Timeline to Tyranny

1. arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority
2. the government or rule of a tyrant or absolute ruler
3. a state ruled by a tyrant or absolute ruler

President Ronald Reagan once said: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” The horrors of 9/11 that took place over a decade ago were a shameful tragedy in American history and should have never been permitted to happen. Unfortunately, this event forever changed the course of our nation. Whether the circumstances surrounding these attacks were allowed to happen because of incompetence, collusion, or downright treasonous acts of orchestration and compliance is not the subject of this article.

This article is about documenting a timeline to tyranny. Any single event might be dismissed, but when viewed in this manner in total, we think that the evidence is clear.

On September 11, 2001: The United States was attacked by 19 Saudi terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda who hijacked four passenger jets and crashed them into World Trade Center and the Pentagon while the fourth plane was crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. All told, nearly 3,000 people died in these attack.

On October 7, 2001: President George W. Bush authorized the military’s war on the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces inside Afghanistan. The initial military objectives of “Operation Enduring Freedom—Afghanistan”were the destruction of terrorist training camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of al-Qaeda leaders and the cessation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan.

On October 23, 2001: Just weeks after the tragic events of 9/11, the first draft of the PATRIOT ACT (H.R. 3162) was introduced into the House incorporating many provision of H.R. 2975 and S.1510 as well as H.R. 3004 (the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act). No member of Congress was even allowed to read the first PATRIOT ACT. William Safire writing for the New York Times, described the first PATRIOT ACT’s powers by saying that President Bush was “seizing dictatorial control.”

The USA PATRIOT ACT and its 300 pages were printed at 3:00am for a vote that took place at 11:00am that same morning. With the passage of this act, the U.S. federal government was given the ability to wiretap, conduct electronic surveillance, pry into private medical records, and to access financial records such as bank and credit card statements. They were even given the power to look into public library records.

On October 26, 2001: President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act into law.

On November 25, 2001: President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to the September 11 attacks. This organization’s primary responsibility was the protection of the United States of America and US Territories from and responding to terrorist attacks, man-made accidents and natural disasters. In the ten years that have passed since its birth, DHS has become the employer to more than 200,000 employees and is now the third largest Cabinet department after the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

On March 19, 2003: President George W. Bush gave the order to attack Iraq in order to “Disarm Iraq of Weapons of Mass Destruction, to end Saddam Hussein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people.”

On January 14, 2005: The Department of the Army published Army Regulation 210-35: Civilian Inmate Labor Program, which provided Army policy and guidance for establishing civilian inmate labor programs and civilian prison camps on Army installations.

On October 17, 2006: President George W. Bush signed into law the John Warner Defense Authorization Act (Law 109-364 / H.R. 5122) which did the following:

• Allocated $500 billion to the military and defense related activities for fiscal year 2007.
• Expanded the President’s power to declare martial law under revisions to the Insurrection Act, and take charge of United States National Guard troops without state governor authorization when public order has been lost and the state and its constituted authorities cannot enforce the law.
• Had a sunset date of September 30, 2012 (Author’s Note: expect this to be renewed like the US PATRIOT ACT before it…).

On October 17, 2006: President George W. Bush signed into law The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006 (H.R. 6166) which was drafted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The Act’s stated purpose was “To authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war and for other purposes.”

On January 24, 2006: KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton Company,announced that it was awarded a contract from the Department of Homeland Security to support its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in the event of an emergency. The value of this contract was $385 million.

Using the military for law enforcement goes against one of the founding tenets of our democracy. We fail our Constitution, neglecting the rights of the States, when we make it easier for the President to declare martial law and trample on local and state sovereignty.—Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)

On May 9, 2007: President George W. Bush signed National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD51) and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-20). These directives essentially say that when the president determines a national “catastrophic emergency” has occurred, he can assume dictatorial powers to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over. They loosely define “catastrophic emergency” as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the US population, infrastructure, environment, economy or government functions.” It should be noted that neither NSPD-51 nor HSPD-20 has any reference to Congress. This Executive Order ensures a continuity of governmental program can be implemented without any Congressional approval or oversight.

On July 20, 2007: Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) was asked by his constituents to see what was contained in the classified portion of the White House’s plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack as might be implied by the previous Directive. DeFazio, who sits on the Homeland Security Committee and has clearance to view classified material, was denied access to view the documents, and he was not given a reason why. “I just can’t believe they’re going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack. We’re talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America,” DeFazio says. “I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee. Maybe the people who think there’s a conspiracy out there are right.”

