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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.

17 of 313 comments (clear)

  1. Urban legend? by Zardus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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...

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    1. Re:Urban legend? by NotDrWho · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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...

      It probably was just one of a multitude of government-produced silly guides about what to do in X unlikely (or hopeless) scenario. Anyone with even common sense would have known that any "plan" involving the aftermath of a true major-scale nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. would be as worthless as the paper it's printed on (maybe good for starting a fire for a few unlucky survivors). No one probably took it seriously enough to bother leaking it.

      In the event of a major nuclear war:

      Call this number (all the phone lines are down),
      Stay tuned to this emergency TV station (no electricity),
      Go to this city (you mean the highly radioactive rubble of that city?),
      Stay in this bunker (and do what?),
      Arrest this person (everyone at this address is dead)
      Respect this authority (I can't even find safe food)
      etc.

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    2. Re:Urban legend? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Funny

      Where's the problem? Just ask nicely, they're Canadians!

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    3. Re:Urban legend? by blue9steel · · Score: 4, Funny

      1) Call Marine Corps Friday morning
      2) Wait till end of weekend
      3) Declare victory!

    4. Re:Urban legend? by umghhh · · Score: 4, Funny

      The mail would have been delivered by Kevin Costner.

    5. Re:Urban legend? by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Well, considering the armed insurrection at Ferguson, and the raft of armed "activists" ready to confront law enforcement while using peaceful protesters as human shields while burning the property of completely innocent people to the ground, it would be extremely bizarre if they weren't running training exercises. One could say that they would be negligent if they weren't...

  2. Then there was War Plan Red by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Informative
    War Plan Red - The US plan to invade Canada.

    War Plan Red was developed by the United States Army following the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference and approved in May 1930 by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of Navy and updated in 1934–35. In 1939 on the outbreak of World War II and Britain's war against Nazi Germany, a decision was taken that no further planning was required but that the plan be retained.[3] War Plan Red was not declassified until 1974.

    The war plan outlined those actions that would be necessary to initiate war between Britain and the United States. The plan suggested that the British would initially have the upper hand by virtue of the strength of the Royal Navy. The plan further assumed that Britain would probably use its Dominion in Canada as a springboard from which to initiate a retaliatory invasion of the United States. The assumption was taken that at first Britain would fight a defensive battle against invading American forces, but that the US would eventually defeat the British by blockading the United Kingdom and economically isolating it.

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    1. Re:Then there was War Plan Red by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It was part of a series of contingency plans, each labeled with a different color, for various potential conflicts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_color-coded_war_plans

      Some examples:
      Green - Mexico
      Orange - Japan
      Black - Germany
      Gold - France
      Yellow - China

      Probably the most interesting (and dangerous) alternate history was War Plan Red-Orange, which postulated a war against Britain and Japan, who were allied at the time.

      The most appropriate for this subject, though, would be War Plan White, which dealt with domestic uprising and civil disturbances.

    2. Re:Then there was War Plan Red by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Funny

      War Plan Red - The US plan to invade Canada.

      Canadians are generally very nice, polite and reasonable, so I imagine we could simply ask them ... w/o the mess of actually invading.

      --
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    3. Re:Then there was War Plan Red by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Although a war with Britain/Canada seems implausible in hindsight, it was not always considered so unlikely. A decade prior to WW1, many British strategists considered rising American naval power to be the biggest threat to their empire. And they assumed that in a 20th century conflict with America, they could always rely on their historically ally, Germany.

  3. Re:Did anyone expect otherwise? by TheGavster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

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  4. There are no such things as human "rights". by xtal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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
  5. Re:Montreal in October 1970 by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Informative

    The Martial law result of thousands of jailed people because they speak french.

    Internment of American-Japanese in the 2nd world war - just because they looked funny.

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  6. So it was the 1950's PATRIOT ACT by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Because short of the martial law of troops in the streets with body armor and M16's..... Oh wait... Our COPS have those now.
    Well they dont have assult vehicles...... Wait....
    Nor do they have grenade launchers...... Welll.....

    So basically they have been planning on the shit we have today for decades?

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  7. Wow by sootman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And yet somehow we survived with these 10,000 people with connections to subversive organizations roaming freely in our midst. Amazing.

    Dear ALL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: *THIS* is why we don't want you to have infinite surveillance. Because those 10,000 people you had files on did EXACTLY NOTHING. You want to wiretap someone, go get some ACTUAL FUCKING EVIDENCE. Not just "he read this book and knows this guy and likes to encrypt his files."

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  8. Re:Plan A: Abundance & conflict resolution for by Paul+Fernhout · · Score: 4, Informative

    True, and that bit about Iraqis was indeed war propaganda used to justify US violence.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N...
    "The Nayirah testimony was a testimony given before the non-governmental Congressional Human Rights Caucus on October 10, 1990 by a woman who provided only her first name, Nayirah. The testimony was widely publicized, and was cited numerous times by United States senators and the American president in their rationale to back Kuwait in the Gulf War. In 1992, it was revealed that Nayirah's last name was al-Sabah ... and that she was the daughter of Saud Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Furthermore, it was revealed that her testimony was organized as part of the Citizens for a Free Kuwait public relations campaign which was run by Hill & Knowlton for the Kuwaiti government. Following this, al-Sabah's testimony has come to be regarded as a classic example of modern atrocity propaganda."

    Except Las Casa was also Spanish, so presumably "on the same side"as Columbus (or at least his funders):
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B...
    "Bartolome de las Casas, O.P. (c. 1484[1] -- 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish historian, social reformer and Dominican friar. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially appointed "Protector of the Indians". His extensive writings, the most famous being A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias, chronicle the first decades of colonization of the West Indies and focus particularly on the atrocities committed by the colonizers against the indigenous peoples.[2] Arriving as one of the first European settlers in the Americas, he participated in, and was eventually compelled to oppose, the atrocities committed against the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists. In 1515, he reformed his views, gave up his Indian slaves and encomienda, and advocated, before King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, on behalf of rights for the natives."

    So, it is perhaps more like Pat Tillman, who left a lucrative contract with the NFL to sign up to invade Iraq, and who conveniently died from "friendly fire" before a planned meeting with Noam Chomsky over his emerging doubts?
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...
    "Patrick Daniel "Pat" Tillman (November 6, 1976-- April 22, 2004) was an American football player who left his professional career and enlisted in the United States Army in June 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. His service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and subsequent death, were the subject of much media attention.[1] ... Despite his fame, Tillman did not want to be used for propaganda purposes. He spoke to friends about his opposition to President Bush and the Iraq war, and he had made an appointment with notable government critic Noam Chomsky for after his return from the military. The destruction of evidence linked to Tillman's death, including his personal journal, led his mother to speculate that he was murdered.[31] General Wesley Clark agreed that it was "very possible". ..."

    More on that:
    http://www.veteranstoday.com/2...
    "An NFL football star who enlisted in the Army in May 2002, he apparently became disenchanted with the conduct of the war. He not only did not support President Bush for reelection, but encouraged others to vote for John Kerry. According to his mother, a friend of his had arranged for him to meet with Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus from MIT and one of our nationâ(TM)s most respected public intellectuals, who, no doubt, could have launched him into prominent orbit as an outspoken opponent of the war, had he been so inclined."

    But read for yourself what Columbus himself wrote in his log.

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  9. Re:USA invading Canada? by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 4, Funny

    That's okay, we have plans for stopping you from invading. Just leave lots of cases of real beer across the border. You guys won't be able to handle it and we can counterattack.