Bush poised for ironic step of instituting martial law (Athens GA) [View All]

[struggle4progress]

A specter is stalking America - the specter of martial law. Earlier this month, the Bush/Cheney administration in Washington announced that it is considering using the military forces here in the United States against American citizens in the event of an avian flu outbreak in this nation. Dr. Irwin Redlener of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness told The Associated Press the White House plan is "an extraordinarily Draconian measure." He warned that the latest scheme by the Bush crew could translate into "martial law in the United States."

While Bush gushed on Oct. 4 that he is "still a conservative, proudly so," there is nothing conservative about the Bush team's big government and big spending approach to domestic and foreign affairs. The court-appointed president who told CNN five years ago, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier - just so long as I am the dictator," might not have been joking.

Rumblings are emanating from the nation's capital that the Bush/Cheney junta is considering abandoning the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act that prevents the American military from being used as a domestic police force against American citizens. The United States has a long and proud tradition of civilian control of the military, but if the Bush administration has its way, Americans may one day wake up to the authoritarian specter of military control of the civilians. <snip>

There are many Bush League quislings here in America who would welcome a martial law, police state in this country. In August, American Legion Commander Thomas Cadmus called for an end to "public protests" against the Iraq war, repeating the same old right-wing song and dance that protests "provide aid and comfort to our enemies." Protesters of Bush's desert disaster in Iraq would tell Commander Cadmus that the real enemy is in the White House. <snip>

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