Are You With Us Or Against Us?

T EACH P EACE . COM Special Update February 17, 2008

Are You With Us Or Against Us? In 2007 and 2006 President Bush acquired unprecedented dictatorial powers. By simply declaring an emergency he can take over both Congress and the Judiciary (May 9, 2007 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 20 and National Security Presidential Directive 51). He killed the Bill of Rights with a law that can seize an American citizen without charge and hold people indefinitely (October 17, 2006 Military Commissions Act). He has proven that torture and extraordinary renditions are now standard practices. Consider the case of Jose Padilla. As a US citizen, he had a right against forced self-incrimination but this right disappeared when President Bush declared him an enemy combatant. As a result he was tortured with severe isolation, sleep deprivation, forced hypothermia, bright lights, and sounds blasted through headphones. Not even his lawyer was allowed to see him for two years. In the process he lost his mind. Perhaps the fact that he was tortured is why the security personnel in photographs with him appear wearing dark sunglasses or face shields.

Jose Padilla has been tortured with 43 months of severe isolation. The Christian Science Monitor reported on August 14, 2007 that a broad range of “extreme isolation” experts say this technique can be psychologically devastating and an instrument of torture. Fair Use Title 17 Section 107 US Government photo.

Even working for the withdrawal of American soldiers from Iraq could result in severe penalties under the Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq Executive Order signed by President Bush on July 17, 2007. Together with the Patriot Act Reauthorization, Warner Act, ADEX, Rex 84, TALON, and Endgame, the dark side of the Bush administration can be seen. To understand the collection of new laws, remember President George Bush's statement, “you're either for us, or you're against us.” The new laws beg the question as to what he means by “us.” Former Attorney General John Ashcroft was clear on this point in 2002 when he announced a desire to see camps for US citizens deemed to be "enemy combatants." For many years, federal plans for concentration camps, the roundup of dissidents, the takeover of local governments, and secret police to facilitate martial law have long been dismissed as “conspiracy theories.” The Hutto prison, one of the new private prisons, is shown in a video at Unfortunately, the 2006 Military Commissions Act and the John Warner civilian www.teachpeace.com/movies/are.htm. National Defense Authorization Act make the impossible very possible.

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Are You With Us Or Against Us? (continued) We should be extremely concerned about a constitutional dictatorship. A FEMA source even reports FEMA has black railroad box cars equipped with manacles. As background to how this threat to the U.S. Constitution has surfaced in recent times, it is important to know that in 1982, Ronald Reagan ordered a plan to roundup dissidents for internment camps in the United States. The classified plan was called Rex 84. Rex 84 was almost implemented and the first planned use was to suppress dissent when President Reagan was about to send US troops to invade Nicaragua. With the Vietnam War still in the populations’ collective memory, he commissioned work to “manage dissent” and “national opposition” against a US military invasion of Nicaragua. The public learned about Rex 84 in 1987 because of the Iran-Contra investigation. On a related note, whenever classified plans are revealed, as they were during the Iran-Contra scandal for the existence of Rex 84, the program is quickly renamed. Sometimes a sanitized version is leaked with the less offensive sections to introduce deniability for the more damaging sections. Researchers need to remember this point when they come across a formerly classified document. A key architect of Rex 84 was Oliver North. North was convicted of criminal charges in 1989. During his service to President Reagan between 1982 and 1984, North was a key architect to create a program to suspend the Constitution and intern Americans in camps. The plan not only called for martial law but a massive transition of state powers to the federal government. This plan which became Rex 84 went far beyond a government Readiness Exercise for 1984. The cover story for Rex 84 was a mass exodus of illegal aliens entering the US border from Mexico. The cover story was needed because plans to quickly roundup and bring US citizens to detention centers by FEMA violate our Constitution. In addition, Rex 84 had two subordinate programs called Operation Cable Splicer and Garden Plot. Cable Splicer was created to plan for the orderly takeover of the state and local governments by the federal government. Garden Plot was the plan to control the population. ADEX was the name of a FBI plan to identify the Americans to roundup. The ADEX subversive list was maintained from 1967 to 1971. In Vietnam the ADEX approach was implemented in a program called Operation Phoenix. The number of South Vietnamese citizens executed in Operation Phoenix ranges between 21,000 and 70,000. The importance from ADEX is that we know from our history that the people on the right side of issues like civil rights and protecting our democracy are put on FBI lists. An updated version of ADEX was called TALON until it was shut down by the Defense Department on September 17, 2007. Sgt. Sara Woods of the American Forces Press Service wrote on August 21, 2007 that TALON was created in 2002 by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz. TALON had been used by the military to track low level terrorist threats and illegally includes people involved in the US peace movement. We know from a Washington Post February 15, 2006 disclosure that the National Counterterrorism Center maintains a list of 325,000 people. The termination of TALON resulted from program leaks that American citizens were input into the database based on their political views. In a classic doublespeak, the Defense Department announced TALON really was not terminated because a new classified program replaces it and needed transitional functionality was provided by the FBI’s Guardian reporting system. In essence, TALON was not declawed but given a turbo shot of new functionality as the new database is reported to not only track people but include triggers to disrupt e-mail, websites, and the ability to access information on the Internet. The

