Do you understand "CONTINGENCY"?

They are SUPPOSED to have plans to cover what might happen.

The problem is that the wording of that stuff indicates that they are anticipating civil unrest that is not connected in any way to a disaster such as a bio-weapon. The example of the Black Panthers proves beyond any shadow of a doubt that it is for the purpose of controling people whose rights have been violated, whose freedoms have been abridged, and who are sufficiently unhappy about it that they are actively working to (re)gain their freedoms and their rights.

On the subject of the oil. You are not seeing the bigger picture. It isn't about the people in the US getting oil. It isn't about people in other countries getting oil. It is entirely about oil companies having access to the profits that come with being the ones who get to extract and sell that oil. They don't give a shit about whom they sell it to. They just want to be the ones who get to make a profit on it. That's why, when they were able to use Saddam to help them get and keep that access, the US government considered him an ally, and even helped him wage war on Iran (another area where the oil companies want access). It wasn't until Saddam started defying orders from the US that he became enemy #1.

The reason they are using the US government to help them secure the oil profits for themselves is because, A. we have a huge military and we can do the job, B. our politicians are in their pockets and are willing to send our brave servicemen and women to die in order to help them maximize their profits, and C. because they can.

IMO, if you had half the concern for the actions that other governments have indicated they would do that you do for what you fear that ours might possibly do, you would think a little more about what you were objecting to the US actually doing.

I've seen enough of the damage done to human beings by what the government of this country has already done (sending our brave servicemen and women to kill and be killed in Vietnam) to be misled by this line of reasoning, beardedbruce. I already know, from personal experience, that the government of this country doesn't give a shit about the citizens of this country. As far as they are concerned, we exist only for the profit we help them generate. That's all.

Aren't you worried about the Canadians? ( **bg** )

Too late, beardedbruce. The Canadians' plan to invade and eventually take over the US is already well underway. They're everywhere now. There's even one of them living in my own home! But they're polite and they've got a lot more common sense than the US government, so I'm not too concerned.