This piece by Glenn Greenwald explores how the government is taking over the internet using the same tactics it used to grow the U.S. military into the largest and most aggressive force on the planet.

What Dwight Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex has been feeding itself on fear campaigns since it was born. A never-ending carousel of Menacing Enemies – Communists, Terrorists, Latin American Tyrants, Saddam’s chemical weapons, Iranian mullahs – has sustained it, and Cyber-Threats are but the latest.

Step 1 is fear mongering. This has been in full swing since 2010 and continuously ramping up.

Step 2 is for the government  to saturate the media with reports about how the U.S. must defend itself from the cyber warfare programs of other states even though the U.S. is easily the biggest cyber warfare aggressor.

Step 3 is to get legislation passed that grants the executive branch the powers it needs to exert command control.

Step 4 is to grow the budget for the divisions within the NSA and Pentagon in charge of cyber warfare.

Step 5 is to make sure the government methods, rules, and involvement are secret so it cannot be challenged.

Step 6 is to bring in private sector partners, who have already proven their willingness to sell out their customers for the promise of a big government contract.

All of these steps are already in full swing, ensuring that the kind of popular uprisings we’re seeing in other police states will never happen in this one.