Gen. Tommy Franks predicts martial law

[theivoryqueen]

Great, this is certainly cheery holiday predictifying.

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Gen. Franks says the Constitution will likely be discarded infavor of a military form of government if the US is hit with a WMD

John O. Edwards
NewsMax.com
Friday, Nov. 21, 2003

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.

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http://hightower.fmp.com/weblogitem.php?id=607

[Silverhair]

1. What do you think would happen if New York got nuked?

Do you think that everything would just go on like it always has if one of your major cities were to be vaporized? If we were hit badly and 3 or 4 million killed outright, 8 million injured, do you think the gov't would make some changes. The public would DEMAND a strong gov't able to protect them. The change would not come from the top down, but from the bottom up.

If you were president, and suddenly your are being wisked from the oval office to an evacuation helicopter, and you aids tell you that New York City isn't there anymore - what would you do?

Call a confernce at the new UN site, when one is chosen, and condemn to attack?

[theivoryqueen]

3. A Nuclear weapon is an extreme example

that has only two precedents. I don't think these guys are looking at nukes, particularly. I can't really predict what exact type of WMD they are using to game this out, but luckily, there appear to be a grave dearth of WMD's.

[terrisel]

5. If several million American were vaporized by a meteor

Would you rush to Washington to declare the Constitution dead....or would you deal with the problem?

I think Franks is floating a trial balloon and should be verbally thrashed.

[theivoryqueen]

7. okay, a large meteor would probably render the point moot.

Especially if it hits Washington DC!

[salin]

13. Consider, however, this admins often used ruse of changing the

language...

IF this theme gets picked up by Cheney, or Wolfie, or Condi... beware.

Because it will only be a matter of time when the language shifts from being in response to AFTER an attack.... to needs to prevent an attack...

If this is a one time statement - it is what it is. If it is the testing out of a new 'theme'... we need to be exceptionally wary.

[liberalpress]

17. When re-election...

...is no longer a problem...

That is why these facists have got to go.

[Chomskyite]

16. The US Civil War killed 600,000 of us

in a time when we had a population of 70 million.

But the constitution remained (nominally) in effect, as did the Bill of Rights.

[Jane Roe]

18. Disagree, three reasons

ONE:

The Civil War itself marked a huge implicit change to the Constitution. The Civil War implicitly added the (unwritten) provision that states could not leave the Union. At the least, this change resolved a gigantic latent ambiguity in the constitution. IMHO, this change is better characterized as a reversal of understandings shared at the time the Constitution was ratified by each State. Although the document didn't change any of its words with respect to the balance of federal and state power, this unwritten change was as big or bigger than the biggest written changes that have been made to the document over the centuries.


TWO:

The Bill of Rights was indeed suspended. People in the Union who were perceived as a threat to the war were locked up and habeas corpus was suspended (or threatened to be suspended, which amounts to the same). Lincoln has been somewhat criticized for doing this.


THREE:

The Fourteenth Amendment was a change to the Constitution that was the direct result of the war. There were other amendments, too, but this one desreves special mention because it profoundly impacted how we all live and the balance of power between the citizens and their state and federal governments.


COMMENT:

I am not saying that these Constitutional changes were bad (although I think #2 clearly was). All I am saying is that the Civil War caused extremely drastic changes in our Constitutional law. I would argue that these changes (#'s 1 and 3, taken together) are larger Constitutional law changes than have occurred at any other time in US history. Yes, nominally the US kept the same Constitution, but in reality the US had a very different Constitution before and after the Civil War (and its direct aftermath). Hopefully, on balance, the changes were for the best.

[theivoryqueen]

2. Heres a related article from Workingforchange.com

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=16044

[terrisel]

4. Has Franks Resigned?

If he is still wearing the uniform of the the country whose Constitution he has sworn to uphold he needs to take it off and turn himself in.

[theivoryqueen]

6. yup.

[shance]

8. IF a Nucleur strike were to take place that is PRECISELY why we HAVE THE

CONSTITUTION.

To protect us from those like apparently, General Franks who are power hungry and have a taste for taking over.

Did all the American Revolution, World War I and World War II vets die in VAIN so that another foreign country doesnt overthrow and seize power of our governorship, but actual (so-called) Americans????

Think about it.

As long as we continue to allow the abuse and violations to continue, of course they will go for whatever they can. Its up to Americans to take our country back.

[el_gato]

9. seems like silverhair is looking forward to martial law

can't wait to lick ol' tommy franks boots eh silver?

[Cocoa]

19. Gen. Franks's hair is kind of silver, isn't it?

maybe we have a real live luminary among us. :-)

[donhakman]

10. end game

IF you do not believe the takeover of the United States is now complete, please stop here.

I envy the people of the United States who do not realize the coup is complete.

They can continue to enjoy the bread and circus of TV sports, porn and well stocked grocery stores without the slightest degree of remorse or dread of the coming changes.

They can continue to rally for thier presidential candidate with the courage and optimistic hope free people hold so dear.

But for those who know the coup is complete there is only despair, or for the few rich and powerful, rejoicing.

War:

Now with the US policy of pre emptive war we begin with our last resort. Where can one go from there? All that is left is surrender or total war. We are not prepared for surrender but are preparing for total war by manufacturing thousands of the so called bunker busting tactical mini nukes.