On November 4, 2008: The U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Institute publishes Known Unknowns: Unconventional “Strategic Shocks” in Defense Strategy Development warning that the United States may experience massive civil unrest in the wake of a series of crises which it has termed “strategic shock.” The report states:

Widespread civil violence inside the United States would force the defense establishment to reorient priorities in extremis to defend basic domestic order and human security.

Enter Obama—Promises of Hope and Change and An End to the Bush Era?

So, as of the Presidential Inauguration in January of 2009, all these unprecedented powers were handed over to President Obama, allowing him the ability to declare martial law without any Congressional oversight or approval. So based on what could potentially be a false national emergency, this empowers the President to activate US military troops and National Guardsmen to conduct domestic policing of the American people on his authority.

On January 11, 2010: President Barack Hussein Obama signed an Executive Order creating A Council of Governors. This body of ten state governors directly appointed by Obama will work with the federal government to help advance the “synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States.” The non-elected governors would liaise with the Pentagon’s Northcom, Homeland Security, the National Guard as well as DOD officials from the Pentagon.

On February 12, 2010: The Department of the Army published Regulation: FM 3-39.40, Internment and Resettlement Operations Manual.

This U.S. Army document was prepared for the Department of Defense and “was not meant for public consumption.” It contains shocking plans for “political activists” to be pacified by “PSYOP officers” into developing an “an appreciation of US policies” while detained in prison camps inside the United States.

Both the UN and Red Cross are named as partners including federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA. If this doesn’t bother you perhaps you should apply.

 Here is the job description that the US Army is recruiting for.

The Pace of Tyranny Quickens

On February 11, 2011: Obama created a “Continental Perimeter” described as a key step in advance of the North American Union. Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper quietly bypassed Congress to sign on the basis of their executive authority a declaration that put in place a new national security vision defined not by the U.S. national borders, but by a continental view of a “North American perimeter.”

On March 19, 2011: The United States embarked on yet another unconstitutional war (this time with no Congressional approval) in the Middle East when it launched scores of Tomahawk cruise missiles at the sovereign state of Libya. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution reads: “Congress shall have power to… declare War.” President Obama authorized “limited military action in Libya.” He does not have the authority to call for military action against other countries without Congressional approval. The executive branch of the United States government had engaged the United States in an unlawful war—and one of the most flagrant violations of the Constitution since the end of World War II. Congress recognized no claimed power of the president to wage war outside of the War Powers Resolution. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Walter Jones’ (R-NC) efforts to impeach the President on this violation…

On May 26, 2011: President Barack Obama signed a four-year extension of three key provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act allowing for roving wiretaps, searches of business records and conducting surveillance of“lone wolves” – individuals suspected of terrorist-related activities not linked to terrorist groups.

On September 30, 2011: American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki and his teenage son were assassinated under orders of President Obama without regard for a previous executive order that forbids assassinations. A U.S. Federal judge considering a case brought on by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the ACLU raised some “serious questions” asking:

Can the executive order the assassination of a US citizen without first affording him any form of judicial process whatsoever, based on the mere assertion that he is a dangerous member of a terrorist organization?

Keep in mind this took place in Yemen. Now we have drones flying over the United States and nearly crashing into airliners. While the President has assassinated an American in Yemen, someone Topeka, Kansas could be next!

The Obama administration and its enablers have established, legitimized, and normalized a national security state apparatus that removes any doubt that domestic policing is a prelude to a totalitarian police state.—American Civil Liberties Union

December 31, 2011: Obama signed the highly controversial The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2012 (H.R. 1540) which is unprecedented, unconstitutional and gives the office of the president unchecked dictatorial powers in the name of protecting the security of the homeland. This treasonous piece of legislation gives the federal government truly frightening allowing for:

• Military Law Enforcement and an end of the Posse Comitatus Act
• Section 1021: Indefinite Detention without Charge or Trial
• Section 1022: Establishes Requirement for Military Custody

The NDAA was born out of secrecy and deception. It was drafted by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich) and John McCain (R-Ariz) behind closed doors and without any other kind of hearings. Publically, Obama deceived the American people saying he was going to veto the legislation, yet he secretly insisted on specific provisions targeting the American citizens be added.

