Right wing General says martial law is coming if we get a WMD attack

[funkyflathead]

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.............


-MORE-

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/11/20/185048.shtml

[ThorsteinVeblen]

1. Franks has got an erection

I am leavning this fucking country if that happens. Sorry. I will not be ruled by little boys in uniforms.

[SahaleArm]

9. If that happened...

Iraq will seem like childs play because they're will be a revolt right here at home.

[loudnclear]

35. If that happened (martial law) that would be just what Osama would want

He's trouncing us!

[YNGW]

2. comment

Nope.

:tinfoilhat:

[funkyflathead]

3. Welcome to DU n/t

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. Freepers are feaked out over this

"As far as I'm concerned, keeping Constitution is non-negotiable. That's just the way it's going to be as long as I'm alive. Without freedom, there's nothing. When there's nothing, there's nothing left to lose."

"Franks is right and the first person to really address what might happen if we're hit by a WMD. For one thing, the stock markets across the western world would collapse, making 1929 look like a slight dip. Millions would be thrown out of work and the economy would come to a standstill. Paychecks and government checks would stop flowing. Anarchy would follow unless the military steps in and inposes control. Those who think they are safe just because they live in Des Moines or Boise better get real. We're talking about the end of western civilization as we know it. Too bad the pols won't tell the sheeple this is what's in store for them if they keep up the current nonsense."

and so much more....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1026031/posts

[Cleita]

5. I guess we'll have to go hide in the hills if that happens.

Fortunately in America, there are lots of places to hole up in. I think it would be very hard to bring military rule in this country outside of urban areas. On the other hand if our Constitutional government ceases to exist, so would any obligation to pay taxes.

[creativelcro]

38. that's exactly right...

[dofus]

6. Well,

watching the Kennedy assasination stuff this evening I found myself thinking, if Bush were to be assassinated (or any high government official, for that matter) the entire country would be in a lockdown condition for who knows how long. In 1963, as fearful as many were that the killing of JFK was part of a large plot to overthrow the government, no such lockdown occurred.

[Fenris]

7. Tommy Franks

God, he's from Texas, isn't he? You know, we have produced some good people, too. Lyndon Johnson. Molly Ivins. Ann Richards. General Eisenhower. Hell, this ain't a bad place. We just got overrun by ape-people like Tommy Franks and that Yankee carpet-bagging sonofanoldgraybitch George W. Bush. Tommy Franks can go fuck himself. He did a piss-poor job in the Iraq war, and his blatant Nazism is sickening. Fuck him. It's statements like that that make me consider buying a gun, stocking up on ammo, and building a bunker under my house.

[TorchTheWitch]

8. martial law???

Oh, it is to laugh! Yeah, sure, Tommy... you and who's army? Now that would be something to see... declaring martial law and having to run to the UN to beg for foreign troops to lockdown the U.S.! Hey, now there's a job for all those unemployed Iraqi soldiers, eh?

[supernova]

41. LMAO!!

declaring martial law and having to run to the UN to beg for foreign troops to lockdown the U.S.! Hey, now there's a job for all those unemployed Iraqi soldiers, eh?

Good one! :thumbsup:

[leesa]

44. Funny! It's true. I think most of the military can't stand these jerks

any more than we can. The National Guard are all in Iraq. 130,000 of the soldiers from GW1 are disabled from Gulf War Syndrome. So the ChickenHawks are going to enforce martial law??? Can they do this and not ruin their manicures?

[slaveplanet]

10. What he's really saying is...

We need to get rid of some of these excess nukes and biologicals, and instead of burying them in some desert, we're going to let a few loose in undesirable places like San Francisco, Boston, maybe DC itself. then we'll hole up for a while in Colorado, we'll let the riots take out some of the population, so you'll be more receptive to your new form of jackboot Government. Since DC is destroyed we'll move the Capitol inland and inaccessible from the general public who will locked down in their respective compact city units. Oh almost forgot, since our US troops will be out of the country in a permanent war status, we'll be using non-native troops so they'll have no scruples about dispatching you, your family, or your property. All receptive police and medical personnel will be conscripted to serve the Homeland. All poor and undesirables will be asked to report to the nearest sport stadium for processing and routing to the Wackenhut/walmart run slave labor camps. Thank you, we appreciate your attention. Have a nice day

[girl gone mad]

11. That's about..

what I was thinking when I read his statements.

