Rule by Fear or Rule by Law?
by Lewis Seiler & Dan Hamburg
published February 4, 2008
(This article appeared on page B-7 of the San Francisco Chronicle)
"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."
- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943
Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."
Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees.
According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."
Fraud-busters such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, have complained about these contracts, saying that more taxpayer dollars should not go to taxpayer-gouging Halliburton. But the real question is: What kind of "new programs" require the construction and refurbishment of detention facilities in nearly every state of the union with the capacity to house perhaps millions of people?
Sect. 1042 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," gives the executive the power to invoke martial law. For the first time in more than a century, the president is now authorized to use the military in response to "a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or any other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."
The Military Commissions Act of 2006, rammed through Congress just before the 2006 midterm elections, allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on a list of "terrorist" organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies. The law calls for secret trials for citizens and noncitizens alike.
Also in 2007, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), to ensure "continuity of government" in the event of what the document vaguely calls a "catastrophic emergency." Should the president determine that such an emergency has occurred, he and he alone is empowered to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure "continuity of government." This could include everything from canceling elections to suspending the Constitution to launching a nuclear attack. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD-51.
U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County) has come up with a new way to expand the domestic "war on terror." Her Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (HR1955), which passed the House by the lopsided vote of 404-6, would set up a commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes" of so-called violent radicalism and extremist ideology, then make legislative recommendations on combatting it.
According to commentary in the Baltimore Sun, Rep. Harman and her colleagues from both sides of the aisle believe the country faces a native brand of terrorism, and needs a commission with sweeping investigative power to combat it.
A clue as to where Harman's commission might be aiming is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that labels those who "engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of animal rights" as terrorists. Other groups in the crosshairs could be anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, environmentalists, peace demonstrators, Second Amendment rights supporters ... the list goes on and on. According to author Naomi Wolf, the National Counterterrorism Center holds the names of roughly 775,000 "terror suspects" with the number increasing by 20,000 per month.
What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens?
The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.
Lewis Seiler is the president of Voice of the Environment, Inc. Dan Hamburg, a former congressman, is executive director.
published February 4, 2008
(This article appeared on page B-7 of the San Francisco Chronicle)
"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."
- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943
Since 9/11, and seemingly without the notice of most Americans, the federal government has assumed the authority to institute martial law, arrest a wide swath of dissidents (citizen and noncitizen alike), and detain people without legal or constitutional recourse in the event of "an emergency influx of immigrants in the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs."
Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees.
According to diplomat and author Peter Dale Scott, the KBR contract is part of a Homeland Security plan titled ENDGAME, which sets as its goal the removal of "all removable aliens" and "potential terrorists."
Fraud-busters such as Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, have complained about these contracts, saying that more taxpayer dollars should not go to taxpayer-gouging Halliburton. But the real question is: What kind of "new programs" require the construction and refurbishment of detention facilities in nearly every state of the union with the capacity to house perhaps millions of people?
Sect. 1042 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," gives the executive the power to invoke martial law. For the first time in more than a century, the president is now authorized to use the military in response to "a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or any other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."
The Military Commissions Act of 2006, rammed through Congress just before the 2006 midterm elections, allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on a list of "terrorist" organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies. The law calls for secret trials for citizens and noncitizens alike.
Also in 2007, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), to ensure "continuity of government" in the event of what the document vaguely calls a "catastrophic emergency." Should the president determine that such an emergency has occurred, he and he alone is empowered to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure "continuity of government." This could include everything from canceling elections to suspending the Constitution to launching a nuclear attack. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD-51.
U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County) has come up with a new way to expand the domestic "war on terror." Her Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007 (HR1955), which passed the House by the lopsided vote of 404-6, would set up a commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes" of so-called violent radicalism and extremist ideology, then make legislative recommendations on combatting it.
According to commentary in the Baltimore Sun, Rep. Harman and her colleagues from both sides of the aisle believe the country faces a native brand of terrorism, and needs a commission with sweeping investigative power to combat it.
