Currently unfolding training exercise Kiwi Koru 1200 soldiersyears including 109 US Marines training here conducting a counter terrorism exercise the same weekend as thousands marched up down the country in protest of the US proposed TPPA treaty a document which if singed will allow multinationals to force our goverment to honour their right to make a profit regardless of what this does to our workers safety, workers rights, the environment, or the terms of the 1984 Bill of rights which become secondary to the right of a corporation right to make a dollar. A couple of points worth noting here. 1. The media has largely made no mention of this exercise with the exception to date of one story in stuff and one story on radio NZ (which stuff largely plagerized). This has also being the case in Southern Katipo (top right) where the existence of US forces in the exercise was in fact left out of the media narrative. 2. Radio NZ uses the term the regular fixture to make it sound like this is quite normal. The reality is until pre ANZUS we had no troops training here for over a decade for this to suddenly happen with out public consultation or public debate in relation to our stand on ANZUS and to think this is not news worthy is disingenous and frankly it omission simply adds to my cyncial view on these exercises and their worth to NZ. 3. If we hold this in context with the the John Campbells report on the US is sudden interest in NZ, including sending down senior personal from Defence and Energy industry this year, combined with the vigor they pushed John Key into a military alliance against Isis and the new security laws then we should all be worried this is the stuff of Sleeping Dogs people. This with standing the fact the Leon Panetta, the US Secretary of Defence, has already said the US would like to station troops here permanently.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 03:35:18 +0000
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