[Indiana_Dem]

13. Oh quit it you guys are scaring me!

I'm getting scared and depressed at the same time thinking about it!:scared:

[w4rma]

17. "… we'll move the Capitol inland …"

[dani]

12. unbelievable.

This is getting more insane every single day.

Dude, what happened to my country? ;(

[Renew Deal]

14. Actually... It is legal.

I think there are provisions for martial law in the constitution. I need to check.

Hit this link.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=martial+law+%2B+constitution

This makes me feel like buying a gun.

[Indiana_Dem]

15. omg i think your right, i remember something about that

but isn't there something about militias in there too?

[Indiana_Dem]

16. omg omg!

Maybe that's why there is that strange place at the Denver airport I've heard about and all the strange art! Maybe someone's been planning this for a while. Reagan started it and Bush sealed the FEMA plan up last November according to an article on Google!
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/27/1027497418339.html

[leesa]

46. They've been planning it since WWII

Actually, since the 1880s but it went bust with the depression the Republicans created in 1929

[AntiCoup2K4]

18. Reading shit like this makes me think of the Declaration of Independence..

...more than the Constitution.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

And when King George Jr the idiot starts launching nuclear weapons against the American people in the name of his FUCKING FICTIONAL terrorist organization, I would say that fits Jefferson's definition. Or more accurately, Jefferson's worst nightmare.

They try this shit and there will be a violent revolt. Their biggest mistake is assuming the military will be loyal to their pathetic asses. Yeah right... after the way these bastards have treated veterans and shown very little respect to the troops on active duty, I wouldn't count on that, assholes :grr:

[Indiana_Dem]

19. That makes me feel better, thanks

[TorchTheWitch]

20. military? where?

They try this shit and there will be a violent revolt. Their biggest mistake is assuming the military will be loyal to their pathetic asses. Yeah right... after the way these bastards have treated veterans and shown very little respect to the troops on active duty, I wouldn't count on that, assholes.

Good point. However, WHAT military? We don't have any military (loyal or otherwise) that would be able to come even remotely close to carrying out a declaration of martial law. We're not even in a position now militarily to control a large scale general riot like the LA riots years ago. Declaring martial law without being able to implement it (and there's no doubt that we simply cannot without commiting the ultimate gaffe of bringing in foreign troops) would be the epitome of political suicide... there would be no Repuke in any office for generations - hell, it could be the permanent collapse of the Repuke party alltogether.

The only reason Tommy could really have to babble this drivel is just to keep the homeland fear going... according to Bush's poll numbers the Fear Installation System using the War On Terra with it's pointless color-coded alerts approach isn't working as well as they'd hoped, so some dingbat up the line decided to raise the bar with dispsy-doodle idea without realizing that it instills FAR more anger then fear.

Let's not forget that the government isn't the entity in power in this country and hasn't been for quite some time. Corporations are the real power behind the throne, and there's no way on earth that they'd stand for a drop in profits much less the distruction of the whole system that keeps those dollars dropping into their coffers. The CEO's would be the first in line to unload a few rounds into their Repuke puppets... ain't no way the misadministration is going to bite the hands that feed them.

Now back to the real news... All Michael Jackson All The Time. :eyes:

<on edit... those stinking itallics that never want to work right for me>

[drfemoe]

22. This is what I was thinking..

if you kill the goose that lays the golden eggs ...

How can a poverty stricken country be the world's super power?

I'm sure I'm mising something here. The dichotomy is baffling.

[fujiyama]

24. There will

be NO revolt. I'm convinced that a majority of Americans have never even read the constitution.

This reminds me of a CNN call in segment where some woman from the South called and stated something that sounded straight out of East Germany;

"I have nothing to hide. Let them search me"

I'm also convinced after reading a few of the articles on the google search, that freepers, many who make up this administration and the Reagan admin. are traitors. I have not used this language before, having felt that such discourse was used only by the fathest fringe elements on the right, such as freepers and Ann Coulter.

I was proven wrong.

If we look at what has happened to non-citizens in this nation, we have an indication of what law enforcement wishes to do to all people living here. If Arabs can be held indefinetely as "material witnesses", without having pressed charges against them, without having no details released, why can't this happen to all Americans?

