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Plan C: The Cold War Plan Which Would Have Brought the US Under Martial Law
v3rgEz writes with this story of a top secret Cold War plan which would have brought the U.S. under martial law. Starting on April 19, 1956, the federal government practiced and planned for a near-doomsday scenario known as Plan C. When activated, Plan C would have brought the United States under martial law, rounded up over ten thousand individuals connected to 'subversive' organizations, implemented a censorship board, and prepared the country for life after nuclear attack. There was no Plan A or B....Details of this program were distributed to each FBI field office. Over the following months and years, Plan C would be adjusted as drills and meetings found holes in the defensive strategy: Communications were more closely held, authority was apparently more dispersed, and certain segments of the government, such as the U.S. Attorneys, had trouble actually delineating who was responsible for what. Bureau employees were encouraged to prepare their families for the worst, but had to keep secret the more in-depth plans for what the government would do if war did break out. Families were given a phone number and city for where the relocated agency locations would be, but not the exact location.
This reads like an urban legend... Every field office got a copy, (seemingly) lots of employees were notified, but it's only public 30 years later? Hmm...
You can mod your friends, you can mod your nose, but you can't mod your friend's nose.
We survived for centuries with the number of people and level of industrialization that would remain after a widespread, devastating war, without resorting to these measures. In fact, we have measured the society that this plan seeks to "protect" by the rights and freedoms that the average citizen has gained.
I don't know what "society" means to you, but to me it's the structure by which we all agree that other people exist and have rights; martial law means that society has already fallen.
"Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
Freedom, and everything else, is a privilege given to you by your betters; when the chips are down, that's all out the window. Never forget that.
It's for your own good, you know.
Wish more people read history.
..don't panic
It depends on the specific service member in question.
http://oathkeepers.org/
During the time of the US Civil war, Americans shot their literal brothers - not just their squad mates.
It starts with one soldier. How many follow, and when they follow, depends on the rhetoric of the separatists, how they conduct themselves, how they spread their message, and the counteracting rhetoric and actions of the government.
All of us are alive because people on both sides of the Atlantic with their finger on the "launch" button skipped opportunities to press it. Soldiers are people in difficult situations, trying to balance many opposing directives.
My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.
That and there were a few spies among them.
[Citation needed]. Though I suspect if there weren't spies among 'em when they were interned, there were when they were released.
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill