c/o The Department of Homeland Conspiracy
Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack
Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city
As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, (why the concerns? Is there something you're not telling us) a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension (ending) of some (all) civil liberties.
Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group (Bush & his Dick) producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (The attack "they" didn't stop) Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order. (Oh no "we"can't have that)
The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival (who's Survival? the governments?) took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors (why the the closed doors? what do "they have to hide?) in Washington for a day-long workshop.
The session, called "The Day After," was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order ("they" seem obsessed with keeping ORDER) was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program.
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14 comments:
This is frightening and frankly, I would not put anything pass this administration.
I wouldn't, either. I think my fear of this government is what made us start the process to immigrate to Canada, and regardless of who takes over in 2009, the reprecussions of what this administration has done will ultimately be what makes us leave here. The idea that our government has a plan for martial law is absolutely frightening and would make us leave even if we had to smuggle our son across the boarder in the middle of the night.
Something they aren't telling us? The threat of such an attack has been a driving factor in so many things the government has done lately that it boggles me that you even ask this. the blow up with Iran and N Korea was over just this issue. The crack down on Pakistan after the khan nuclear market came out. It has been a clear and repeated theme of this administration.
As to the importance of keeping order, it is quite possible that as many people or more would die in the chaos following such an attack than would die in the initial attack itself.
Exmi,
Wasn't my question. I linked to the site it's originally from.
Probably just doing it to influence the election - after all one reason the Democrats lose is because the Republicans are more warlike, so it is advantageous to exaggerate the threat. Also when Bush says they hate our freedoms I'm never sure if he means the terrorists or his gang of fat puppetmasters like Dick and Rove.
Bush and his Dick - good one.
Me again. Just ran across this review of a book:
In late 2002, Barry Glassner appeared in Michael Moore's Academy Award-winning movie, Bowling for Columbine, to discuss The Culture of Fear. The reaction to Glassner's appearance, and the message of his book, were overwhelming.
As Glassner describes, the American public remains fascinated by the specter of fear in their lives. Be it the proverbial dark-faced bogeyman, or a more recent epidemic of child snatchings, Americans allow their lives to be affected by a perceived and recurrent onslaught of tragedy, death, and fear.
A national bestseller, The Culture of Fear explains why Americans are afraid, exposing the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit off our anxieties: politicians who attempt to win elections by heightening concerns about drug use and crime; advocacy groups that raise money by exaggerating the prevalence of particular diseases; and finally and perhaps most perniciously, the media that peddle new scares each week in desperate attempts to garner ratings.
Written in a vivid, entertaining style, The Culture of Fear does more than debunk prevalent myths of impending doom, it also asks us to reconsider our participation in the national charade of fear and suspicion which, according to Glassner, is eroding the trust necessary to truly ensure safety in the public square.
UWL, the explosion of a nuclear device sometime in your lifetime is a very real possibility, one I'd personally put about about 50/50, because I'm a pessimist. Certainly the material is out there, it's more a question of logistics and will (Yes, guys, dont tell me bin Laden wants to do it, I know that, but such an action would have profound and far-reaching consequences, which any cold-blooded killer would take into account)(unlike a gung-ho whack-job, which I dont think bin Laden is.)
The thing is, as bad as such an explosion would be (and its aftermath), suspension of civil rights after the fact is about as useful as tits on a goose. Yes, it would be devastating, but the thing to worry about is the infrastructure, not whether people are protesting. The U.S. runs on a very tight supply margin, interrupt that, throw it of whack, and you'll have chaos and suffering.
Is this something for the market system to take care of? I guarantee you that BushCo thinks so, even though distribution of goods would be the logical thing to take over in the event of an emergency (lest that emergency be taken advantage of quite profitably, a Bush Administration specialty).
Keep the people fed, and all else should go pretty smoothly.
Ah, sorry, I didn't notice it was a quote.
Car bomb in London defused.
Hey Ho! Terror time...
flimsy sanity's point is an excellent one. The odds of dying in a car crash are far higher than most of the things we (are told to ) fear, yet everyday we blithely climb into our cars, speed down the road, and answer our cell phones, without an iota of trembling. Yet, when a few Frenchmen die of an obscure disease, suddenly beef sales plummet. We're all nuts!
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UWL, cant say I think much of the moderation thing, since it removes all the immediacy that was once here (my previous comment was made after Flimsy made hers, but before hers actually showed up).
Also, I was thinking about it, and I found it ironic that the moderation appeared at the same time as a post about censorship (which, I notice, has since disappeared). Maybe you were getting a lot of trolls, or maybe you were just tired of grumpy old Uncle "Logician", but I find the moderation... irksome.
The NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team) was started in the 1970s when it first became obvious that terrorists could detonate an atomic bomb. This was around the time it became clear that college students had the knowhow.
The premise of the search team was of someone stealing weapons grade material and making their own bomb. Presumably the bomb would be already constructed, needing only the fissile material. They would try to estimate how quickly the final construction could be done (usually estimated as a few days).
They also presumed that the bomb would be used for extortion, and so there would be a period of negotiation and the search team would have to find it within that time.
It is said that the NEST was out in the weeks after 9-11. They do radiation detector sweeps, including having undercover people wearing detectors. They do baseline scans so that all the hospital xray machines are accounted for and do not cause false positives.
They also have various cutting tools (I think water jets is one example) to open a bomb casing, find the detonator, and defuse it.
If you follow "conspiracy" type websites, you will be told the NEST has already prevented several atomic explosions in cities since 2001.
The question is, who would benefit from something like this?
Funny thing is this wasn't even suppost to be posted. I was reading it to my gf & adding a bunch of smartass comments as I read it. My was laughing so hear at my comments that she said "hey you should put that on your blog with all the smartass comments...
So I did.
Okay, I'll turn off comment moderation, but I reserve the right to delete troll posts (which I've been getting a lot of lately) and any other post that does not meet with the expected level of discourse here without complaint. The censorship post has been moved to my blog about the Iraq war, with all comments.
All I'm saying is that a givernment plan for martial law under any circumstance is terrifying. The smartest thing to do is find a way out of the country if it ever comes to that. If you can't, be somewhat prepared. Have water, food, supplies of medicines, and seeds for planting veggies and fruits stored in a safe place in your home. A rifle doesn't hurt, either.
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