# Continuity of Governance program: Is your name in the Main Core? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 21, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100 "2008-05-21T14:31:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/1 "2008-05-21T14:31:15Z")
Big expose from [_Radar Magazine_](http://www.radaronline.com/from-the-magazine/2008/05/government_surveillance_homeland_security_main_core_01-print.php) – or as much of an expose it can be when it relies mostly on anonymous sources. It starts out by focussing on former acting AG James Comey and his refusal to sign off on the warrantless wiretapping program while John Ashcroft was incapacitated in the hospital. But who cares very much about that? They’re only wiretapping suspected terrorists, right? However, it may have broader implications. > [@](#): > > Few Americans—professional journalists included—know anything about so-called Continuity of Government (COG) programs, so it’s no surprise that the president’s passing reference received almost no attention. COG resides in a nebulous legal realm, encompassing national emergency plans that would trigger the takeover of the country by extra-constitutional forces—and effectively suspend the republic. In short, it’s a road map for martial law. > > While Comey, who left the Department of Justice in 2005, has steadfastly refused to comment further on the matter, a number of former government employees and intelligence sources with independent knowledge of domestic surveillance operations claim the program that caused the flap between Comey and the White House was related to a database of Americans who might be considered potential threats in the event of a national emergency. Sources familiar with the program say that the government’s data gathering has been overzealous and probably conducted in violation of federal law and the protection from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment. > > According to a senior government official who served with high-level security clearances in five administrations, “There exists a database of Americans, who, often for the slightest and most trivial reason, are considered unfriendly, and who, in a time of panic, might be incarcerated. The database can identify and locate perceived ‘enemies of the state’ almost instantaneously.” He and other sources tell Radar that the database is sometimes referred to by the code name Main Core. One knowledgeable source claims that 8 million Americans are now listed in Main Core as potentially suspect. In the event of a national emergency, these people could be subject to everything from heightened surveillance and tracking to direct questioning and possibly even detention. > > Of course, federal law is somewhat vague as to what might constitute a “national emergency.” Executive orders issued over the past three decades define it as a “natural disaster, military attack, [or] technological or other emergency,” while Department of Defense documents include eventualities like “riots, acts of violence, insurrections, unlawful obstructions or assemblages, [and] disorder prejudicial to public law and order.” According to one news report, even “national opposition to U.S. military invasion abroad” could be a trigger. > > Let’s imagine a harrowing scenario: coordinated bombings in several American cities culminating in a major blast—say, a suitcase nuke—in New York City. Thousands of civilians are dead. Commerce is paralyzed. A state of emergency is declared by the president. Continuity of Governance plans that were developed during the Cold War and aggressively revised since 9/11 go into effect. Surviving government officials are shuttled to protected underground complexes carved into the hills of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Power shifts to a “parallel government” that consists of scores of secretly preselected officials. (As far back as the 1980s, Donald Rumsfeld, then CEO of a pharmaceutical company, and Dick Cheney, then a congressman from Wyoming, were slated to step into key positions during a declared emergency.) The executive branch is the sole and absolute seat of authority, with Congress and the judiciary relegated to advisory roles at best. The country becomes, within a matter of hours, a police state. > > \ > > In the days after our hypothetical terror attack, events might play out like this: With the population gripped by fear and anger, authorities undertake unprecedented actions in the name of public safety. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security begin actively scrutinizing people who—for a tremendously broad set of reasons—have been flagged in Main Core as potential domestic threats. Some of these individuals might receive a letter or a phone call, others a request to register with local authorities. Still others might hear a knock on the door and find police or armed soldiers outside. In some instances, the authorities might just ask a few questions. Other suspects might be arrested and escorted to federal holding facilities, where they could be detained without counsel until the state of emergency is no longer in effect. > > \ > > Another well-informed source—a former military operative regularly briefed by members of the intelligence community—says this particular program has roots going back at least to the 1980s and was set up with help from the Defense Intelligence Agency. He has been told that the program utilizes software that makes predictive judgments of targets’ behavior and tracks their circle of associations with “social network analysis” and artificial intelligence modeling tools. > > “The more data you have on a particular target, the better [the software] can predict what the target will do, where the target will go, who it will turn to for help,” he says. “Main Core is the table of contents for all the illegal information that the U.S. government has [compiled] on specific targets.” An intelligence expert who has been briefed by high-level contacts in the Department of Homeland Security confirms that a database of this sort exists, but adds that “it is less a mega-database than a way to search numerous other agency databases at the same time.” Issues for debate: 1. Is this for real? (Anonymous sources and all that.) 2. Will any of this matter before Bush leaves office? 