On May 9, 2007, (then) President George W. Bush signed into law the National Security Presidential Directives – NSPDs.

These “directives” in simple terms, empowers the U.S. President to declare a national emergency using his own criteria and literally seize control of ALL governmental functions-state and local, as well as all private business and commercial activity and to declare Martial Law. In effect, it suspends the Constitution! The definition of National Emergency in the directive reads: “…..a catastrophic emergency 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 functions.” Sound familiar to this week’s events in the news?

Obviously, the apparent intent of Bush’s action was to insure the continuity of business and government in the event of a severe natural emergency (such as super storm) or an attack not unlike 9/11! Just as was the case with the Patriotic Act, our President and federal government greatly over reacted and clearly are guilty of overreaching.

The frightening aspect of NSPD is that it was NOT temporary and remains on the books today! President Obama readily embraced this Bush directive and took it even to further extremes by creating declared Martial Law administered by a Board of Governors who answer directly to the President. The powers of this directive, stated and implied, clearly give a President the tool to “declare an emergency” and impose martial law, suspend elections, seize property and trample the Posse Comitatus Act and the National Emergency Act of 1976. Although it was virtually unnoticed at the time, Obama has already declared a “national emergency” during the October 2011 flu outbreak. What we are continuing to experience with Storm Sandy opens the door scarily wide for abuse of Presidential Powers

The far reaching direct and indirect fallout from “9/11”, which clearly triggered these directives will haunt us for ages. Regrettably, the price we will continue to pay in lost liberty and altered lifestyle we be much greater than the 3,000 lives lost and property damage. While 9/11 brought us closer together and more vigilant, we must remain equally on guard to the loss of our freedom at the hands of the highest levels of our government.

Please, I do not expect you to believe and accept my opine. You may visit and read the NSPD for yourself at this link. Just go here:

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-51.htm

James W. Anderson

Talladega