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Fools abound





Is it me, but do the people in this story exceptionally dim:



Despite a recent "shoot-to-kill" warning from the military, anti-war protesters are planning to infiltrate the coastal property of Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Barbara soon.



[...]



"The only time a law-enforcement official should shoot is when his life is in danger," [Elden "Bud"] Boothe said. "We are in the peace movement. We are not going to endanger anyone. . . . I suppose they could shoot you, but they would be doing it illegally. But that doesn't help you if you're dead."



Vandenberg security officials recently warned protesters about its policy of using "deadly force" to take out trespassers who may endanger equipment or personnel. The base, which does not have a fence around it, covers 99,000 acres along the California coast near Santa Barbara.



Lt. Kelly Gabel, a spokeswoman for the base, said the deadly force policy is standard for all U.S. military bases, but the warning for Vandenberg protesters was made after officials heard about possible "backcountry incursions."



Previous Vandenberg trespassers have been corralled and arrested in an almost scripted manner. But in the post-Sept. 11 world, Gabel said, someone walking cross country toward a military base with a backpack "takes on new meaning."



"A backpack could be a bomb or a chemical agent," Gabel said. "We simply do not know what the intentions are when someone breaks into our property. Our security forces will take the minimum force necessary, including up to deadly force, to protect the property and personnel here."



Gabel said the security forces are "not trigger happy" but warned that "there is a potential for danger here."
It's a military base, "Bud"! (And given that he's a WW2 vet, he should know what that means.) It's not "law enforcement," it's "base security," and you're violating it.

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