Posted on 11/20/2003 5:14:53 PM PST by hope
Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack
John O. Edwards, NewsMax.comGen. Tommy Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.
Friday, Nov. 21, 2003
Franks, who successfully led the U.S. military operation to liberate Iraq, expressed his worries in an extensive interview he gave to the men’s lifestyle magazine Cigar Aficionado.
In the magazine’s December edition, the former commander of the military’s Central Command warned that if terrorists succeeded in using a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) against the U.S. or one of our allies, it would likely have catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican form of government.
Discussing the hypothetical dangers posed to the U.S. in the wake of Sept. 11, Franks said that “the worst thing that could happen” is if terrorists acquire and then use a biological, chemical or nuclear weapon that inflicts heavy casualties.
If that happens, Franks said, “... the Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we’ve seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.”
Franks then offered “in a practical sense” what he thinks would happen in the aftermath of such an attack.
“It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world – it may be in the United States of America – that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then begins to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very important.”
Franks didn’t speculate about how soon such an event might take place.
Already, critics of the U.S. Patriot Act, rushed through Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, have argued that the law aims to curtail civil liberties and sets a dangerous precedent.
But Franks’ scenario goes much further. He is the first high-ranking official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.
The usually camera-shy Franks retired from U.S. Central Command, known in Pentagon lingo as CentCom, in August 2003, after serving nearly four decades in the Army.
Franks earned three Purple Hearts for combat wounds and three Bronze Stars for valor. Known as a “soldier’s general,” Franks made his mark as a top commander during the U.S.’s successful Operation Desert Storm, which liberated Kuwait in 1991. He was in charge of CentCom when Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda attacked the United States on Sept. 11.
Franks said that within hours of the attacks, he was given orders to prepare to root out the Taliban in Afghanistan and to capture bin Laden.
Franks offered his assessment on a number of topics to Cigar Aficionado, including:
President Bush: “As I look at President Bush, I think he will ultimately be judged as a man of extremely high character. A very thoughtful man, not having been appraised properly by those who would say he’s not very smart. I find the contrary. I think he’s very, very bright. And I suspect that he’ll be judged as a man who led this country through a crease in history effectively. Probably we’ll think of him in years to come as an American hero.”
On the motivation for the Iraq war: Contrary to claims that top Pentagon brass opposed the invasion of Iraq, Franks said he wholeheartedly agreed with the president’s decision to invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein.
“I, for one, begin with intent. ... There is no question that Saddam Hussein had intent to do harm to the Western alliance and to the United States of America. That intent is confirmed in a great many of his speeches, his commentary, the words that have come out of the Iraqi regime over the last dozen or so years. So we have intent.
“If we know for sure ... that a regime has intent to do harm to this country, and if we have something beyond a reasonable doubt that this particular regime may have the wherewithal with which to execute the intent, what are our actions and orders as leaders in this country?”
The Pentagon’s deck of cards: Asked how the Pentagon decided to put its most-wanted Iraqis on a set of playing cards, Franks explained its genesis. He recalled that when his staff identified the most notorious Iraqis the U.S. wanted to capture, “it just turned out that the number happened to be about the same as a deck of cards. And so somebody said, ‘Aha, this will be the ace of spades.’”
Capturing Saddam: Franks said he was not surprised that Saddam has not been captured or killed. But he says he will eventually be found, perhaps sooner than Osama bin laden.
“The capture or killing of Saddam Hussein will be a near term thing. And I won’t say that’ll be within 19 or 43 days. ... I believe it is inevitable.”
Franks ended his interview with a less-than-optimistic note. “It’s not in the history of civilization for peace ever to reign. Never has in the history of man. ... I doubt that we’ll ever have a time when the world will actually be at peace.”
Editor's note:
Check out "Resolve" with the official President Bush photo – Click Here Now
The Iraqi "Deck of Death" playing cards – Get yours today!
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
George W. Bush
Saddam Hussein/Iraq
Al-Qaeda
War on Terrorism
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
The U.S. government exists only because the delegates of the sovereign people of the several sovereign states contracted, via the U.S. Constitution, for the federal government to exist, and the purpose and duties of the U.S. government are outlined in that same document.
If, for any reason, the U.S. Constitution is declared or rendered invalid, the federal government ceases to exist as a legal entity. All those people running around trying to tell the people what to do and where to go, will be no more valid than any other self-possessed band of thugs, regardless of their armament.
The people are the sovereigns in this nation, and no legal authority exists without the consent of the people.
They would be like employees who, after quitting or being fired, attempted to take over and run someone elses's company.
I'm aware that this is not what they teach in the government schools these days, but it is the gospel truth to the 80 million or so Americans who will make the difference.
Well, to a guy with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
I think the Constitution can and will survive with a minimum of tweaking.
That the Constitution applies only to U.S. Citizens is a clear start.
Citizenship is granted only to children of citizens and legal permanent residents.
Visitors, which would include students, of all foreign countries will be ruled according to the rules of their own countries, as applied to the benefit of the United States. i.e. restrictions on dress, speech, involvement in political speech, ability to exercise their religion or not.
Violators are subject to immediate deportation; no appeals or delays.
No foreign countries are permitted to fund churches or "cultural" centers in the United States, if such is prohibited to Americans in that foreign country.
It may be obvious that "military rule" is not a necessity to accomplish any of the above.
Besides, I see you have been around here a long time as well. Do you remember infiltrators such as ash, etc? On FR, it seems we can never be too sure as to who is popping in to get in a few digs at us Patriots.
You seem to put a whole lot of faith in these magical "authorities" who keep our society civilized. That sounds suspiciously like the British aristocrats who wanted so much to "put those uppity colonists back in their proper place", which was to serve the crown.
What civility there is left in this country is only the result of the people who remember that they are free people, responsible citizens, and good neighbors.
Civility is not a gift from overly self-important government employees. The people are civil, in most of the country, in spite of the government.
Would Western Civilization come to our aid or dance on our graves if we were hit? If they don't help us, they will be next. Would a military take-over of our government from within be an extreme result of a WMD attack? Couldn't we react without internally tossing out 227 years of constitutional rule on day WMD+1?
And surrendering to the enemy will not preserve our constitutional freedoms, either.
-PJ
So?
I don't care how many there are; I give them a longevity of 10 days, max.
Same goes for their supporters.
Not nearly enough.
All Muslim capitals and industrial and communications centers must also be utterly destroyed.
They should be rebuilding their pathetic culture for generations funded entirely by themselves. With no help from the oil fields, which will be no longer theirs.
Imagine all the Middle East Oil divided between Russia, China, the U.S. anf Great Britain.
Not entirely a bad thing...
The 20% of which you speak is all above 45 years old. You and I do share the same dream, unfortunately, I think that's what it is, just a dream. We have been outfoxed by the best criminals in the world.
Fifty years ago perhaps.
Today? No way.
Y2K rotted your brain.
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