A clue as to where Harman's commission might be aiming is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that labels those who "engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of animal rights" as terrorists. Other groups in the crosshairs could be anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, environmentalists, peace demonstrators, Second Amendment rights supporters ... the list goes on and on. According to author Naomi Wolf, the National Counterterrorism Center holds the names of roughly 775,000 "terror suspects" with the number increasing by 20,000 per month.
What could the government be contemplating that leads it to make contingency plans to detain without recourse millions of its own citizens?
The Constitution does not allow the executive to have unchecked power under any circumstances. The people must not allow the president to use the war on terrorism to rule by fear instead of by law.
Lewis Seiler is the president of Voice of the Environment, Inc. Dan Hamburg, a former congressman, is executive director.
posted by Sean M. Madden at
2:21 PM
2 Comments:
I think we have all been conditioned to think of ourselves as helpless. I believe it is the duty of every citizen to stand against the oppressive tyranny. This stand can take the form of civil disobedience or highly creative symbolic actions. I, for example, have taken to wearing a red T-shirt with the words “ENEMY COMBATANT” emblazoned in large black letters across the front. I also carry around the following pamphlet that I distribute to passers-by who may question my loyalties.
Why the 'Enemy Combatant' T-Shirt?
Let me tell you a little story. It is fictional but, like all fairy tales, it contains an important moral.
A long time ago in a fair northern land, there lived a wise and noble king. If you must know, the time was 1942, the northern land was the kingdom of Denmark suffering under Nazi occupation and the wise and noble king was Christian the Tenth.
This great king was beloved by all his people. He was accustomed to daily horseback rides around the capitol city of Copenhagen where he was heralded by his adoring subjects. Unlike many a modern counterpart, King Christian needed no bodyguards to assure his safety.
A contemporary Danish song summed it all up:
"He is our freest man
Guarded not by force
But by the loving hearts of his people!”
One day the command came down from the German Reich that all Jews within the kingdom would, under pain of death, be required to wear the Yellow Star of David identification patch.
The next day his astonished subjects were greeted with the familiar sight of their beloved King astride his horse making his familiar rounds. Fixed prominently upon his chest along with all his proud ribbons and military medals of rank was a yellow Star of David. patch. The next day, every citizen in his kingdom proudly turned out wearing the Yellow Star.
Unfortunately this story about the Yellow Star is apocryphal. There indeed was just such a wise and noble king and he was a symbol of hope for his people under the fascist boot in those dark days of WWII.
And here comes the moral…
Did you know that any American citizen can be declared an “enemy combatant” on only the say-so of President Bush alone, without the presentation of any writ or evidence of any kind?
Did know that this citizen can be immediately detained, without the benefit of Habeas Corpus, held for an indefinite period of time and denied contact with anyone including a lawyer?
Did you also know that said American citizen may be subjected to the most inhumane forms of cruel and unusual torture without hope of release or legal redress?
These conditions have all been put in place and are currently being carried out by your government at the present moment.
I have another question for you. What are you going to do about it? The category of “Enemy Combatant” needs only be defined by President Bush. Presumably he can define it as: any Muslim, any political enemy, anyone engaged in protest of government policies, anyone, even YOU.
Like the wise and noble King Christian X, I am defying this unconstitutional imposition on the people of this country. If any of us can be classified “Enemy Combatant” then all of us can.
That is why we all need to declare ourselves as combatants against this infringement of our constitutional rights. I am certainly President Bush’s enemy and the enemy of all who would deprive us of our rights and freedoms. If, like the Danish citizens in the fairy tale, we all declare ourselves “Enemy Combatants,” Bush cannot possibly detain us all. That is why I urge you to get your own “Enemy Combatant” T-shirt and protect our Constitution. Let’s meet this fascist boot with an army of T-shirts!
Bob Boldt
Very good blog, this is my first visit and I was intrigued by many of your comments.
I particularly liked this article because it shows how the United States government, under Bush, has grown to think of itself as greater than the people it is supposed to be serving. It is ironic that the structural entity (the government) has so quickly turned against the rights and freedoms of the people because that is the very thing they are supposed to protect.
The government is for the people and not the other way around, which is what the US needs to remember. They can only pull the wool over their citizens for so long...
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