By Kenneth J. Theisen, 5/29/07
On May
9, 2007 President Bush issued two new presidential directives, National
Security Presidential Directive/NSPD 51 and Homeland Security Presidential
Directive/HSPD -20. According to the White House press release, “This directive
establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal
Government structures and operations and a single National Continuity
Coordinator responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of
Federal continuity policies. This policy establishes “National Essential
Functions,” prescribes continuity requirements for all executive departments
and agencies, and provides guidance for State, local, territorial, and tribal
governments, and private sector organizations in order to ensure a
comprehensive and integrated national continuity program that will enhance the
credibility of our national security posture and enable a more rapid and
effective response to and recovery from a national emergency.”
In case you do not understand
governmental gobbly-gook, it says that in the case of a “catastrophic
emergency” [The president gets to decide when a national emergency should be
declared. He also gets to decide when the emergency is finished.] Bush has
granted himself the power to run the entire federal government without any
checks and balances, in other words dictatorial powers. The document states
that, “The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government
for ensuring constitutional government.”
What a relief? For a moment there I
was afraid constitutional government was in danger, but with Bush protecting us,
I feel safe. The Bush regime has never abused the Constitution right? And these
presidential directives will only be implemented in the event of a catastrophic
emergency. So what if such an emergency
is defined as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in
extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting
the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government
function.” According to the directives, the emergency could include, “localized
acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies.” In
effect, anything from a hacker attack, an earthquake, hurricane, or another
9/11 type attack could trigger the declaration of a national emergency.
But do not worry! The president will
not be alone in this emergency.
According to the directives, he would be assisted by the Assistant to
the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism who will create a
National Continuity Implementation Plan.
This person will become the National Continuity Coordinator. The implementation
plan will guide not only the federal government, but also “state, local,
territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of
critical infrastructure.” The plan will
impact all government functions at any level and many private sector functions
as well, including communications. The directives also give a prominent role to
the Vice-President. With Dick Cheney
assisting the president, what do we have to worry about? “This directive shall be implanted in a
manner that is consistent with, and facilitates effective implementation of,
provisions of the Constitution concerning succession to the Presidency or the
exercise of its powers, and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 USC 19),
with the consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others
involved.”
Even though the new position of National Continuity Coordinator carries
tremendous powers, it appears that the job can be filled by the president
without the consent of Congress, without hearings, or any interference by the
legislative branch. Even the declaration
of the national emergency does not appear to require any Congressional action
or oversight. The implementation plan to
be developed is to be submitted to the President for his approval within 90
days of the directive and does not require any approval from Congress. In fact
the new presidential directives make no reference whatsoever to Congress and
any effective role of the legislature. But why would a dictator want to be
bothered by a pesky legislature?
Now
some of the readers of this article may be alarmed that these new presidential
directives may have gone too far. But I am sure that President Bush has run
them by Attorney General Gonzales to make sure that they are legal and
consistent with the Constitution and other laws. As the chief law enforcement officer for the
federal government, the Attorney General is charged with making sure that
federal law is fair and not abused. Just
because he called the Geneva Conventions “quaint,” approved a few “torture
memos,” fired a few disloyal U.S. prosecuting attorneys, tried to get a doped
up John Ashcroft to approve the illegal NSA spying operation and generally has
provided the legal justification for the Bush regime program, does not mean
that he will not do the right thing here, does it?