There is no reason it can't happen to all Americans. That's what the patriot act II is supposed to be about -- Making everything in the original act permanent, and adding even more intrusive provisions.

Without the Constitution, there is no US. The nation would exist in name only. For years we have seen our nation slip into darkness. There still is an escape, but as history has shown, it is very hard to get out, once the door has closed. Most politicians won't care, and the GOP has quite explitly shown that it has no respect for this nation's legal structure. As long as "elections" stil exist, they will openly support the dismanting of our Constitution.

[ithacan]

36. agreed, no revolt

most people would accept it; just remember what happened after 9/11, something like this would be even moreso.

The Bushies and right wingers have prepared this country very well for a full scale authoritarian crackdown and takeover.

As Operation Northwoods (Click for actual documents) showed, the conservatives will stop at literally nothing to get their way and keep their grip on power.

If it looks like the Dems will take the Presidency and Congress, I predict we'll have a WMD "attack," it may be a real but small one, it may be a faked one. Whatever.

Franks has just given away their strategy (not that it's a surprise).

[Wapsie B]

21. Keep it up Tommy!

Show the world what the Reich-Wing is all about. Let these fools drool all over themselves. Best advertisement for the Democratic Party we've got. Vote Dem or you'll get more people like Tommy boy.

[drfemoe]

23. Is There a Detention Center Near You?

http://www.bordc.org/detention.htm

Arizona
Phoenix District: Florence Service Processing Center

California
Los Angeles District: San Pedro Service Processing Center
San Diego District: El Centro Service Processing Center and San Diego Contract Detention Facility

Colorado
Denver District: Denver Contract Detention Facility

Florida
Miami District: Krome Service Processing Center

New Jersey
Newark District: Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility

New York
Buffalo District: Buffalo Federal Detention Center
New York District: Queens Contract Detention Facility

Puerto Rico
San Juan District: Aquadilla Service Processing Center

Texas
El Paso District: El Paso Service Processing Center
Harlingen District: Port Isabel Service Processing Center
Houston District: Houston Contract Detention Center
San Antonio District: Laredo Contract Detention Center

Washington
Seattle District: Seattle Contract Detention Center

[Andy_Stephenson]

27. The one in Seattle is only about

3 miles from here.

[kayleybeth]

25. Wouldn't you

just hate to be a FReeper right now? Imagine what a hard time they have convincing themselves that this kind of crap is all okay as long as it's being done by a Repuke administration. They know it's fundamentally wrong but they feel compelled to keep defending their beloved "leader". That's got to be one hell of a burden to bear.

[ibegurpard]

26. If that ever happens

I will feel no obligation to respect the "rule of law."

[Brian Sweat]

39. That's ok, cause they will feel no obligation to give you a fair trial.

"Sargent, a round for that man over there."

[leetrisck]

28. The Constitution is already being slowly discarded

and I'm not sure it would take a WMD attack for bush to delcare martial law. I've wondered for some time if we are going to have a presidential election. Know that sounds paranoid but I don't fault Franks for saying it - I'm surprised he did - glad someone put it out there in words. I'm very concerned about it whether there's a WMD attack or not.

[Fescue4u]

29. Not suprising really

Frankly I wouldnt expect anything different from a Democratic administration either. (perhaps even more so)

Its abhorant either way. Id say we came close to it on 9/11 and if the attacks had continued through the afternoon we would have seen martial law.

[SharonAnn]

30. Will we notice it?

Or will we just stay oblivious?

[in_cog_ni_to]

31. WMD

attack by mid 2004. NO election. Could that happen? I think so. Especially with the fascists who are running our government.

I wonder what General Clark would do? Hmmmm. Sounds like a good question for him. Would he join the current administration in enforcing martial law or would he fight against it? Clark KNOWS what this administration is doing (PNAC).

[Gman]

32. Costa Rica is looking better and better these days

I just might move there.

[Silverhair]

33. He is NOT advocating it. He is AFRAID it might happen.

Folks, when a weatherman predicts a tornado, do you think he wants a tornado. Read the article. Franks doesn't want this to happen, but he thinks that if we do get hit with something that will cause mass casualties, then people will want security above all else.