3. Will the next POTUS or Congress change anything about it? 4. If not – do you think an administration of either party can be trusted with this kind of power? 5. Is it constitutional? 6. Is it necessary? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/2 "2008-05-21T14:50:45Z")
1. Given the paranoia and secretiveness of the Bush Administration since 9-11, I really wouldn’t be surprised if it is, but I don’t know. 2. Very likely not. 3. Again, very likely not. The U.S. Government has been considering doomsday scenarios at least since the Eisenhower Administration. Most such plans sit on a shelf somewhere at the White House, the Pentagon or FEMA and are never taken very seriously, let alone implemented. This one, if accurately described, is no more likely to ever see the light of day than any other. 4. What choice will we have? From Lincoln and the suspension of habeas corpus, to Wilson and the Palmer Raids, to FDR and the internment of Japanese-Americans, to Bush and his many near-royal assertions of presidential power, chief executives of all parties have done what they thought they had to in times of (real or perceived) grave national emergency. 5. Probably not, but Congress and the Federal courts are unlikely to say so unless and until the crisis passes. 6. Something like it probably is in this day and age, but the law’s protections are timeless, and meant for both war and peace. I strongly believe that it’s possible to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” as the President and all other public officials of all levels of government - Federal, state and local - while ensuing that the United States will prevail and endure in any future crisis. We just need public officials who share that outlook, and who insist that what-if plans drawn up by the national security bureaucracy fully reflect it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/3 "2008-05-21T16:07:02Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] 1. Given the paranoia and secretiveness of the Bush Administration since 9-11, I really wouldn’t be surprised if it is, but I don’t know. [/QUOTE] Oh, [it goes back a **lot** further than that!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=455418) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/4 "2008-05-21T16:21:18Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] … 6. Something like it probably is in this day and age, but the law’s protections are timeless, and meant for both war and peace. I strongly believe that it’s possible to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” as the President and all other public officials of all levels of government - Federal, state and local - **swear an oath to do,** while ensuing that the United States will prevail and endure in any future crisis. We just need public officials who share that outlook, and who insist that what-if plans drawn up by the national security bureaucracy fully reflect it. [/QUOTE] Added missing phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/5 "2008-05-21T18:08:25Z")
This is nuts. Congress and the courts aren’t advisers, even in emergencies. They are coequal branches, and they each have independent continuity of government plans that do not depend on the executive branch for their authority. The most that happens is that the plans are coordinated in important ways - communications are maintained between branches, for instance. Not to mention the fact that states and municipalities are involved here as well, and have developed contingency plans and emergency operations centers of their own. Even in a general emergency with evacuations, imposition of curfews and such, it would be impossible for the federal government to take over the whole shebang. The local and state authorities would still have a role to play. Hell, the Feds couldn’t evacuate New Orleans by themselves, and you think they can take over the whole country? I’m amazed you have this kind of faith in our government. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/6 "2008-05-21T18:10:32Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] Congress and the courts aren’t advisers, even in emergencies. They are coequal branches, and they each have independent continuity of government plans . . . [/QUOTE] Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/7 "2008-05-21T18:36:04Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Cite? [/QUOTE] [Here.](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html) > [@](#): > > (9) Recognizing that each branch of the Federal Government is responsible for its own continuity programs, an official designated by the Chief of Staff to the President shall ensure that the executive branch’s COOP and COG policies in support of ECG efforts are appropriately coordinated with those of the legislative and judicial branches in order to ensure interoperability and allocate national assets efficiently to maintain a functioning Federal Government. > > (10) Federal Government COOP, COG, and ECG plans and operations shall be appropriately integrated with the emergency plans and capabilities of State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, as appropriate, in order to promote interoperability and to prevent redundancies and conflicting lines of authority. