Martial Law... BIG DEAL...

Debate exists in regard to the legality of a Presidential decree of martial law, due to recent pronouncements from the Bush Administration and national security initiatives that were put in place in the Reagan era. When president Ronald Reagan was considering invading Nicaragua, he issued a series of executive orders that provided the Federal Emergency Management Agency with broad powers in the event of a crisis such as violent and widespread internal dissent or national opposition against a U.S. military invasion abroad. To date, these powers have never been used but with the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, 2006 U.S. immigration reform protests and the possibility of avian flu spreading globally, concerns have been raised that these powers could be employed or a de facto drift into their deployment could occur.

In addition, from 1982-84 Colonel Oliver North assisted FEMA in drafting its civil defense preparations. Details of these plans emerged during the 1987 Iran-Contra scandal. They included executive orders providing for suspension of the constitution, the imposition of martial law, internment camps and the turning over of government to the president and FEMA. FEMA, whose main role is disaster response, is now also responsible for handling U.S. domestic unrest. With recent proposals to criminalize illegal and undocumented immigrants, the United States saw itself immersed in a debate at the end of March and beginning of April about these laws and the role of immigration post-September 11.

A Miami Herald article on July 5, 1987, reported that the deputy of former FEMA director Louis O. Giuffrida, John Brinkerhoff, handled the martial law portion of the planning. The plan was said to be similar to one titled "Rex 84", which Mr. Giuffrida had developed earlier to combat a national uprising by black militants. It provided for the detention of at least 21 million African-Americans in assembly centers or relocation camps. Following a request by the Pentagon in January, 2002, that the U.S. military be allowed the option of deploying troops on American streets, the Anser Institute for Homeland Security in February, 2002, published a paper by current-employee Mr. Brinkerhoff that argued the legality of this. He alleged that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which has long been accepted as prohibiting such deployments, had simply been misunderstood and misapplied. The preface to the article also provided the revelation that the national plan he had worked on, under Mr. Giuffrida, was approved by Reagan, and actions were taken to implement it.

The full facts and final contents of Reagan's national plan remain uncertain, in part because President Bush took the unprecedented step of sealing the Reagan presidential papers in November of 2001 via Executive Order 13233. The papers in question, some dealing with Reagan-era officials who now have high posts in the Bush administration, were to have been disclosed under the 1978 Presidential Records Act, which said that the documents could be restricted at the most for 12 years after Reagan left office.

New Orleans, Louisiana

During the War of 1812, U.S. General Andrew Jackson imposed martial law in New Orleans, Louisiana after capturing the encampment of New Orleans from the British in the Battle of New Orleans.

[link to en.wikipedia.org]

I don't see the profit in it.

Why does anyone think that martial law is even a viable option? They can't get it to work in Iraq, which is a much smaller country. Any attempt at martial law would probably result in all-out anarchy.

Yep

As a New Orleanian, I was MORE than happy to see a State of Emergency declared AND delighted to see the military on every street corner. There were times the helicopters flew so close to the roof top of our home that we could see the pilot's faces. And what beautiful faces they were!

Damn looters and shooters! What the broken levees didn't wipe out, the looters would have if the military hadn't stepped in. There were too damn many of them (the bad guys) with BIG guns for ordinary citizens to stop. Those people were going nuts...and you know why, because they could. Plain and simple. Someone had to stop them.

I don't care what anyone thinks, if you weren't there, you couldn't possibly understand the importance and necessity of this declaration!

The eventual destruction of the US is the final goal, so anarchy isn't necessarily an undesirable side effect. However, with the "sheepification" of the populace, it may be optimistic to think that many people would do anything but go about their every day routines, with little concern for the loss of liberties and death of the US Constitution.

Too bad Bush passed laws to protect from the habeas corpus, it's also too bad it hasn't truly been inacted for a very long time.


Also, Martial Law is very much different than State of Emergency. Term 1 - your fucked Term 2 - Normally a disaster of some sort took place and they need medical/resuce attention. Martial Law is not an Emergency...