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Are You With Us Or Against Us? (continued) database also enables real time spying on peacemakers. Peacemaker phone numbers, financial transactions, and even library records are tracked by this more powerful system. The following paragraph, hard to believe when it was published in American Hiroshima in 2005, now describes a daily reality. “Spying on Americans, in violation of the US law, is a routine NSA activity. Someday US citizens will realize the full extent of the government’s surveillance activity and be shocked. Few Americans realize that carrying a cell phone means your location can be tracked. In addition the NSA can produce a report of people you meet who are also carrying a cell phone. The cell phone data can be supplemented with locations where you used a credit card or passed a toll booth in your vehicle. While this is often unknown by Americans, potential al Qaeda recruits and others wishing to harm Americans can access tips on how to avoid NSA monitoring and maintain COMSEC (communication security) by visiting their local Internet cafe. The real danger in illegal spying is to America’s democracy, as legal spying is easily obtained when requested by the government. When groups with opposing opinions are targeted for surveillance, they may be just a step away from being targeted for elimination.” On August 5, 2007, President Bush signed a bill legalizing domestic warrantless eavesdrops and some previously illegal operations such as the Terrorist Surveillance Program. This new law requires that the nation’s communications providers, such as AT&T, give the US government access to their systems. The resulting data-mining of phone and computer systems is comprehensive. For example, cell phones become active government broadcasting devices even when they are turned off. In addition to your computer, phone, and mail, even your printer can be a spy in your home. This Orwellian notion may be hard to believe but here is how it works. The US government works directly with printer manufacturers to embed patterns on printed documents. In almost every color laser printer, tiny yellow dots unique to each printer are printed on each page. The dots cannot be seen unless they are viewed through a microscope under a blue light. The FBI has a computer program that can rapidly match a printer with the person that purchased it provided they used a credit card or subsequently submitted a warranty card. Why has the Bush administration made an all out effort to spy on Americans? History would tell us it is to blackmail opponents, prevent issues like impeachment from gaining momentum, and ultimately send people to prison camps. The shocking fact is there are already hundreds of prison camps in the United States. The vast majority of the prison camps are already staffed and surrounded by armed guards. These prison camps have railroad facilities, existing roads, and often an airport nearby. Where are they? Active and non-active military bases are ready to receive dissidents in part due to the January 2006 Halliburton contract enabling these facilities to quickly be “upgraded” to receive prisoners. To fill the now empty prisons, FEMA only needs the president’s signature on a proclamation, the attorney general's signature on a warrant, and a list of names attached to the warrant. Why do you think the domestic spying rules have been sidestepped? The procedures to legally conduct

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Are You With Us Or Against Us? (continued) domestic spying have been in place for years. The big difference now is there is no auditable record with protective checks and balances. While the neo-cons have successfully convinced the public that domestic spying is limited to terrorists, anyone who has bothered to think for a moment realizes President Bush has always had the power to legally intercept phone calls with the objective of protecting Americans. This can be done without delay and there was no need to circumvent the prior rules. This issue has never been about protecting Americans from real threats but protecting Americans from having their democracy stolen from under their feet as there are no checks and balances on spying focused on law abiding citizens. In 2003, Homeland Security authorized a plan called ENDGAME. The name ENDGAME comes from chess and refers to the stage of the game when there are only a few pieces left on the board. ENDGAME expands the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 so that mass groups of people can be “removed.” ENDGAME is designed to suppress dissent by placing people in prison who have not been convicted of a crime. Even without the history of Rex 84, ADEX, and ENDGAME, Americans should be asking why was Halliburton awarded a $385 million contract to build internment camps? The January 24, 2006 Halliburton Press Release even notes, “the contract, which is effective immediately, provides for establishing temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) Program facilities in the event of an emergency influx of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new programs.” Daniel Ellsberg observed, “almost certainly this is preparation for a roundup after the next 9/11 for MidEasterners, Muslims and possibly dissenters.” Daniel Ellsberg has been saving lives as a true patriot since he released the Pentagon Papers in 1971. He also observed “they’ve already done this on a smaller scale, with the ‘special registration’ detentions of immigrant men from Muslim countries, and with Guantanamo.” With a Democratic Congress, the likelihood of an ENDGAME implementation is greatly less. Nonetheless, what could ENDGAME look like if ordered by President Bush? 1. Massive media campaign to dehumanize Iranians, illegal aliens and label dissenters as 5th column traitors. 2. A self-inflicted attack or response to a blowback attack (e.g., American Hiroshima). 3. High value targets are secretly rounded up and/or assassinated by US mercenaries. 4. The first public roundup is announced as only applicable to Iranians and illegal aliens. This is really a cover for the broad arrests of US citizens who have spoken against the policies of the government. 5. The US border fence becomes a wall as guards are ordered to prevent US citizens from leaving the country. 6. FEMA teams coordinate with local FBI offices to roundup well-known US citizens, film makers, journalists, talk show celebrities, authors, and activists. 7. As word spreads that dissidents are disappearing, and as a result of the reaction to the event that prompted ENDGAME to be ordered, dissidents are publicly roundup with the message to the general public that they are internal enemy combatants. 8. Government propaganda, profiling how US citizens have betrayed the

