Global Research, March 21, 2007
"Paradoxically, preserving liberty may require the rule of a single leader--a dictator--willing to use those dreaded 'extraordinary measures,' which few know how, or are willing, to employ." -- Michael Ledeen, White House advisor and fellow of the American Enterprise Institute, "Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli's Iron Rules Are As Timely and Important Today As Five Centuries Ago"
"Gen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government." -- NewsMax, November 21, 2003
In October 2006, Bush signed into law the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. Quietly slipped into the law at the last minute, at the request of the Bush administration, were sections changing important legal principles, dating back 200 years, which limit the U.S. government's ability to use the military to intervene in domestic affairs. These changes would allow Bush, whenever he thinks it necessary, to institute martial law--under which the military takes direct control over civilian administration.
Sec. 1042 of the Act, "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," effectively overturns what is known as posse comitatus. The Posse Comitatus Act is a law, passed in 1878, that prohibits the use of the regular military within the U.S. borders. The original passage of the Posse Comitatus Act was a very reactionary move that sealed the betrayal of Black people after the Civil War and brought the period of Reconstruction to an end. It decreed that federal troops could no longer be used inside the former Confederate states to enforce the new legal rights of Black people. Black people were turned over to the armed police and Klansmen serving the southern plantation owners, and the long period of Jim Crow began.
During the 20th century, posse comitatus objectively started to play a new role within the bourgeois democratic framework: as a legal barrier to the direct influence of the powerful military establishment and the armed forces over domestic U.S. society. It served to some degree as an obstacle against military coups and presidents seizing military control over the country. (However, National Guard troops have been legally available to the ruling class for use inside the U.S., and there have been other loopholes to the prohibition of the use of armed forces domestically, as in the mobilization of Marine troops during the 1992 L.A. Rebellion.)
So the changes to posse comitatus signed into law by Bush are extremely significant and ominous. Bush has modified the main exemptions to posse comitatus that up to now have been primarily defined by the Insurrection Act of 1807. Previously the president could call out the army in the United States only in cases of insurrection or conditions where "rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State or Territory by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings." Under the new law the president can use the military in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or "other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."
The new law requires the President to notify Congress "as soon as practicable after the determination and every 14 days thereafter during the duration of the exercise of the authority." However Bush, as he has often done during his presidency, modified this requirement in his signing statement, which declared, "The executive branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the President's constitutional authority to withhold information the disclosure of which could impair foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive." In other words, Bush claims that he does not even need to inform Congress that martial law has been declared!
Changing Role of Military Within the U.S.
This major change in the criteria under which martial law can be declared is a continuation of a process, begun after 9/11, to dismantle legal barriers to unrestrained executive, presidential powers.
In 2002, the government created the new Northern Command. This is the first time since the Civil War that the U.S. military has been given an operational command inside the continental United States.
In 2005, the Washington Post reported that Northcom had developed battle plans for martial law in the U.S. One secret document, CONPLAN 2005, envisions 15 different scenarios where these plans could go into effect.
The U.S. has also used natural disasters like Katrina to push for an increased role for the military. According to the Washington Post, Bush advisor Karl Rove told the governor of Louisiana that she should explore legal options to impose martial law "or as close as we can get."
Spying by the military against U.S. persons, also supposedly prohibited, has greatly expanded in recent years. Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) was created in 2002 supposedly to evaluate threats against Department of Defense installations. However, a secret 400-page document obtained by MSNBC revealed that CIFA had spied on more than 1500 "suspicious incidents" during a ten-month period, including a meeting of Quakers to plan a protest of military recruiting at local high schools and an anti-war protest in Los Angeles.
James Risen has exposed in the New York Times and in his book State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration that the National Security Agency, which is under the Department of Defense, has been used in a massive campaign of illegal spying of U.S. citizens, including tapping phone calls and monitoring bank and financial records and the internet. (See Revolution #35, "Spies, Lies, Thugs and Torture.")
In 2006, the Military Commissions Act was passed which, in addition to legalizing torture, allows the president and military courts to declare anyone an enemy combatant without basic civil rights like habeas corpus.
