Some readers may not be familiar with the term "color revolution". American Thinker outlined the concept in an article last December.
A“color revolution” ... is a modern form of orchestrated political upheaval designed to replace an existing government without traditional military invasion or civil war ... These operations follow a remarkably consistent playbook, refined over two decades by Western NGOs, intelligence-linked foundations, and State Department-affiliated entities (Open Society Foundations, USAID, etc.).
Authors describe seven stages of a color revolution. The stages include these tactics, which I’ll list in approximate chronological order:
- Portray the target government as illegitimate, authoritarian, corrupt, or “fascist.”
- Front-load allegations: accuse incumbent of planning the crimes the opposition intends to commit (rigging, regression, dictatorship).
- Fund and train NGOs, student groups, and opposition politicians to repeat a unified message.
- Create/amplify a unifying symbol or theme (e.g., Orange Man Bad).
- Manufacture an electoral crisis.
- Street mobilization.
- Public appeals to and moral blackmail of the military and police: “You’re with the people, not the regime.”
- Promises of immunity, future positions for defectors.
- Threats to those who support target government.
- Provoke a response, flood media with images of “peaceful protesters” being attacked.
- International legitimation as foreign governments and media recognizes opposition leaders as “legitimate” authority.
- Sanctions, frozen assets, diplomatic isolation applied to sitting government.
- New elections scheduled under international supervision.
There's more at the link. Notable examples of color revolutions may be found in the so-called "Arab Spring" uprisings, the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia in 2003, the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine in 2004/5, and a number of others. Not all of the factors listed above were present in all the color revolutions, but most of them made multiple appearances.
A noteworthy common factor is that external (i.e. foreign) non-governmental organizations (NGO's) were involved in organizing and supporting almost all color revolutions over the past two to three decades. Most of those NGO's were left-wing or progressive in orientation, and appear again and again in multiple uprisings. Keep that in mind as we consider the current uprisings in Minneapolis and Minnesota.
The situation in Minneapolis right now is clearly an organized uprising against the enforcement of US immigration law by ICE. It shows many of the signs of a typical color revolution in the making. It is not random or haphazard: it is professionally planned and executed, and run very like a military operation by its organizers. As evidence, consider:
- The far-left network that helped put Alex Pretti in harm's way, then made him a martyr
- "What’s unfolding in Minneapolis right now isn’t 'protest'. It’s low-level insurgency infrastructure, built by people who’ve clearly studied the playbook."
- "Look at the training 'MN Ice Watch' (which Renee Good belonged to) gives"
- Left-Wing Activists Run Shadow Police Force On Signal To Target ICE In Minneapolis
- What The Left Doesn't Want You To Know About Alex Pretti, The Man That Border Patrol Shot
I could post many similar links, but those above contain all the important information you'll need to make your own judgment. If you're in any doubt about what I say here, follow them for yourself and learn the truth.
Next, keep in mind that violence against ICE is not widespread. As Kevin Bass points out (his methodology is here), a mere nine counties (out of 3,143 in the entire USA!) have produced two-thirds of all such incidents over the past year. Click the image below for a larger view.
That's hardly the widespread violence and unrest that the progressive left (and its lackeys in the mainstream news media) are trying to portray, is it? That shows very clearly where the left is most organized and active. However, they're bringing activists into those places from all over the country, not just to help their protests, but to learn from them how to do it and then "export" similar unrest to other cities around America. Be prepared for that.
It's also clear that the anti-ICE demonstrations are attempting to divert attention away from the massive fraud uncovered in Minnesota's Somali community, and in which a large number of Minnesota's political figures are apparently implicated. Prof. Glenn Reynolds says this.
The state’s Democratic political machine is reacting like a spooked squid to revelations that the machine and its clients are complicit in multi-billion-dollar frauds against the federal government.
And the “ink” being squirted is the not-at-all spontaneous wave of riots erupting against federal authorities in Minneapolis.
. . .
The House Oversight Committee this month found that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison were not innocent bystanders to the fraud, but actually took part in the cover-up, taking active steps to silence whistleblowers.
And it all centered on communities of illegal immigrants and refugees, some of whose members siphoned money from federal taxpayers and in turn gave campaign contributions and political support to state Democrats — a self-licking ice cream cone of graft.
. . .
These are not spontaneous uprisings of the aggrieved, but organized actions featuring out-of-state actors and organizations, detailed training programs for demonstrators, and large amounts of intentionally murky funding from organizations like Indivisible, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and others.
They’re coordinating their anti-ICE operations — identifying, chasing and blocking agents to keep them from arresting illegal-immigrant criminals — through highly organized chat groups on Signal, a secure communications platform, Fox News reported.
And Minnesota government officials are proudly touting their involvement in this coordination ... That’s making these often violent, deliberately obstructive demonstrations look less like a civil rights sit-in and more like a government-backed insurrection.
. . .
Whatever investigators determine about how Pretti’s death unfolded, the fact remains that a cynical and corrupt political machine has fostered for its own purposes a situation that’s dangerous for its own supporters, and for the political future of our nation.
There's more at the link.
As a human being, I'm deeply saddened by the deaths of Renée Good and Alexander Pretti in Minneapolis. May their sins be forgiven them, and may they rest in peace: and may their families receive what comfort is possible.
HOWEVER . . .
Let us not forget that both died while actively interfering with law enforcement personnel in the execution of their duties, in situations where tempers and emotions were running high, and where misunderstandings in the heat of the moment could readily be foreseen and expected. In both shootings, it is possible that the law enforcement officers concerned over-reacted to visual stimuli that - under the stress and tension of the circumstances - they did not have time to adequately process. On the other hand, the actions of the victims actively contributed to that stress and tension, and therefore they were at the very least not blameless in their deaths.
It is also possible - although yet to be determined by legal process - that the shootings were justifiable under the laws and jurisprudence governing the conduct of the law enforcement personnel concerned. Until all the facts emerge, and can be evaluated by competent authorities and ruled upon in court, I won't attempt to assign blame. I could wish that others would be slower to judge, and be willing to wait for all the facts to come out. By failing to do so, they're inciting and inviting further violence and bloodshed - which is, of course, exactly what some of them appear to want.
What is now effectively beyond doubt is that both Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti died as part of an uprising against the constitution and laws of the United States of America. It's no good denying that - the evidence (as cited and provided above) is clear. The ultimate responsibility for their deaths sits squarely at the door of those who planned, instigated and organized this unrest. I can only hope that they will be called to account for it.
Peter
