------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DICTATORSHIP POSSIBLE HERE

By Lawrence Wilmot and Martin Mann Exclusive to The SPOTLIGHT

Washington, DC -- Hidden in the bureaucratic maze Washington politicians call "our Constitutional system of government," a little-known federal agency is quietly making plans to turn the United States into a dictatorship.

There are "stacks of blueprints" in the top-secret safe of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designed to convert American society into a "command system," a former deputy administrator of the agency has told The SPOTLIGHT's investigative team.

In a private interview, allowing him to remain anonymous, this highly placed source confirmed that the procedures developed by FEMA to "suspend" the Constitution and to round up thousands of dissenters nationwide can be activated by a simple phone call from the White House.

"Even people who have become aware of FEMA's existence and know something about its activities -- not many do -- think the word 'Emergency' in its designation means it will go into action only in case of a natural disaster or perhaps a surprise nuclear attack," related this expert.

"In reality, however, this outfit can be mobilized whenever the politicians occupying the White House decide they need special -- and extra-Constitutional -- powers to impose their will on the nation."

As Liberty Lobby first revealed, FEMA's bureaucrats can then proceed to:

* Take over all farms, ranches or timberland in order to "utilize them more effectively" as decreed in Executive Order (EO) 11490, the so-called omnibus emergency preparedness decree promulgated by President Richard Nixon on October 28, 1969.

* Seize all sources of public power: electric, nuclear, petroleum, etc.

* Freeze all wages, prices and bank accounts.

* Take over all communications media.

A FORCE OF FACELESS FEDS

Such totalitarian measures can be imposed by bureaucrats under FEMA's direction, not just in the face of a cataclysmic upheaval, but "[w]henever necessary for assuring the continuity of the federal government in any national emergency type situation," decreed a subsequent White House ukase, EO 11921, issued by President Gerald Ford in April 1976.

Can such a blueprint for tyranny be clamped on the United States by a force of faceless federal officials? It is the role of FEMA has been preparing for most intensively, says the former high agency administrator.

"In recent years, despite talk of spending cuts, FEMA's budget has been steadily increasing," revealed this knowledgeable source. "It now stands at somewhere around $3 billion annually. I say 'somewhere' because part of this agency's funding is appropriated under so-called black programs, submitted to Congress with the defense budget without an explanation of its purpose, aping the secret CIA appropriation."

FEMA can draw on the defense budget and on the protection of the secrecy reserved for national security projects because it came into being under President Jimmy Carter in a move that merged the civil defense and disaster relief responsibilities formerly shared by the Pentagon, the Commerce Department and the General Services Administration under a single powerful agency.

WHAT'S FEMA REALLY UP TO?

But FEMA's real focus is not on disaster relief, knowledgeable sources say. An investigation of this little-known agency, conducted earlier this year by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the congressional watchdog unit, has found that less than 10 percent of FEMA's staff -- 230 bureaucrats out of an estimated 2600 -- are assigned full-time to preparing for and dealing with major natural disasters such as storms or earthquakes.

What, then, is FEMA really up to? The SPOTLIGHT's investigative team has obtained an advance copy of the GAO report on this secretive agency.

The study's surprising findings have been reviewed with the help of well-placed confidential sources, in order to bring into full view, for the first time, the federal bureaucracy's secret blueprint for tyranny in America.

Reproduced with permission from a special supplement to _The Spotlight_, May 25, 1992. This text may be freely reproduced provided acknowledgement to The Spotlight appears, including this address:

The SPOTLIGHT 300 Independence Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003