American Internment Camps?

Paranoids and conspiratorialists have been ranting about the alleged internment camps that FEMA has around the country. Of course, most of us have written this off as the ravings of the lunatic fringe. (Right?)

Well, now it seems that the Idaho Observer has uncovered a photo of just such a camp built by a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company that has made huge profits from our wars in the Middle East. The article that accompanies the photo states:

But, on March 28, 2009, the satellite image at right of the "Swift Luck Greens" facility in central Wyoming was "accidentally" made available by the Department of Homeland Security and pulled down within an hour. Several other images are also available and can be found with a simple Google search.

If you still doubt the existence of such camps, you might want to check out Army Regulation 210-35 (January, 2005). The summary states:

This regulation provides guidance for establishing and managing civilian inmate labor programs on Army installations. It provides guidance on establishing prison camps on Army installations. It addresses recordkeeping and reporting incidents related to the Civilian Inmate Labor Program and/or prison camp administration.

Do not think that this regulation is for overseas internment camps. The regulation's statement of purpose makes it clear:

This regulation provides Army policy and guidance for establishing civilian inmate labor programs and civilian prison camps on Army installations. Sources of civilian inmate labor are limited to on– and off–post Federal corrections facilities, State and/or local corrections facilities operating from on–post prison camps pursuant to leases under Section 2667, Title 10, United States Code (10 USC 2667), and off–post State corrections facilities participating in the demonstration project authorized under Section 1065, Public Law (PL) 103–337. Otherwise, State and/or local inmate labor from off–post corrections facilities is currently excluded from this program.

Why is does the army concern itself with preparation for camps full of civilians? What kind of explosion in the number of detainees would make such facilities necessary?

Former presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin echoes that last question in his article, "Why Are Internment Camps Being Built?"

This post is already too long, but I will include a video of an AMTRACK facility in Beach Grove, Indiana. View it and decide for yourself if it's really there just to repair broken trains.