Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack
John O. Edwards, NewsMax.com Friday, Nov. 21, 2003
Gen. 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.
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.''
Posts: 856 | From Texas | Registered: Jan 2005
| IP: Logged |
Softballmom
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6235
posted
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.''
IMO if we are hit with biological, chemical or nuclear weapons that inflict heavy casualties...
The constitution is the last thing that would be on my mind.
-------------------- It's not the Lyme, I just can't spell! Posts: 1331 | From North Carolina | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
lymie tony z
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5130
posted
IF's, What if's and hypotheticals...
Not even probables...
No point to this post...IMO zman
-------------------- I am not a doctor...opinions expressed are from personal experiences only and should never be viewed as coming from a healthcare provider. zman Posts: 2527 | From safety harbor florida(origin Cleve., Ohio | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
It's my feeling and I would think a concern to many if they thought about it..
that it is astounding that a high ranking official openly speculates that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.
This really should be something the public gets some opportunity to weigh in on. Open debate in Congress at the very least, and a chance for constiuents to voice their opinion.
I do not believe most Americans would want something like this to happen even if there were another attack. This would be throwing away our core value system in goverment.
Mo
Posts: 8337 | From the other shore | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
lymie tony z
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5130
posted
I'm really glad you noticed it was SPECULATION...
Look, IF we were attacked to the degree Franks was speculating about...Martial law would probably HAVE to be declared to take care of that issue...
This would be a TEMPORARY condition.
zman
-------------------- I am not a doctor...opinions expressed are from personal experiences only and should never be viewed as coming from a healthcare provider. zman Posts: 2527 | From safety harbor florida(origin Cleve., Ohio | Registered: Jan 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
For one thing, it may well be a moot point. If past history is any indication, if the u.s. is struck by a "wmd", the jokers in command will probably start nuking every country that MIGHT HAVE HAD SOMETHING TO DO with the attack. I don't think much life would survive. Also, consider the source... And the venue... Is this something to be taken at "face value"?--Come ON! Not that it should be ignored, though! It is strongly and clearly indicative of what I would term "the runaway military mentality" here in the united snakes.. Yes, some really bad stuff has the potential to happen. We should be working to maximize our chances of preventing it. Instead they seem to be working hard to make it as likely as possible, all the while "getting us ready" for their attempts to "bring it on" as quickly as possible.. Idiots.... We have effing IDIOTS up there running our country! What does that mean in a practical sense? The only way we can avoid crisis and minimize suffering is by getting these neo-nazis out as quickly as possible. Hopefully democracy will be restored and violence avoided. You'd THINK we'd have enough guts and intelligence for that!. After hearing about this 'talk', one does worry that perhaps the most likely source of terrorism against the u.s. might be its own armed forces, in some kind of twisted attempt to sieze power! DS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I agree that it would be speculation that if the military took over it would be temporary. (maybe,maybe not) Lots of interesting things going on today. I've a sneaking suspicion martial law has already been secretely inacted. The pandemic of borrelia is cause enough. Of other interest BigPharma fighting for their life. Their only chance for survival is via total corruption thru the FDA and congress with CODEX and regulating (read:owning) what amounts to food.
may you live in interesting times. (some chinese dude with a sense of humour).
[ 20. March 2006, 02:14 PM: Message edited by: brentb ]
Posts: 731 | From Humble,TX | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
It's my feeling and I would think a concern to many if they thought about it..
that it is astounding that a high ranking official openly speculates that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government.
This really should be something the public gets some opportunity to weigh in on. Open debate in Congress at the very least, and a chance for constiuents to voice their opinion.
I do not believe most Americans would want something like this to happen even if there were another attack. This would be throwing away our core value system in goverment. Mo
Absolutely! Let's hope (and work incessantly toward making sure) that if something "unthinkable" should happen, the vital principals we'd be fighting for will not be ..'lost in the heat of the battle'... (uh, yeah right- --translation: ( that these great principals) "will not be violated and trashed by scumbags groping for power")
We must be ever vigilant in protecting AMERICA! from, uh, ....'america'.... ..., if you know what I mean!
DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
Printer-friendly view of this topic