Martial Law; the one answer to every question

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Sun, 9 Oct 2005 10:28:06 -0400 (EDT)

Martial Law; the one answer to every question

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http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_051006_martial_law__the_one.htm

 

 

 

 

Martial Law; the one answer to every question

 

 

by Mike Whitney

 

http://www.opednews.com

 

On Tuesday, President Bush warned the nation that outbreaks of Bird

Flu may require massive quarantines enforced by the US Military. He

said that the military would be better able " to prevent people from

coming in to get exposed to the flu " , although he failed to explain

why that task couldn't be carried out by the National Guard. Bush's

comments echoed the same themes we've heard repeatedly since Hurricane

Katrina, that the president needs the power to deploy troops within

the country at his own discretion and without any legal restrictions.

It is a conspicuous attempt to militarize the country and declare

martial law, although the media has scrupulously avoided the obvious

conclusions.

 

Bush now claims that he will need to deploy the military following a

terrorist attack, a national disaster, or after the outbreak of a

flu-epidemic. " Sending in the troops " has seemingly replaced

" tax-cuts " as the one-size-fits-all answer for every question asked of

any member of the hard-right administration.

 

" I am concerned about avian flu " Bush opined. " I'm concerned about

what an avian flu outbreak could mean for the United States and the

world. If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not

then quarantine that part of the country?

And who best to be able to affect a quarantine?

One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So

that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for

Congress to have….I think the president ought to have all options on

the table to understand what the consequences are -- all assets on the

table, not options -- assets on the table to be able to deal with

something this significant. "

 

Even before Katrina, Donald Rumsfeld had repeatedly expressed interest

in using the military domestically. According to many reports the

delay in getting relief to the victims of the hurricane was the result

of a power-struggle between the administration and local officials

(Governor Blanco and Mayor Nagin) over who would control the

operation. The administration was determined from the onset to

federalize the effort and put the Pentagon in charge. This caused a 3

day holdup in the federal response to the tragedy. The choice was made

to withhold aid until the governor capitulated. It is impossible to

calculate the number of lives that may have been lost by this decision.

 

The main obstacle to Bush's militarization-scheme is the Posse

Comitatus Act of 1878. The Act bans the military from participating in

policing activities on US soil. It does not, however, prevent the

military from helping out in national disasters. This is what is so

troubling about Bush's request to change the law; it shows a clear

intention to assert military authority wherever the troops are

deployed. It is clearly not an attempt simply to help out.

 

A careful look at New Orleans shows the danger of this. The military

presence has been used to establish order and to set the precedent for

future deployments. Blackwater mercenaries are not really part of the

relief effort at all, but are employed to harass and intimidate the

locals and to protect private property. One of their many functions

was to force the evacuation of local homeowners and to strip them of

their legally registered firearms; a clear violation of the 2nd

amendment. Their presence is intended to soften the attitudes of

citizens to seeing military personnel on their streets and to help

them adjust the effects of a transformed America.

 

Dr. Irwin Redlener, associate Dean of Columbia University's School of

Public Health for Disaster Preparedness, told the Associated Press

that giving the military a law enforcement role would be an

" extraordinarily Draconian measure " that would be unnecessary for the

distribution of vaccines.

"

The translation of this is martial law in the United States, " said

Redlener.

 

" Gene Healy, a senior editor at the conservative Cato Institute, said

Bush would risk undermining `a fundamental principle of American law'

by tinkering with the act, which does not hinder the military's

ability to respond to a crisis. "

 

" What it does is set a high bar for the use of federal troops in a

policing role. That reflects America's traditional distrust of using

standing armies to enforce order at home, a distrust that's

well-justified. " The use of the military " can result in serious damage

to American life and liberty, " Healy added. (CNN)

 

The intention to use the military in a " policing role " creates a

permanent state of martial law that can't be fully grasped out of

context. In the last few months the administration has made a number

of dramatic changes to the system which have upset the critical

balance between the co-equal parts of government. Just three months

ago, Bush issued an executive order that created the National Security

Service (NSS); a branch of the FBI that now works entirely under his

authority. It is America's first secret police; no different than the

East German Stasi or the Soviet Union's KGB. It operates completely

beyond congressional oversight and is answerable to the president

alone. It is Bush's personal Gestapo.

 

Also, less than a month ago the 4th Circuit Court ruled that the

president had the power to declare any American citizen an " enemy

combatant " and summarily rescind all of his human and civil rights;

including even the right to know the reason for which he is being he

imprisoned. The ruling confers absolute authority on the president and

ends of any meaningful notion of " inalienable rights " .

 

Also, just last week the Senate Intelligence Committee " approved

legislation that allows Pentagon Intelligence operatives to collect

information from US citizens without revealing their status as

government spies. " The Pentagon may now conduct clandestine

investigations of American citizens without the traditional safeguards

that are applied to FBI. In effect, the legislation revokes the

fundamental guarantees of privacy under the 4th amendment and

" green-lights " the Pentagon to operate covertly against American

citizens whether they are legitimate terrorist suspects or simply

political enemies.

 

In another shocking development, President Bush said he will veto the

upcoming Pentagon budget of $435 Billion if the bill contains any

provision that limits the " cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of

prisoners " . The President's action implies that he has the right to

torture and abuse according to his own judgment, a clear violation of

the Geneva Conventions, the 1996 Treaty on Torture and the 8th amendment.

 

And, finally, the revised version of Patriot Act is quickly moving

through the Congress. The new edition eviscerates the last feeble

strands of the 4th amendment and paves the way for " administrative

subpoenas " , which allow law enforcement to carry out searches without

judicial oversight.

 

This is the context in which we should evaluate the push to use the

military in domestic affairs. Every change that has taken place within

the government has been designed for one purpose alone; to increase

the power of the president. If the congress chooses to overturn the

Posse Comitatus Act, they will have removed the last bit of rickety

scaffolding that protects the country from becoming a de facto

military dictatorship. The power to deploy troops within the nation is

the power to use the military against American citizens. It transforms

the " people's army " into a direct threat to the democracy it is

supposed to serve.

 

This is the essential vision of the globalists who currently control

all the levers of state-power in Washington. They've now articulated

their intention to use any conceivable national tragedy to achieve

their objective of colonizing America through force of arms and

establishing the supreme authority of the president.

 

Mike lives in Washington State with his charming wife Joan and two

spoiled and overfed dogs, Cocoa and Pat-Fergie.

 

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