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall coordinate the integration of Federal continuity plans and operations with State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector owners and operators of critical infrastructure, as appropriate, in order to provide for the delivery of essential services during an emergency. > > …20) This directive shall be implemented 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 U.S.C. 19), with consultation of the Vice President and, as appropriate, others involved. Heads of executive departments and agencies shall ensure that appropriate support is available to the Vice President and others involved as necessary to be prepared at all times to implement those provisions. > > (21) This directive: > > (a) Shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and the authorities of agencies, or heads of agencies, vested by law, and subject to the availability of appropriations; [You freaked out about this whole thing at least once before.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=421759&page=1&pp=50) It was just as bogus a claim then as now. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/8 "2008-05-21T18:41:09Z")
And really, think about it. If you were the Congress, wouldn’t you make damn sure you set up your own emergency plan? You wouldn’t depend on the executive branch for that, would you? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/9 "2008-05-21T18:53:27Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] You freaked out about this whole thing at least once before. It was just as bogus a claim then as now. [/QUOTE] I had forgotten all about that thread. Made me laugh reading back through some of that stuff. BTW, Bush is still not king…but there is still time I guess. You never know… -XT ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/10 "2008-05-21T19:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] [You freaked out about this whole thing at least once before.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=421759&page=1&pp=50) It was just as bogus a claim then as now. [/QUOTE] The New Thing here is the previously unreported existence of the “Main Core.” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/11 "2008-05-21T20:22:39Z")
The only thing that would turn this country into a police state is if every time the President ordered something, everyone just did it regardless of what that order was. The President can’t become dictator by announcing on the radio that he’s now the dictator, the rest of us have to go along with it. The cops have to go along, the national guards have to go along, the state governments have to go along, the army and the navy and the marines and the air force and the coast guard have to go along, the local governments have to go along, the newspapers and TV and internet providers have to go along, the judges have to go along, the prison guards have to go along, the prosecutors have to go along, the business leaders have to go along, and the American people have to go along. If the American people decide they want fascism, well, then it doesn’t matter what’s written down on that scrap of paper labeled “The Constitution”. As for the existance of a “Main Core” database of 8 million potentially subversive Americans–isn’t a database of that size pretty much useless? What good is it? If that many people are considered “subversive” then it really means no one is. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/12 "2008-05-21T22:25:22Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] And really, think about it. If you were the Congress, wouldn’t you make damn sure you set up your own emergency plan? You wouldn’t depend on the executive branch for that, would you? [/QUOTE] The Greenbriar is a museum now, but hopefully there’s another shelter set up for Congress. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/13 "2008-05-21T23:45:46Z")
In the event of a true doomsday scenario, I think the People in Charge would consider it necessary to assert martial law, regardless of the legality or even morality of doing so. This prospect doesn’t worry me much because true doomsday scenarios are unlikely to occur, and if the world really were coming to an end the behavior of government would not be the biggest problem at hand. The only thing that worries me is that certain leaders might jump the gun and suspend the Constitution in the event of a much smaller emergency. The hypothetical disaster described in the OP’s article– > [@](#): > > Let’s imagine a harrowing scenario: coordinated bombings in several American cities culminating in a major blast—say, a suitcase nuke—in New York City. Thousands of civilians are dead. Commerce is paralyzed. –doesn’t even begin to justify imposing dictatorial rule on a continent-wide nation of hundreds of millions of people, _especially_ if the enemy is something as small and limited as a terrorist group. And as for the “Main Core”, I am bothered less by the idea that they would use it than by the idea that they are compiling it at all. An excuse to impose martial law may never arise, but the idea that the government should compile huge lists of “untrustworthy” citizens is likely to filter through the bureaucracy and inspire Nixonish behavior by those in power. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/continuity-of-governance-program-is-your-name-in-the-main-core/450100/14 "2008-05-22T00:21:00Z")
Well, how could one find out if she’s Main Core or not? A Catch-22 in the Freedom Of Information Act has been: If you ask to see your FBI file, and you don’t have one, you’ve got one now.