# Bush already planning on using Bird Flu as excuse for Military Action in the U.S. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 5, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946 "2005-10-05T20:22:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/21 "2005-10-06T00:58:52Z")
You’ll get my thighs and drumsticks when you pry … heh heh ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/22 "2005-10-06T01:25:55Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > But I don’t blame Bush for bringing this up after the shitstorm he took over Katrina. Well I do. The man’s a thumblefucked moron who has the same two-step solution for every problem he encounters. 1. blame someone else 2. send troops ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/23 "2005-10-06T01:39:35Z")
So what’s he gonna do? Order airstrikes against suspected bird sympathizers? It’s a medical issue, not a military one. Some people were arguing that the military could not and should not take over in N.O, because that was not their mission or training. Now they are health experts and should get involved? I doubt it. One way to help slow avian flu is to stop the known vectors. Here’s a big one - cockfighting. People drive across the border each day, bringing in birds that may be infected. Stop them. Make sure people know the symptoms that will tell them their flock is infected, or that they themselves are infected. Make sure there is enough vaccine. Have the local ASPCA and Animal Control offer courtesy inspections, or have them start mandatory inspections. That makes a lot more sense. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/24 "2005-10-06T01:40:11Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > Well I do. The man’s a thumblefucked moron who has the same two-step solution for every problem he encounters. > > 1. blame someone else > 2. send troops Wrongo. You forgot: 1. Tax cut 2. Spend money ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/25 "2005-10-06T01:43:00Z")
1. Go on vacation. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/26 "2005-10-06T01:47:17Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Wait, first you say you don’t hate freedom and _now_ you say you’re against martial law? Make up your mind, man! I’m a gift wrapped enigma my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/27 "2005-10-06T01:49:10Z")
I was going to say that. great minds think alike. Are you guys saying its against the LAW to have the military quarrantine cities? If so, why is Bush saying that or trying to change it? never mind, I think I know. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/28 "2005-10-06T02:05:53Z")
Ya know, the Repugs that are actualy supportive of this idea would have gone absolutely nuts if Clinton had tried it. Their tiny brains would have exploded at the thought. But you get Dubbya suggesting it and they can’t see why it’d be such a big deal. Here’s the deal. He wants to be able to use the U.S. millitary to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM MOVING FREELY, and using the excuse of an epidemic spread by FREEKING BIRDS as justification. What the hell is he gonna do? Have them shoot down birds? Inch by inch, minute by minute, we become a dictatorship. ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/29 "2005-10-06T02:09:47Z")
agreed. So what are _you_ going to do about it? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/30 "2005-10-06T02:36:40Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > 1. Spend money And _nothing_ says spend money like Kellog, Brown and Root! We’ve got to get this mission _into_ the military before we can outsource it. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/31 "2005-10-06T02:49:55Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > And _nothing_ says spend money like Kellog, Brown and Root! > We’ve got to get this mission _into_ the military before we can outsource it. From the OP’s link > [@](#): > > On Thursday, the Senate added $4 billion to a Pentagon spending bill to head off the threat of an outbreak of avian flu among humans. The bulk of the money – $3 billion – would be used to stockpile Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that has proved effective against the H5N1 virus – the strain blamed for six deaths in Indonesia last week. Does this mean that, if the bill is passed with that appropriation in, the money is in any way controlled by or related to the Pentagon? ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/32 "2005-10-06T03:03:32Z")
> [@](#): > > He wants to be able to use the U.S. millitary to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM MOVING FREELY You really believe this? Are you freaking serious? He doesn’t want people to move freely? ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/33 "2005-10-06T03:09:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Inch by inch, minute by minute, we become a dictatorship. Um, you do realize presidential terms are limited. Tell me I’m being whooshed! ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/34 "2005-10-06T03:45:28Z")
It does not matter who is president at any given time, he answers to people behind the scenes, who have been working on this since before you were born. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/35 "2005-10-06T03:57:03Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > You really believe this? Are you freaking serious? He doesn’t want people to move freely? He wants to use the military to enforce quarantines. Say you have a city, say, Chicago, that has a major outbreak of avian flu. Now the military is put out to keep people from entering and exiting the city. From the article… > [@](#): > > Absent an effective vaccine, public health officials likely would try to stem the disease’s spread by isolating people who had been exposed to it. Such a move could require the military, he said. > > “I think the president ought to have all options on the table,” Bush said, then corrected himself, “all assets on the table – to be able to deal with something this significant.” Now say you don’t have the flu, and you don’t wanna be trapped in Chicago. how do you get out if the military is enforcing a quarantine? What we’d end up with is military checkpoints at all the roads into Chicago. As I said before. Had a Democrat President proposed this, the Republicans would be going absolutely nuts over this. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/36 "2005-10-06T03:59:28Z")
Reading through the article, I actually don’t blame Bush for this. He’s just suggesting to Congress that they grant him the ability to use military forces in the United States. If you were in his position wouldn’t you? “Hey, it would be neat if I could control the military in Cleveland. Never did think it rocks. And I never did get any thrills on Blueberry Hill so I’ll need the 7th division to take over St. Louis while we’re at it.” It’s just a suggestion. The President is free to ask Congress for any power he does not currently have and which Congress has the ability to grant. And Congress is free to say his idea is the most assinine suggestion since…well…since the last time Bush had an original thought run through his cocaine-addled head and he can shove it so far up his ass he finds his own Weapons of Mass Destruction. In short, I’ll blame Congress for this one if anyone takes his suggestion seriously, not Bush for suggesting it. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/37 "2005-10-06T04:08:49Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Does this mean that, if the bill is passed with that appropriation in, the money is in any way controlled by or related to the Pentagon? I’ve no idea. Bush’ll probably veto the bill anyway, as, contrary to his wishes, the [senate just passed an ammendment to it that limits his use of torture in the war on terror.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051006/pl_nm/security_detainees_congress_dc) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/38 "2005-10-06T06:25:55Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > I was going to say that. great minds think alike. Are you guys saying its against the LAW to have the military quarrantine cities? If so, why is Bush saying that or trying to change it? never mind, I think I know. Yes, the [Posse Comitatus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act) act forbids the Federal Government from using the armed forces or the National Guard for law enforecement actions inside US borders. This law does not apply to Governors of states when they call up the Nat’l guard. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/39 "2005-10-06T06:48:10Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Does this mean that, if the bill is passed with that appropriation in, the money is in any way controlled by or related to the Pentagon? Can’t really tell from just this. A defense appropriations bill is almost guaranteed to pass, so it might attract all kinds of riders that may not be even remotely defense related. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946/40 "2005-10-06T06:57:12Z")
I for one can’t believe Bush would scare us like this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-already-planning-on-using-bird-flu-as-excuse-for-military-action-in-the-u-s/324946.md?page=3)