Poverty:

People in the US at or below the poverty line normally ranges between one and two people out of ten. Within 5 years it may range between 3 or 4 out of ten. Although redefinitions of poverty and skewed statistics will tell us not to believe our lieing eyes it will be difficult to deny the obvious - especially when it is you.


Disease:

A little known advancement in the field of bio warfare has produced an agent known as the binary delivery system. Its intent is to pin point areas of a desired outbreak. As with any weapon there will be inevitable unexpected and unintentional mistakes.


Freedom:

With the privitization of the election machines, counting and over seeing of the process, the very concept of elections is now reduced to window dressing.


Goverment:

The original concept was a Republic by the people and for the people.
It slowly graduated toward a govement by and for lobbyists.
But now when the "elected" chief executives are CEOs or the son of a CEO and CIA director - the lobbyists are the goverment.


The Corporate State:

Deregulation, monopolies, unbid goverment contracts, the 1995 law* to legalize a CEO's deliberate falsification of thier bottom line (labeled the anti frivilous lawsuit act) are but a few of the countless other examples of the current success of Corporate Stateism.
Some may recall that Corporate Stateism was the goal of Mussollini's fascist state.
* This law was passed over riding President Clinton's veto.

Military:

Martial law is already here but is being sold as security in its current infantile state. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/20/185048.shtml
Franks may be issuing a warning or floating a trial ballon to sense the ease in bypassing the Constitution entirely.
I guess a lot of folks missed what Al Gore was talking about in the speech sponsored by Moveon.org. What is Martial Law? Well, mostly it's a suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus. It means the President is governing as the Commander in Chief, not as the Chief Executive. And as Gore pointed out, Habeas Corpus is effectively suspended in the United States. Franks is actually describing what already happened, not what will happen - although he's taking great pains to pretend that it hasn't.

While I don't think the 2nd Amendment was ever really envisioned as a defense against domestic oppression - it was an 18th Century alternative to the maintenance of a standing Army, because a standing Army was perceived as a threat - lefties may yet have reason to be thankful for the Second Amendment. There's not anywhere near enough military in the country, no matter how well armed or how well organized, to take on an armed population of 200 million adults - assuming that those 200 million could stay united in their defense of liberty and not split themselves into two warring factions.



The reasons for optimism:

A pendulum swings both ways. The current effects of this coup will probably take fifteen to twenty years to overcome. The death and destruction that occurs in the meantime will be astronomical but some may see this as a positive step in the problem of over population.
Enjoy the bread and circus while ye may but honestly this is not meant as a scare tactic by the left , center or right.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

I applaud those who are deadly honest with facts and opinions. We so often deny the ugly truth and call the truth "awful" or "terrible".
No matter whose FOX is in the henhouse we will not be able to deny all the dead chickens.
In time our spirit will challenge the coming changes with determination and resolve to face the future without blinders.
In fact I see indications that the far left and right will unite with one other at the opposite side of the circle, with the exception of religious fundamentalism. (but since when has religious fundamentalism not been a problem.)


Soros:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/12/soros.htm


I hope I have not introduced any Pollyannas to Pandora. With any new wisdom there may be suffering but suffering is not my intent. My intent is to be as honest with my perceptions as possible.

Fondly,
Don Hakman
- a political cartoonist who doesn't find it funny anymore.

[slaveplanet]

15. Thanks for putting the hammer

to the nailhead.

They will be going further though, a coordinated attack, mayhem , food shortage, population herding,labor camps,consription, forced biochip implantation & vaccination, are all on the bill of fare. before the end of the decade they will make it so, their whispers are turning to dinner conversation...soon the shouting begins.

full text Cigar afficiando:
http://infowars.com/print/ps/franks.htm

another goodie:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suncommentary/la-op-arkin23nov23,0,7518681.story?coll=la-headlines-suncomment
        
 American armed forces are assuming major new domestic policing and surveillance roles

Mission Creep Hits Home
LA Times

[HereSince1628]

20. Link for binary biological weapons? Please

Chemical weapons in binary I know exist. What biological weapon is in binary form? Infective agent (one component) Voluntary host (second component)? That's the only way I can reach a two-part bioweapon and I think that stretches the rhetoric of binary weapons beyond recognition.

Nonetheless, I hear you and appreciate your angst.

[DrBB]

11. Which is why BushCorp isn't interested in fighting terrorism

I'm sure Franks is right, which is one reason we should be doing everything we can to prevent it from happening. But we're not: we're bogged down in IraqNam, which is generating more terrorists, sucking all our resources away from fighting al Quaida--the real threat--and blowing all our money on tax cuts for the top 1% instead of using it to beef up local first-responders, etc.

If they really wanted to prevent another attack, they'd be doing something about it. LIHOP II, coming soon to a major city near you. All hail our new crony-corporate overlords.

[Classical_Liberal]

12. disgusting

He makes it sound as if he is against this thing, but then supports a man who is doing everything in his power to make this happen. What a twat! We need to take concrete steps to undo the power of the military industrial complex in this country. This adminstration is openly fascist now.

[grannylib]

14. So when does Shrub plan to attack us with WMDs so he can see this

happen and gain total complete control??