Towards Dictatorship And Martial Law In America
Ivan Grgas / www.newpatriots.net : July, 2007

The growth and consolidation of federal powers in the hands of the executive branch has grown at an exponential rate during the last few years. Recent legislation, Presidential directives, and pronouncements directly from the Bush and Cheney gang form a blueprint for the establishment of martial law and the suspension of the U.S. Constitution. These powers are being amassed with the justification that they are necessary preparation for a ‘national emergency’. Even without a near future emergency scenario taking place to kick start the worst elements of the proposed directives, the amount of power that has already been granted to the executive branch is designed to outlive the present administration and continue to strip the Constitutional rights of Americans well into the future.

A Framework for Tyranny
Despite the fact that over 70% of the public now opposes the war in Iraq, the President’s approval rate barely hovers above 20%, and approval of the congress is even more dismal, the same war mongering and Constitution bashing agendas are in place and marching forward. With endless war abroad and the trampling of civil liberties at home, the government has become a colossal machine that does not answer to the will of the people and is increasingly operating outside the law to expand its centralized power and control. The formula for achieving greater state power involves fostering fear via the ‘war on terror’ to push forward policies that strengthen the central control mechanisms of government where public opposition and discontent can be ignored, marginalized or eliminated with a robust military and police state apparatus. The following four acts and directives are the most significant components providing the framework for this emerging police state as well as plans for total martial law.

The Patriot Act
One of the most significant historical parallels to the Patriot Act can be found in the form of the Reichstag Fire Decree enacted February 28, 1933, following the staged Reichstag fire that was blamed on a shadowy group of communists and provided the platform for Hitler’s power grab in Germany. Both acts were passed after an act of terrorism, both were passed in a hurry with few lawmakers actually reading the legislation, and both gave the central government enhanced powers at the expense of individual liberties. The Patriot Act effectively tramples much of our Bill of Rights and specifically shreds the fourth Amendment by allowing secret searches and the wiretapping of American citizens.

Military Commisions Act (HR 6166)
The Military Commisions Act of 2006 was passed without much coverage or attention by mainstream media, and most of the general public has not even heard of its existence. This legislation Strips U.S. Citizens of Habeas Corpus, a cornerstone of law since the Magna Carta of the 1200’s, allows the government to engage in secret arrests, to secretly torture, and secretly execute U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike. The justification for these abuses is that they are aimed at ‘enemy combatants’, but the definition of ‘enemy combatant’ is ambiguous and open to government interpretation.

John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007 (HR 5122)
Under this act, an additional $500 billion has been allocated to the military and defense related activities for fiscal year 2007. In addition, this legislation makes it much easier for the President to declare martial law and take charge of United States National Guard troops without state governor authorization, effectively bypassing the states and further consolidating executive power.

National Security Presidential Directive 51
In this directive the President has given himself the authority to claim dictatorial powers. It specifies the procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a "catastrophic emergency." ‘Emergency’ is broadly defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions." This directive completely bypasses the National Emergencies Act, a U.S. federal law passed in 1976, which gives Congress oversight over presidential emergency powers during such emergencies. The National Emergencies Act is not even mentioned within this edict.

Off to the Camps
"…the truth is yes - you do have these stand by provisions, and the plans are here...whereby you could, in the name of stopping terrorism...evoke the military and arrest Americans and put them in detention camps." -1997 Interview with Congressman Henry Gonzalez D-Texas

In addition to the structural political alignment of power through acts such as the ones discussed above, there is a myriad of laws and regulations at multiple levels of government that complement the moves toward centralization and control. From gun control to free speech limits, we are seeing a hemorrhaging of liberty and power away from the individual and towards complete federal control. We have recently seen a sharp increase in illegal police checkpoints across the country and violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids the use of our military for domestic policing duties. Hurricane Katrina provided the military with an opportunity to put urban warfare drill rehearsals into action domestically, with wide spread gun confiscation and forced evictions and evacuations, even in dry neighborhoods where residents felt no need to leave.

Even more disturbing is the fact that since the 1980’s the government has had the infrastructure for martial law in place including provisions for mass detention centers and civilian labor camps. Evidently, recent developments suggest that the current regime is enhancing these capabilities by building new detention facilities. It was announced January 24, 2006, by the Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of the Halliburton Company, that it had received a contract worth about $400 million from the Department of Homeland Security to provide 'temporary detention and processing capabilities' here on U.S soil. The massive police state and martial law infrastructure is not being assembled to sit there and collect dust. The billionaire bankers running things are likely to want to carry out their plans and fully implement their dark vision for the world. We need to be ready.