Chuck Norris, Texas ranger and roundhouse kick extraordinaire, has been very involved in U.S. politics over the last decade. With issue like the Cliven Bundy stand-off against a heavily armed Bureau of Land Management around this time last year, many Americans have been concerned about the U.S. government’s potentially unconstitutional use of land. So, it should come as no surprise that a purported military training exercise titled Jade Helm 15, would cause a stir.
As the Inquisitr has reported, Ted Cruz has already weighed in on U.S. citizen’s concern, but now the issue has fallen into the cross-hairs of everybody’s favorite internet meme Chuck Norris. Norris is a writer for the conservative-leaning World Net Daily , where he has expressed his concern about the Jade Helm 15 military exercises turning into a government occupation of Texas, reports Talking Points Memo.
“The US government says, ‘It’s just a training exercise’, but I’m not sure the term ‘just’ has any reference to reality when the government uses it. Whatever Jade Helm 15 actually is, I think it is more than coincidental that the FBI director just confessed in February that the presence of ISIS can be felt in all 50 states of the U.S. and that the Pentagon is suddenly running its biggest military training exercise with every branch of the military across seven Southwestern states.”
According to the Guardian, Jade Helm 15 is a U.S. military “realistic training exercise” that spans six to nine states that include California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida are included in some reports. Colorado was on the list at some point, but reports indicate they “opted out”. Information regarding Jade Helm 15 had the states of Utah, Texas, and California listed as hostile, which sparked outrage across the internet.
According to Austin-American Statesman , Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the state’s National Guard to monitor the exercises. Chuck Norris has praised Abbott and Cruz for their decision to question Jade Helm 15.
“I’m glad … Ted Cruz is asking the tough questions of the Pentagon. Particularly because its ‘exercises’ come too near to my ranch’s backdoor as well, at least according to the map. It’s pretty sad and bad when major military ops are ordered in a large, fiery state like Texas and not even the governor or its senators know the specifics.”
Abbott has faced fiery criticism, complete with name-calling, for his decision to look into the matter. However, Abbott characterized his role on the monitoring of Jade Helm 15 in his state as simply being a facilitator of information between Governor of Texas and his citizens.
“It is clear that people in Bastrop had questions, it’s clear from the questions I have received in my office that people have questions about it, and as governor and as government, I think we have an obligation to answer questions of citizens. And, by us working with the Special Operations Forces, we are able to provide information to citizens who were concerned about it.”
Whatever is going on with Jade Helm 15, hopefully more governors are as apt as Abbott in their states to keep the public well-informed. For now, it does not seem like that is the case.
[Image Via Creative Commons/ Flickr ]