Plans for massive detention centers are already being prepared. Pacific News Service reported that in early 2006, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) received a $385 million contract from the Department of Homeland Security to build detention and processing facilities to be used "in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S. or to support the rapid development of new programs."
Would They Really Go That Far?
The Bush Regime's preparations for martial law are part of an extreme agenda. This is a regime that is setting out to create a world empire that is unchallenged and unchallengeable and has embarked on an endless war to bring this about. Along with this, they aim to restructure social relations in the U.S., doing away with many of the social and economic institutions that have characterized U.S. society since World War 2. Because of this extreme agenda, the Bush regime takes very seriously the possibility of jolts and ruptures and resistance and are preparing very extreme measures to deal with this.
On February 27, 1933, a fire broke out in the Reichstag (government) building in Germany. The next day Hitler and his Minister of the Interior Hermann Goering drafted the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and gave the central government total power. The decree was signed into law within days. After that point, opposition to Hitler became MUCH more difficult.
In the U.S. today, extreme measures much like the Reichstag Fire Decree are already being put into place--making it even more urgent that a determined struggle be waged to drive out the Bush regime and reverse this dangerous trajectory.
Separate source:
Derived from USChronology.com
5/13/1861 - (Standing) Army of the united States Major General Benjamin Butler declares martial law in Baltimore Maryland.
NOTE:
This is an ominous reminder of one of the reasons Thomas Jefferson
listed in the unanimous Declaration (of Independence) for breaking away
from Great Britain: 'He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly,
opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected.'
Thomas
DiLorenzo, The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda,
and an Unnecessary War, (Roseville, California: Prima, 2002), 150.
Margret Leech, Reveille in Washington: 1860-1865, (New York: Harper
& Brothers, 1941), 424.
8/30/1861 -
(Standing) Army of the united States Major General John C.
Fremont declares martial law in Missouri ordering mass executions and
property confiscations, all without benefit of Trial by Jury.
Williams, 36.
9/12/1861
- (Standing) Army of the united States Major General Nathaniel P. Banks
declares martial law in Maryland, arresting 13 State legislators, which
deprives the legislature of a quorum to conduct business.
NOTE:
This is an ominous reminder of one of the reasons Thomas Jefferson
listed in the unanimous Declaration (of Independence) for breaking away
from Great Britain: 'He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly,
opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause
others to be elected.'
Thomas
DiLorenzo, The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda,
and an Unnecessary War, (Roseville, California: Prima, 2002), 150. J.
Thomas Scharf, History of Maryland From the Earliest Period to the
Present Day, (Hatboro, Pennsylvania: Tradition Press, 1967), 3:441-42.
11/19/1861
- Republican (nationalist) President Lincoln appoints Major General
Henry Wager Halleck as commander of the Department of the Missouri
(which includes Illinois, Missouri and the Commonwealth of Kentucky
(west of the Cumberland River)). Halleck's first act is to issue
General Order Number One, placing his jurisdiction under martial law,
and suspending Habeas Corpus, and prosecuting brutal retaliations
against pro-Confederate guerillas.
J. Matthew Gallman, ed., Civil War Chronicle, (New York: Agincourt, 2000), 123-24.
10/20/1862
- Presidential/conservative Reconstruction begins: Commander-in-Chief
Lincoln issues Executive Order One (the first numbered executive order)
establishing a provisional court during the military occupation of the
Confederate State of Louisiana. An Executive Order can only be issued
by the Commander-in-Chief'a military title'and only has jurisdiction
over areas under martial law.
Clifford L. Lord, ed., Presidential Executive Orders, Numbers 1-8030, 1862-1938, (Buffalo, New York: Dennis & Co., 1944), 1.
7/19/1863
- (Standing) Army of the united States Brigadier General Thomas Ewing,
Jr. declares martial law in Leavenworth, Kansas, because he 'could not
get along with the mayor.'