Despite Obama’s pledge not to use signing statements, he went out of his way to do so again when he signed the NDAA into law on News Years Eve. Charlie Savage wrote in The New York Times that Obama“has issued signing statements claiming the authority to bypass dozen of provisions of bills enacted into law since he took office,” thereby doing exactly what he promised not to do.

Section 1021 affirms the executive branch’s authority to detain persons covered by the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40; 40 U.S.C. 1541 note).

Section 1022 seeks to require military custody for a narrow category of non-citizen detainees who are “captured in the course of hostilities by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.”

We’re talking about American citizens who can be taken from the United States and sent to a camp at Guantanamo Bay and held indefinitely. It [NDAA] puts every single American citizen at risk.—Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)

On March 10, 2012: President Obama signed The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011 (H.R. 347) commonly known as the anti-protest “Trespass Bill.” This bill makes the simple trespass in an area under Secret Service protection (such as a campaign event) a federal offense punishable for up to 10 years. Federal agents now have sweeping powers to arrest protestors and charge them with a felony, effectively killing the First Amendment!

On March 16, 2012: Obama issued another unconstitutional executive order. The National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order allows the government to confiscate your property without due process under the direction of Janet Napolitano and the Department of Homeland Security. This Executive Order underscore’s Bill Clinton’s Executive Order 12919 which he signed on June 6, 1994. Once again, the latest Executive Order violates our Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 1, which states:

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Any enactment of law by the executive that is made in Excess of Jurisdiction is by definition treason. Is this a means to allow the federal government to steal private party similar to Mussolini’s fascist corporatism?

Road to Martial Law

Previous administrations installed the foundation for Obama’s authoritarian moves. Under Reagan, executive agencies were granted new sweeping emergency powers to seize infrastructure, private property but also round up citizens and put them in concentration camps and force them into slave labor. During the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987, it was revealed that the program was a secretive “scenario and drill”developed by the Federal government to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, and have the military take over state and local governments while detaining large numbers of American citizens determined by the government to be “national security threats.” The exercise was called REX-84 and stood for Readiness Exercise 1984. The existence of the Rex-84 Program was first revealed during the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987 and reported by the Miami Herald on July 5, 1987:

These camps are to be operated by FEMA should martial law need to be implemented in the United States and all it would take is a presidential signature on a proclamation and the attorney general’s signature on a warrant to which a list of names is attached.

On May 10, 2012: Obama signs Executive Order 13563 pushing us closer to a North American Union by providing a framework to organize scattered efforts to promote international regulatory cooperation , the chamber’s top global regulatory official said. Sean Heather, Vice President of the Chamber’s Center for Global Regulatory Cooperation stated, “Today’s executive order marks a paradigm shift for the US regulators by directing them to take the international implications of their work into account in a consistent and comprehensive way.”

Summary

In the ten years that have passed since 9/11, the United States waged war with Afghanistan and Iraq, overthrowing both the Taliban government and the Saddam Hussein Regime. The cost in dollars, lives, suffering and untold misery still continues today. Despite the ten years of war overseas, the Federal Government first under Bush and now under Obama’s leadership, has been systematically erecting a control grid around the American people in our own home. Chuck Baldwin warns us in an essay entitled: Bill Of Rights Is No More:

Americans should realize that, coupled with the Patriot Act, the NDAA, for all intents and purposes, completely nullifies a good portion of the Bill of Rights, turns the United States into a war zone, and places US citizens under military rule. And what is even more astonishing is the manner in which the national press corps, and even the so-called ‘conservative’ talking heads, have either completely ignored it, or have actually defended it. The likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, et al., should be ashamed of themselves!

Many of us are not aware of many of these acts. Many of us probably ignored the implications as we trusted our Government to look out for our interests and national security. As administrations have changed, some of us are now more wary of these actions taken by our Government. We think the trends are alarmingly clear and these powers represent a noose that we soon may not be able to escape.

We urge you to hit the links in this piece to see the backup sourcing of this timeline. We implore you to share this with others to wake them up to where we are heading as a nation. The time is now to speak up, for the timeline suggests the right to speak out against this tyranny may soon be taken away!

In the meantime, keep your powder dry and your faith strong!

This article first appeared at Survival Week

Steve Nolan is the Co-Founder of SurvivalWeek.com and Publisher of The Beacon.