Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack

News Max.Com ^ | 11-21-03

[hope]

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.”

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

[reg45]

We would not need to. We shall make an example of several Arab cities and large swaths of the Islamic heartland in return. We will only need to demonstrate the power of real, live thermonuclear weapons once, weapons that will dwarf the yield of the small tactical warhead the terrorists will use. When we are done, no one will dream of killing our citizens again.

What would Islamics do when there is a very large hole where Mecca used to be!

[MeekOneGOP]

haha! I get it ! I misunderstood.

That gif WAS annoying to me when I first 'got' it ! But it quickly grew on me and I use it fairly often now ...

[txhurl]

I expect, in the event of another, more serious 911, the economic reaction may be far worse than we may imagine.

I think we Americans may be learning about elasticity... how to not freak and NOT let terrorism effect any bumps or creases in our - NOW RECOVERING - economy.

[Prodigal Son]

You pinged me? I can't make heads nor tails of your post 396. Could you elaborate?

[B4Ranch]

Nation wide martial law would put the US of A under a dictatorship!

It would suspend all voting, and every other Right of the American citizens.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

RE: "Nation wide martial law would put the US of A under a dictatorship! It would suspend all voting, and every other Right of the American citizens."

It's an old trick but it just might work.

The GAO report on Waco says the use of the military was all legal and had very little to do with an alleged "drug nexus." See http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/bl090599.htm

There's a link to the pdf file GAO report.

I had long believed that the government lie that there was a "drug nexus" was what authorized the use of the military at Waco. Not so. I seems that just about the only limit on using the military is that they cannot enforce civilian laws in the manner of civilian law enforcement. Otherwise the military is free to have their way with us. (I am not a lawyer.)

Some recoil but I say, good! I have believed since the early 1970s that a patriot-dictator is the only way to save our Republic from the enemies within; e.g., the "Americans" who see us as the "root cause" of all the world's problems and work 24/7 to hand over our sovereignty to international authorities.

In the Vietnam era they wanted a Communist victory, today the very same type of political/media quagmire seeks to humiliate us into submitting to international groups to fight terrorism. We'll never get our sovereignty back.

Elections will not stop them. They must be stopped. Nixon won in 1972 520 to 17 electoral votes.

After the Vietnam war era I trust the military far more than politics, our media, and our "intellectuals" ("best and brightest"). I'd rather lose my right temporarily than permanently, thank you.

[Rider on the Rain]

I'd rather lose my right temporarily than permanently,

I don't know where you got that phrase or how you came up with it, but it sums exactly how I feel. BTTT.

[Mr.Atos]

Its a long read, but a relevant Ping! based on our current conversation on this issue, Dueler.

I guess I can understand the threat to Constitutional Protections. Didn't WW2 involve a mild state of martial law through its entirety?. What choice is there really? The danger lies in our current state of disharmony. In the face of disaster, will this nation be patient and faithful when it comes to the rigid requirements of martial authority needed to restore civil order and public safety. In the novel, The Postman, Brin outlines how America's collapse occurred not because of any one factor. But it was a combination of relatively small events that chipped away at the civil structure of a nation whose values and convictions were already stretched too thin by ideological division.

OBL is one smart cat. He or his planners new exactly the right attack needed and where on the towers that would bring them down. It shows a level of understanding of that structure's engineering and it's weaknesses that far exceed our expectations. I also believe that OBL believes himself to be a prophet. He acts and speaks in poetics that will be recorded in perpetuity. WTC was a metaphor. He knows exactly what is needed to destroy this nation from within. The Left has played right into his hands destroying any unity that we had and that we desperately need at this time.

That WMD will be a plane driven into the guts of America... spilling superheated fuel that will liquefy our exposed integrity. We will collapse. The enemy will rush in and take our heads.

...Unless something changes or we pull another 'Midway' out of our hat. Perhaps Iraq IS our Midway.

So is this about religion? I seriously doubt it... at least as far as the 'instigators' are concerned. OBL is simply one instigator and his motives are not likely what they appear to be. I'd suggest that a handful of directors have an intent that they have been using to pervert the motives of a hundred thousand puppets both here in America and in the Middle and Far East. World Leftist are unfortunately, playing into this model quite effectively for our enemies and much to this nation's detriment.