Letter
from Thomas Ewing, Jr. Brigadier-General, Department of the Missouri,
to Lieutenant-Colonel C.W. Marsh, Asst. Adj. Gen. Department of the
Missouri (July 22, 1863),War of the Rebellion, series I, volume 22,
part 2, 388-89.
7/5/1864 - Commander-in-Chief
Lincoln declares martial law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, with the
object of influencing the State's in their selection of Presidential
Electors.
James G. Randall The Civil War and Reconstruction, Boston: D.C. Heath and Co., 1937), 322.
10/26/2001
- While the United States Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in
Afghanistan defending 'all freedom-loving people everywhere in the
world,' Republican (fascist/socialist) de facto President George W.
Bush (having received an unlawful advantage of 41 ineligible Electoral
votes) signs the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA
PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001 (implying legislators who voted against it are
not patriotic):
permitting life in prison without benefit of Trial
by Jury for foreign nationals whose nation of origin will not accept
their forced return;
extending the period for a further unlawful suspension of Habeas Corpus from 48 hours to seven days;
authority
given to the secretary of state and attorney general to designate any
organization as 'terrorist,' such as Operation Rescue, Greenpeace,
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; protestors against the
World Trade Organization or the United States Navy target bombing
practice on Vieques Island;
allowing for detention and deportation
of individuals who lend financial support to such organizations deemed
to be 'terrorist' by either the secretary of state or attorney general;
allowing
statute enforcement officers (acting under-color-of-law) to enter a
home, take photographs, 'recover' (seize) property and electronic
communications for up to three months'without the knowledge of the
resident;
requiring that previously confidential student data be
made available to Federal enforcement officers (acting
under-color-of-law);
making it illegal for United States
enemy/subject/citizens to transfer ten thousand 'dollars' in Federal
Reserve (central bank) Notes (Bills of Credit) in or out of the U.S.
During
the signing ceremony Bush claims, 'Today, we take an essential step in
defeating terrorism, while protecting the constitutional rights of all
Americans.'
NOTE: The USA PATRIOT Act is almost an exact
duplicate of that submitted by Democratic (socialist/fascist) de facto
President Clinton, Esq., to, and subsequently rejected by, the
Republican (fascist/socialist) CONgress, six years previous. All
deliberations were conducted behind closed doors. There was no
conference committee action between the house of representatives and
the senate. There were no committee hearing reports; nor were opponents
of the act allowed to testify against it. Nor were any copies of the
131-page, single-spaced act available for legislators to read.
Postscripts:
A
month after the passage of this act, the department of justice
requested further loosening of the provisions regarding 'roving
wiretaps,' to allow the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to
approve warrants where Federal statute enforcement agents (acting
under-color-of-law) do not wish to disclose the identity of the person
they wish to monitor.
In the two years since the passage of the
USA PATRIOT Act, prosecutors and statute enforcement officers (acting
under-color-of-law) have used the act less often against suspected
international terrorists, and more often against United States
enemy/subject/citizens engaged in illegal activities, such as
smuggling, drug dealing, money laundering.
Ted Bridis,
'Additional Surveillance Proposals Considered,' Orange County
(California) Register, 30 November 2001, News:17. 'Common Criminals
Facing Patriot Act,' Orange County (California) Register, 15 September
2003, News:10. Robert A. Levy, 'Toward Martial Law,' Liberty, 16
(January 2002): 29.
[updated 12/24/2005] Thanks to Dave Seely for his contributions to this entry.
Clinton Terrorism Legislation Threatens Constitutional Rights
[available at: http://www.gwu.edu/~cnss/surveillance/threatens.html]
FBI Flyer Names Constitution Defenders As Terror Suspects
[available at: http://www.rense.com/general17/fly.htm]
10/31/2001
- While the United States Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in
Afghanistan defending 'all freedom-loving people everywhere in the
world,' John Ashcroft, attorney general, issues AG Order No. 2529-2001,
allowing the confidential communications between inmates of Federal
prisons and their legal counsel to be monitored.