Sadly, I think he is right.

[slaveplanet]

37. I'd hardly call Franks a weatherman

But I did reread...maybe your seeing something I'm not.

That being said -Japan was hit by WMD
what happened-they surrendered(there were reports they tried to surrender months before but it was rejected by the allied powers)
WE have no-one to surrender to that would be acceptable to the population.
What happened after Japan surrendered?-the same organized criminal & corporate economical fascistic elements were allowed to continue to run things.

What's happened when we've been hit by non-WMD terrorist attacks? We continue to have our rights whittled away, and the militarization of our police has accelerated. This has picked up 10 fold after 9/11. It's not hard to see the end game.

You wrote // Franks doesn't want this to happen//
I didn't see this anywhere in the Article, what I did see is below were key phrases(seperated by JE for John Edwards' of Newsmax and his interpretation, and TF for actual Tommy Franks quotes) :

will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government. -JE
"causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat " -TF-(sorry Tommy, but to us not fooled so easily, this has been going on for over a decade and can probably be traced back to the formation of SWAT)
Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form-JE
(The Newsmax agenda speaks for itself.)

expressed his worries -JE

"it would likely have
catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican form of government."-TF/JE?
"grand experiment that we call democracy".-TF (which is it Tommy?, republican or democracy, or is the republican quip Edwards' words?)
"begins to unravel the fabric" -TF

Sounds more like a shot across the bow, than him being afraid.
Words like this insure victory for enemies, foreign and domestic

//but he thinks that if we do get hit with something that will cause mass casualties//
He implies it doesn't even have to be a WMD attack on The US proper
"massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world "-TF

No this is a telegraphic message, not just someone expressing worries.

Give up freedom for security, and you''ll lose both. Plain and simple.

[Silverhair]

43. Reading between the lines.

All messages have to be interpreted through the experiences and biases of the reciepent of hte message. I spent 9 years, (5 as an officer) in the service and know the mindset. We are patriots. We don't want to do martial law. Anybody that has enough on the ball to become a 4-star general, has enough on the ball to have been a highly paid CEO in civilian life. So there is a definate sacrifice to a military career. So I interpret it as being worried that democracy may be in serious trouble. (I will not quibble on the use of republic or democracy in casual conversation. He was not giving a legal tretise.)

I share that same concern. Mine comes from reading the book: "NonZero: The Logic of Human Destiny". The author analyses the grand sweep of human history, taking a 70K+ year view. He predicts the rise of terrorism, growing internationalism leading to a one world gov't, (Not the UN.) and the loss of freedoms to stop terrorism. Sadly, I think we are going to lose a bunch of freedoms because of the danger.

[charlie]

48. "We are patriots"

"We don't want to do martial law."

That's probably true as a generality, but it doesn't confer an innate bedrock resistance to martial rule to any single officer. The likes of Al Haig, Ollie North, John Poindexter, and Donald Rumsfeld came from officer ranks. They all have enough of an authoritarian bent that I wouldn't for one minute trust their commitment to liberty as fundamental or even desirable for civil society.

[moz4prez]

34. Gitmo is loooking nicer and nicer

I may just have to grow a beard and pull a cell phone on a cop in the not too distant future.

[creativelcro]

40. is that in the Constitution ?...

[Demonaut]

42. Expect an attack

More than likely it will strike an area mostly democratic in make up, mostly adult or senior citizens, maybe florida or a north eastern state. This will be the excuse to keep Dubya in office and declare martial law...I dont trust his administration, I think they will look at this as an acceptible loss to keep the status quo, I'm not saying they will "create" the wmd attack but they may allow it to slip through.

[mmonk]

45. My family and I

might be out of here depending on the weapon.

47. it can't happen here

it can't happen here
it can't happen here
Novel by Sinclair Lewis, published in 1935. It is a cautionary tale about the rise of fascism in the United States. During the presidential election of 1936, Doremus Jessup, a newspaper editor, observes with dismay that many of the people he knows support the candidacy of a fascist, Berzelius Windrip. When Windrip wins the election, he forcibly gains control of Congress and the Supreme Court, and, with the aid of his personal paramilitary storm troopers, turns the United States into a totalitarian state. Jessup opposes him, is captured, and escapes to Canada.

I hope it can't happen here