Conspiracy Theories

Jesse Walker and Chris Hayes Discuss Jade Helm 15

On MSNBC's All In

|

Large image on homepages

Last night I appeared on Chris Hayes' show on MSNBC to talk about the Jade Helm 15 training exercise and the conspiracy theories that have cropped up around it. (My part of the segment starts at the 8:42 mark.)

For more from me on Jade Helm, go here and here.

NEXT: Baylen Linnekin on Austin's Regulatory Assault on Barbecue Joints

Books Editor Jesse Walker is the author of Rebels on the Air and The United States of Paranoia.

Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Report abuses.

  1. AlmightyJB
    May.9.2015 at 10:35 am

    I am prettt sure if you click that, the Illuminati is notified.

  2. R C Dean
    May.9.2015 at 11:35 am

    I do find it odd, among other odd features of Jade Helm, that the FBI and the DEA are specifically called out as “agency partners.”

    Now, if this really is supposed to be training for overseas ops, what the heck are the FBI and DEA doing in the mix?

    There’s a lot about this that is odd. It may just be (probably is) an unholy concatenation of agency overreach, but frankly I think that’s the best possible explanation. And if so, it deserves to be viewed with intense scrutiny, at the very least.

    1. Crusty Juggler
      May.9.2015 at 11:49 am

      The FBI is too busy being overwhelmed by homegrown terrorists, so it is logical that they would assist Special Operations in simulated overseas training exercise.

    2. C. S. P. Schofield
      May.9.2015 at 12:02 pm

      Hey, maybe the professionalism of the military will rub off some on the stogies of the FBI and DEA.

      Awfully hard to be an arrogant “you can’t teach me anything” prick when the instructor is carrying full battle rattle?..

      Frankly, I suspect that the FBI and DEA are being put in close proximity to the military in an effort to smoke out cases of rampant wrongthink. You know, soldiers who think Obama is a putz, or that the War On Drugs is a colossal waste of time and resources.

  3. Lady Bertrum
    May.9.2015 at 11:54 am

    Weird – Hayes’ attitude I mean.

    The left usually has a healthy suspicion of the military, but here he’s completely contemptuous of the same feelings because it comes from the right.

    Another opportunity to point his finger and laugh at paranoid wingnuts, I guess. If the military was planning exercises in an urban environment like, say, St. Louis or Cleveland and the locals voiced suspicion or opposition I’m sure he’d be sympathetic.

    And this is why it’s so difficult to take the progressive left seriously. Even when they’re mostly right on an issue, their obvious double standards and classism makes them intellectually dishonest.

    1. PapayaSF
      May.9.2015 at 12:40 pm

      I think a big part of this is Obama. If this were happening under a Republican, the left would be having the conspiracy theories.

      1. juris imprudent
        May.9.2015 at 5:14 pm

        TEAM! TEAM! TEAM! TEAM! TEAM!

  4. jdgalt
    May.9.2015 at 1:29 pm

    Whether the specifics of this conspiracy theory are true or not, that part of the country has had recent experiences that really do justify it, such as the National Guard wrongfully seizing people’s guns in New Orleans after Katrina. I have no issue with any community making sure that can’t happen again.

  5. pukelsheim
    May.9.2015 at 2:20 pm

    I make up to $90 an hour working from my home. My story is that I quit working at Walmart to work online and with a little effort I easily bring in around $40h to $86h? Someone was good to me by sharing this link with me, so now i am hoping i could help someone else out there by sharing this link… Try it, you won’t regret it!……
    http://www.work-cash.com

Please to post comments

Comments are closed.