Dave Lindorff: Martial Law Threat is Real

[demobabe]

The looming collapse of the U.S. military in Iraq, of which a number of generals and former generals, including former Chief of Staff Colin Powell, have warned, is happening none too soon, as it may be the best hope for preventing military rule here at home.

From the looks of things, the Bush/Cheney regime has been working assiduously to pave the way for a declaration of military rule, such that at this point it really lacks only the pretext to trigger a suspension of Constitutional government. They have done this with the active support of Democrats in Congress, though most of the heavy lifting was done by the last, Republican-led Congress.

The first step, or course, was the first Authorization for Use of Military Force, passed in September 2001, which the president has subsequently used to claim -- improperly, but so what -- that the whole world, including the U.S., is a battlefield in a so-called "War" on Terror, and that he has extra-Constitutional unitary executive powers to ignore laws passed by Congress. As constitutional scholar and former Reagan-era associate deputy attorney general Bruce Fein observes, that one claim, that the U.S. is itself a battlefield, is enough to allow this or some future president to declare martial law, "since you can always declare martial law on a battlefield. All he'd need would be a pretext, like another terrorist attack inside the U.S."

The 2001 AUMF was followed by the PATRIOT Act, passed in October 2001, which undermined much of the Bill of Rights. Around the same time, the president began a campaign of massive spying on Americans by the National Security Agency, conducted without any warrants or other judicial review. It was and remains a program clearly aimed at American dissidents and at the Administration's political opponents, since the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court would never have raised any objections to spying on potential terrorists. (It, and other government spying programs, have resulted in the government having a list now of some 325,000 "suspected terrorists"!)

Full article here: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/lindorff/004

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. government having a list now of some 325,000

DU only has 106,358 registered users.... must be a whole lot of lurkers out there.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tanyev]

3. That's one way to look for the silver lining in the destruction of our military.

Seems to me, though, that if this gang tried to impose martial law that the real danger would be from uber-Bushbots in the privatized armies like Blackwater.

[MUAD_DIB]

4. Bush would not be able to hold onto America if

he declared martial law.

[mmonk]

5. It would most likely be subtle and Americans have proven themselves quite trusting.

If something were implemented, they might buy the need if something dramatic comes.

[MUAD_DIB]

6. I disagree, but I also think many Americans are

fat, dumb and lazy.


I would hope that they prove me wrong and wake up if * tried to pull a Pinochet.

[demobabe]

7. The main thing, and they know this...

...is always make sure the American people have enough so they don't complain. People who don't have anything to lose are a problem. But if you have a nice Cadillac sitting in your driveway and a roof over your head, you're more likely to say, 'oh, that martial law thing. i don't like it, but i can't really do anything about that, oh well...'

[demobabe]

8. kick

:kick:

[demobabe]

9. kick

:kick: