Re: USA Disaster

Well, this time it will be very difficult for the president to consult the
congress, since Capitol Hill apears to have also been destroyed.

But I agree with you. I don't think there's any reason to declare martial
law or anything like that since the terrorists are probably dead now. That
kind of thing is more likely to happen when the enemy is still active. Have
you seen the movie "New York Under Siege"?

As I said in my previous mail, I heard, better saying, read, that
information on an Internet site (www.terra.com.br) and was not sure if such
a thing could really happen.


Carlos Felipe Zirbes
DBServer Assessoria em Sistemas de Informação
E-mail: carlosz@dbserver.com.br
Fone: (51) 3342-8055
Fax: (51) 3342-4838



-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Lockhart [mailto:lockhart@fourpalms.org]
Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 4:07 PM
To: Carlos Felipe Zirbes
Subject: Re: [GENERAL] USA Disaster


(taking things farther OT, but it is a interesting subject)

> I have also heard that maybe the army will take over the control of the
> country, putting Bush aside. Just don't know if that can really happen...

Absolutely not. The military here has an incredibly strong tradition of
"no politics", and that would extend to disasters and wars (which we are
nowhere near). In the USA the President *is* the Commander of the
military.

What *has* happened in the past on very divisive issues is that the
Congress sometimes feels that they should be consulted or should
authorize actions or plans. The President has authority to take some
kinds of military action in emergencies, but is expected to come back to
Congress for authorization for longer periods of time. I'm not sure of
the details in effect today, since Congress does occasionally try to
change the rules.

In the last couple of decades, Congress has typically supported the
President in any response to an emergency. And it may not matter if they
don't ;)

As in most countries, there is the concept of "martial law", and that
affects the legal process and citizen rights (not "Bush", who heads the
administration, but rather the judicial branch and law enforcement).
That is more within the realm of possibility, but imho is not at all
likely as of now.

                        - Thomas