Rex 84 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rex 84
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(January 2007) Rex 84, short for
Readiness Exercise 1984, is a plan by the
United States federal government to test their ability to detain large numbers of American citizens in case of civil unrest or national emergency.
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Description
Exercises similar to Rex 84 happen periodically.
[1] Plans for roundups of persons in the United States in times of crisis are constructed during periods of increased political repression such as the
Palmer Raids and the
McCarthy Era. For example, from 1967 to 1971 the
FBI kept a list of persons to be rounded up as subversive, dubbed the "ADEX" list.
[2]
According to scholar Diana Reynolds:
The Rex-84 Alpha Explan (Readiness Exercise 1984, Exercise Plan; otherwise known as a
continuity of government plan), indicates that
FEMA in association with 34 other federal civil departments and agencies conducted a civil readiness exercise during April 5-13, 1984. It was conducted in coordination and simultaneously with a Joint Chiefs exercise, Night Train 84, a worldwide military command post exercise (including Continental U.S. Forces or CONUS) based on multi-emergency scenarios operating both abroad and at home. In the combined exercise, Rex-84 Bravo, FEMA and
DOD led the other federal agencies and departments, including the
Central Intelligence Agency, the
Secret Service, the
Treasury, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
Veterans Administration through a gaming exercise to test military assistance in civil defense. JOAN OF ARC. The exercise anticipated civil disturbances, major demonstrations and strikes that would affect continuity of government and/or resource mobilization. To fight subversive activities, there was authorization for the military to implement government ordered movements of civilian populations at state and regional levels, the arrest of certain unidentified segments of the population, and the imposition of martial rule.
[3] Existence of a master military contingency plan, "
Garden Plot" and a similar earlier exercise, "Lantern Spike" were originally revealed by journalist
Ron Ridenhour, who summarized his findings in "Garden Plot and the New Action Army."
[4]
Rex 84 was mentioned during the
Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987, and subsequently reported on by the
Miami Herald on July 5, 1987.
[5]A number of websites and alternative publications that span the political spectrum have hypothesized upon the basic material about Rex 84, and in many cases hyperbolized it into a form of
urban legend or
conspiracy theory. Rex 84 is sometimes cited as an extension of the fictional
King Alfred Plan, a strategy to detain African Americans. Nonetheless, the basic facts about Rex 84 and other contingency planning readiness exercises--and the potential threat they pose to civil liberties if fully implemented in a real operation--are taken seriously by scholars and civil liberties activists.
[6]
In 2008, for the first time an active military unit has been given a dedicated assignment stateside for civil unrest containment. It is assigned to
Northcom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide command and control for federal homeland defense efforts and coordinate defense support of civil authorities.
[7]
References
- ^ Diana Reynolds, "The Rise of the National Security State: FEMA and the NSC," CovertAction Information Bulletin, issue #33 (Winter 1990).
- ^ Donner, Frank (1980). The Age of Surveillance: The Aims & Methods of America's Political Intelligence System. New York: Alfred Knopf, 166.
- ^ Reynolds, [1]
- ^ Ridenhour, Ron (1975). "Garden Plot and the New Action Army". CounterSpy.
- ^ Chip Berlet, Right Woos Left, [2]
- ^ Berlet and Reynolds
- ^ Cavallaro, Gina; "Brigade homeland tours start Oct. 1"; Army Times, online, Monday Sep 8, 2008 Link Removed
External links
Concerns about future civil liberties issues
Critical of conspiracist interpretations