The fundamental question would be this: Is the Left capable of tossing away their animosity and opposition in the face of an emminent threat? Our enemies have been brilliant so far in not providing that motive. Are they playing us like a fiddle? Again who are they? And are they the same ‘they’ that are directing ‘our’ puppets here... directing their Islamic puppets and our Anti puppets according to ancient tenants of warfare… ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’? America is the enemy of the instigators. George Bush and American's(those with common sense) are the ginned-up threat to both sets of mindless puppets.

As for the 'Instigators?' Who would they be? My guess is idealistic Communists and ex-Soviets. The world Mafia of thugs and tyrants that is personified by the U.N. and Kofi Annon... the biggest beneficiaries of world strife.

Like many others at this thread, in light of these observations, I am not certain that we can ride out that sort of shock right now. Some may recognize the beginnings of a reversal of past optimism on my part. I generally agree with you, however, that we are certainly capable of the strength needed to perservere in this struggle. But, I also recognize that our perserverance depends on unity and consistency... both virtues in very short supply at the moment throughout Western Civilization.

Again, I suggest that the Visigoths have appeared over the last hill. The gates of Rome are open. Will we take up arms and fight as one... or perish as half of us tuck tail and run.

Civilization lives or dies with us here and now.

[Pontiac]

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.

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.”

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.

Did you see this? What do you think?

I think the liberal idiots would probably be ready to surrender their freedom for perceived security. After all, that is the thinking behind gun control.

[yonif]

We are not prepared for such a WMD attack. We are doing nothing to prepare for such an attack. And it is therefore why this forcast after a WMD attack is inevitable.

[yonif]

I was in Charlotte during hurricane Hugo and martial law was declared to stop the looters and no one said a peep.

A majority of Americans are apathatic and this is not surprising.

[mercy]

I think Franks is just telling us what will happen. It's inevitable. The Islamonazis are just getting started. They have several hundred million willing recruits in the wings. They WILL continue to attack us any way they can and with our liberal judiciary we cannot protect ourselves.

This is a warning shot across the bow of the judiciary. They will ignore it. "Rantings of a war monger."

The constitution will be scrapped and it will not be reinstituted for decades. We will be busy killing Islamonazis for at least thirty years. That is if Christ tarries.

[Mr.Atos]

As I perceive your point, I would agree. Like any poison - the myth of Multiculturalism being a toxin against civility - it must be camouflaged or ingested by force. The schools have been preened to promote the concepts subvertly while the judiciary has been conscripted "to drive it down your throats," as one Leftists caller revealed to Michael Medved yesterday in a rare moment of candid clarity. Either way the poison of bad ideas has established itself in the blood of civilized man where it eats away his primary defender of his life... his mind.

When I say Multiculturalism is a poison, I refer specifically to the degenerative aspects of its terminology and practice which forfeit an objective concept of judgment to the subjective notion of diversity thus concealing bad ideas that may be destructive to milennia of social development. Now, let's be clear that there are, at times, valid concepts that arise (internally or externally) that give rise to necessary changes in tradition and common methodology. The rebellion of the American Colonies from the British monarchy is certainly a prime example. The abolition of slavery is another. But, both of these examples of cultural distinctions instigating social change were certainly NOT accomplished in the vaccuum of moral relativism. They were discussed, debated, researched, weighed against philosphical precedents, and given considerably evaluation to the point of bloodshed. They were not injected via "Trojan Horse" into the ideological matrix of cultural identity like some randomly-typed blood transfusion - to cure or kill as per chance with no judgment allowed to determine compatability with Life.

The Left may, traditionally speaking, have the best intentions when it comes to human development. The balance of Man's personalities has certainly been the vehicle by which civilization has evolved. Yet in it's contemporary manifestation, the Left, by abandoning reason to diversity and propelling it without judgment, has delivered man to his mortal enemy hog-tied with an apple in his mouth.

I would be interested to hear you thoughts on this.