Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city (martial law)

[Newsjock]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension of some civil liberties.

Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order.

... A paper the organizers are writing, summarizing their recommendations, urges local governments and individuals to build underground bomb shelters, much as people did in the early days of the Cold War; encourages authorities who survive to prevent evacuation of at least some of the areas attacked for three days to avoid roadway paralysis and damage from exposure to radioactive fallout; and proposes suspending regulations on radiation exposure so that first responders would be able to act, even if that caused higher cancer rates.

... Fred Ikle, a former Defense Department official in the Reagan administration who authored a book last year urging attack preparation, "Annihilation from Within," said that the government should plan how it could restrict civil liberties and enforce a sort of martial law in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, but also have guidelines for how those liberties could be restored later.

Read more: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/11/TERROR.TMP

[villager]

1. God, the Republicans truly love this stuff. Wasn't Fred Ikle

the guy who suggested we shovel dirt over ourselves to make it through a Reagan-era nuclear war?

[SpiralHawk]

19. "Round up the proles." - Republicon christofascists

[tom_paine]

2. Allthis chatter leads me to believe the Bushies are preparing to hit us hard

if we get close to uncovering their worse crimes yet uncoverd and/or getting anywhere near jailing royalty.

I have often suspected that they would rather see a million Loyal American corpses piled one or another than let a single Royal Bushie Family member or courtier/chum get convicted.

I don't like the chatter I am hearing.

[truthisfreedom]

8. Werd.

[malaise]

18. Bingo

Cornered rats are always dangerous.

[IndianaGreen]

3. Indianapolis was destroyed by an atomic explosion on Thursday this week

In a Homeland Security exercise, our fair city was the target of an atomic attack that caused 6,000 dead (that's what they said on TV). The responders were based in Terre Haute, about 100 miles upwind from Indianapolis.

Why do I think that if something like this were to happen, it would be the Bush regime that would be behind it, much as the fictional rightwing government in the film V for Vendetta was behind a biological attack in England.

[aquart]

6. I think that's what we all think.

Who else would have the access? The pizza delivery boy?

[bjobotts]

4. More afraid of Bush in the aftermath

I would be highly suspicious in the wake of such a disster that it was implemented by Bush/Cheney people to further their agenda and remain in power. They've already suspended our rights, pushed our army and guard out of the country,have already built interim camps all over the country and they have a private army (like they used them in LA after Katrina)...Haliburton. I put nothing past these guys. They'd no doubt turn us into a theocracy waiting for Armageddon.

[Screwfly]

5. Yeah, like

a terrorist is really going to warn people their setting off a nuke so everybody has time to go hide in a bomb shelter.

I smell another huge corporate boondoggle in the making to build a network of underground bomb shelters...

[WinkyDink]

17. Oh, there's tax-payers' money in them thar hills, all right. As Bush said,

"You can take that to the bank."

(Did you know that was a Texas saying? What a moran he is.)

[Faux pas]

7. I just figured bushite would save the marshal law ploy to mess

with the next election. Sheesh and yikes are all i really have to say.

[jody]

9. Government would be derelict if it did not plan for major catastrophes. n/t

[treestar]

11. Doesn't mean that the Bushites can't wait to use one as an excuse

for martial law, and Katrina and 911 weren't big enough.

Plus there's no point in planning for cutbacks in civil liberties. There, the "disaster" is an excuse.

One that people fall for too quickly, IMO, and the reason it should often be pointed out that the government is not there to "protect us." We are the government. Let them "protect us" and they become the authoritarian parent, who must restrict our freedom "for our own good."

[jody]

13. I agree. Preparation is one thing but Bush et al have passed laws allowing a president to misuse

federal forces.

[treestar]

10. Rummy and Cheney have been working on this stuff since the 70s

They love that kind of stuff.

[maine_raptor]

12. Plans, plans, and more plans.

How else are you going to justify all them pointy-headed bureaucrats but to have them making plans all the time?

I remember reading a book about contingency plans in existence way back when. The one that I still remember was one for dealing with a mass uprising in a portion of the US. The plan for dealing with such was simple: Two missiles would be launched. The first would explode a nuke high up. Not to cause any damage, but simply to get the "rebels" attention. The second would come in low and contain a bunch of leaflets with one sentence:

"Want to give up ?"

[conscious evolution]

15. A nuke high up?

The EMP from that would do massive damage to the whole continent.I can't imagine the feds doing that to quell an uprising.
I can see the leaflet drop happening though.

[maine_raptor]

16. This was from the late 50's.

EMP was not all that well understood back then.

However, nowadays, with enough height, and with a properly designed device (a nuke's effects can be modified based upon the design), it is theoretically possible to explode one and not have any or just very slight EMP damage.

This was to be done at night by the way, so the light show would be totally awesome. :evilgrin:

[Lilith Velkor]

22. There are even contingency plans for space aliens

I shit you not!

It seems weird, but if you think about it, it is their job to plan for every possibility no matter how remote.

The alarmist tone of this report is more fearmongering chatter, possibly aimed at Democrats who are thinking about holding * accountable for a goddam change.

[conspirator]

14. Either BushCo will push the button directly or they will allow a terrorist cell to do it...

[Javaman]

20. Something is up...

I have a feeling moron* is planning to go out with a bang or to stay in with a bang.

Because this little story comes on the heals of this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x860772

and this one:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2840842&mesg_id=2840842

:scared:

[OneBlueSky]

24. exactly . . . hey, it worked once (9/11) . . . why not do it again? . . . n/t

.

[donco6]

21. What's the point of a bomb shelter?

It's not like terrorists are going to be flying it in on a plane detectable by radar, thus enabling some sort of warning. If it goes off at all, it will be because it's already THERE.

[Javaman]

25. It doubles as a grave. nt

[rudy23]

23. If Washington D.C. were destroyed, it would solve a lot of problems for some people

For some people.

[Javaman]

26. most people nt

[Selatius]

27. Oddly enough, a video game sort of bases itself around the nuking of DC. Watch here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQd0Y8FVcWg