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Are You With Us Or Against Us? (continued) government is broadcast frequently and widely. 9. Fear is the key lever to build the momentum of internments so that half a million people can be sent to concentration camps without the remaining 300 million people stepping forward to restore justice. 10. Local state and city police will be ordered to detain lower value dissidents. The use of electronic anklet devices restrict lower value dissidents to house confinement. Could even family members be afraid to speak with their loved ones once ENDGAME is implemented? Will the message to stay away from “enemy combatants” or risk being arrested create the needed fear level? Unfortunately, in some situations the answer is yes. The Bush administration fears that people will become educated about these plans and realize that once they overcome their fear, the entire house of cards begins to fold. I am sure the above seems to be hard to believe for a person who is reading this for the first time. A personal experience may help highlight that we must be careful not to become a constitutional dictatorship. In 2005, I worked as a volunteer to help people during Hurricane Katrina. My eyes were opened to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s mission by this experience and by reading reports like the one published by Laurie Smith Anderson in the Louisiana Advocate on September 16, 2005. The first three paragraphs of this article titled, “Doctor says FEMA ordered him to stop treating hurricane victims” are worth repeating. In the midst of administering chest compressions to a dying woman several days after Hurricane Katrina struck, Dr. Mark N. Perlmutter was ordered to stop by a federal official because he wasn't registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "I begged him to let me continue," said Perlmutter, who left his home and practice as an orthopedic surgeon in Pennsylvania to come to Louisiana and volunteer to care for hurricane victims. "People were dying, and I was the only doctor on the tarmac (at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) where scores of nonresponsive patients lay on stretchers. Two patients died in front of me. "I showed him (the U.S. Coast Guard official in charge) my medical credentials. I had tried to get through to FEMA for 12 hours the day before and finally gave up. I asked him to let me stay until I was replaced by another doctor, but he refused. He said he was afraid of being sued. I informed him about the Good Samaritan laws and asked him if he was willing to let people die so the government wouldn't be sued, but he would not back down. I had to leave." Why did this happen? Dr. Perlmutter had not previously signed an agreement that would have subjected him to US secrecy laws. FEMA is more concerned with the wrong media moment than saving lives. It does not make sense until you realize FEMA is an agency that both helps in disasters and simultaneously executes dark missions to suppress dissent. Understanding this helps explain why Blackwater mercenaries were sent to reinforce FEMA in New Orleans. The real Hurricane Katrina story that people failed to realize is FEMA is the executive arm of a police state. A key reason FEMA personnel initially failed to help people is because after 9/11 President Bush stressed FEMA’s public containment mission over FEMA’s public assistance mission. Hurricane Katrina was mismanaged because the initial response was a “dry run” exercise to roundup refugees. This is why early on

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Are You With Us Or Against Us? (continued) the words “refugees” and “internees” were used by FEMA personnel. It was only after the initial two days that FEMA started to transition to focusing on public assistance as the priority mission. When will people wake up and see that real patriots are not the corrupt and hypocritical leaders? Real patriots care about the US Constitution and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Perhaps you have heard that a frog will stay in a container of water if the temperature is slowly increased. Well, this is not true. A frog is actually smart enough to jump out of the water. The series of new laws have brought the temperature for us near the boiling point. The new laws, combined with numerous signing statements, are absolutely an immediate threat to our democracy. Are we smart enough to take action? Is it time to ask why the US Northern Command has martial law exercises planned like Vigilant Shield 08? In summary, the 2006 Military Commissions Act is far more than non-US citizens being stripped of Habeas Corpus and eliminating the rights of Guantanamo detainees. President Bush, is leading the US toward a constitutional dictatorship. President Bush and Vice President Cheney fear true American patriots. They know that people pursuing non-violent actions to love each other and to protect our Constitution are far more dangerous to their plans to control the US than “terrorists” in far away places like the Middle East. We must learn from history. When the Enabling Act passed in Germany in 1933, few people spoke out in opposition. By legal means, Hitler’s Enabling Act empowered one of the worst dictatorships in history. We can reverse a similar slippery slope toward constitutional dictatorship in our own country by using non-violent acts of resistance to work toward justice. The Bill of Rights and Habeas Corpus must be restored along with the protections provided by the Constitution. President Bush’s ability to take over all branches of government by declaring an emergency must end. We need to vote for political leaders that protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To become part of the solution, join Teach Peace and stand up for our democracy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------David Dionisi is the National Awareness Officer for the Teach Peace Foundation (www.teachpeace.com) and the author of American Hiroshima.