Pete Yost, 'New Rule Lets Prisons Monitor Calls, Mail,' Orange County (California) Register, 19 November 2001, News:11.
Attorneys,
employed by the Centers for Disease Control, issue the 'Model State
Emergency Health Powers Act,' to be submitted to all state
legislatures, that is intended to give the nation a uniform health
code, passed through the states. The act has such a loose definition of
what is a 'public health emergency' that a governor might be able to
declare a state of emergency if one case of childhood smallpox appears
at a government-run public school. The governor would then be empowered
to suspend civil liberties, 'recover' (seize) property without
compensation, impose martial law, and isolate 'infectious' persons in
internment camps'without due process. Residents who refuse medical
examinations, testing, or inoculations are subject to misdemeanor
penalties and coerced isolation. The state, governor, public health
authorities, statute enforcement officers are exempt from civil damages
that might arise from enforcement of the act.
11/13/2001 - While
the United States Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are in Afghanistan
defending 'all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,' de facto
Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush (having received an unlawful
advantage of 41 ineligible Electoral votes) issues Military Order One,
establishing secret military tribunals to judge'without Trial by
Jury'individuals suspected of international terrorism, either Afghan
Taliban (Pushtun for 'students of Islam') partisans or 'Afghani' (Arab,
Pakistani, etc.) partisans of Al Qaida. For purposes of 'national
security' these courts will not follow the rules of due process:
exculpatory (proof of innocence) evidence may be kept from the defendant and his counsel;
the court is allowed to make up its own rules;
only a two-thirds vote is necessary for conviction;
no review by a higher court'a violation of Article III, Section 1.
This order establishes 'the right to use them [military tribunals] if he so chooses.'
NOTE:
This is a direct violation of Article V of Amendment: 'No person shall
be held to answer for a ... crime, unless on a ... indictment of a
Grand Jury. ...' The only exception to this are members of the Militia
(who are called into the service of the United States, by Congress) of
which there has been no Militia of the united States for a century. By
CONgress' not having declared war, Bush avoids having to treat captured
Taliban Afghans and Al Qaeda 'Afghanis' (Arabs, Pakistanis, etc.) as
prisoners of war, thus avoiding having to abide by the Geneva
Conventions. Instead of giving them courts martial (which have greater
due process guarantees than civilian trials), the 'detainees' can be
judged by military commissions, in which the prosecution has the lowest
burden of proof possible.
Postscript: Six months later, there would be twelve hundred who were detained without due process.
U.S.
President, George W. Bush (November 13, 2001), 'Military
Order--Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the
War Against Terrorism,' Weekly Comp., 37 (November 19, 2001): 1665-68.
Ross Baker, 'Nobody Named Bush King Yet,' Los Angeles Times, 27
November 2001, B15. William Safire, 'Putting a Noose on Justice,'
Orange County (California) Register, 15 November 2001, Local:9. 'U.S.
Makes War on Bill of Rights,' Orange County (California) Register, 16
November 2001, Local:8. James Gerstenzang and Josh Meyer, 'Bush Defends
War Tribunals as Necessary,' Los Angeles Times, 30 November 2001, A1,
25. Ron Kampeas, 'U.S. Allies Allow Red Cross to Access Captives,' St.
George (Utah) Spectrum and Daily News, 27 December 2001, A9. Josh
Meyer, 'Judge Delay Her Order to Reveal Names of Detainees,' Los
Angeles Times, 16 August 2002, A19.
Where is the invasion, where
is the insurrection, what 'Laws of the Union,' are being enforced? Why
hasn't the CONgress enforced these vital elements to prevent the
establishment of standing armies? Because it wants a standing army? For
what good purpose? Do we have a Caesar crossing a Rubicon in our
future? '' JL
The supreme court, of the corporate United states,
hands down TRW v. Andrews: the statute of limitations on a civil suit
for fraud, begins when the fraud is committed, not when it is
discovered, by the victim.
David G. Savage, 'Court Set for New Term and Novel Issues,' Los Angeles Times, 30 September 2001, A37.
| Home | Conditioning | Conspiracy |