article about the possibility of a coup in the United States, led by Donald Trump and his Republican supporters.  Belief in democracy is one of my core values -- and talking with friends and family about politics is basic to democracy.

My take is that most of the coups over my lifetime have been facilitated by the CIA, and the CIA is not on Trump's side.  

The 3 Turkish coups that the author cites were led by U.S. allied military officers trained to put down leftist dissent:

• The 1960 coup was led by a colonel who had been among the first 16 officers trained by the United States in 1948 to form a stay-behind counter-guerrilla force.  At the time of the coup, he explicitly stated his anticommunism and his faith and allegiance to NATO and CENTO, an organization whose goal was to contain the Soviet Union (USSR) by having a line of strong states along the USSR's southwestern frontier.
• The 1971 coup was a crackdown by the military on general disorder, including that of the Workers' Party of Turkey for carrying out communist propaganda and supporting Kurdish separatism.  
• The 1980 coup, which provides the central cautionary tale of the article you forwarded, was led by the commander of  an anti-communist "stay-behind" guerrilla force set up with the support of NATO.

Donald Trump does not have a military background and has not been able to control the CIA during his presidency.  A CIA whistleblower working in the White House developed the case that led to Trump's impeachment: 

Eric Ciaramella, the CIA operative who worked on loan to the White House as a top Ukrainian analyst in the National Security Council, had previously served as an adviser on Ukraine to Vice President Biden.

And it is my strong belief that the Mueller investigation was based upon false reports of Russian collusion invented by U.S./U.K. intelligence assets.  Trump's America first policy was not in line with the consensus U.S. foreign policy and thus he was investigated using tactics that have been all too common throughout my lifetime.

I have recently come to the realization that JFK was assassinated by the CIA.  Here's a good book on the subject: JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters.  I find the evidence overwhelming, and have written about it in some detail in a blog entitled This I Believe.

The CIA seems similar to the Praetorian Guard of the Roman Empire:

The Praetorian Guard was an elite unit of the Imperial Roman army whose members served as personal bodyguards and intelligence for Roman emperors…  the first emperor, Augustus, founded the Guard as his personal security detail. Although they continued to serve in this capacity for roughly three centuries, the Guard became notable for its intrigue and interference in Roman politics, to the point of overthrowing emperors and proclaiming their successors.
Power and ability to spy, using most advanced tools with an enormous budget, to learn the truth and the secrets and to use any means necessary to "safeguard the realm" form institutions with continuity beyond a single generation.

The CIA and its sister intelligence agencies have been leaking information to the mainstream media.  Thus, we went to war in Iraq in 2003, destroying large swathes of the Middle East.  Thus, Russia was used as a scapegoat for Trump's victory in 2016.  

I am a firm believer that the Republican party is responsible for the dire situation today.  They have been much closer to the military-industrial complex over the decades, and I can't blame the Democrats for wanting to enlist some of that power on their side.  But I do disagree with the specifics employed, including the scapegoating of Russia and leftists.  We need to be WOKE to the power behind the news as reported by The Atlantic, The New York Times, NBC, etc. 

With love,

Dan

313-580-7082