Since Franklin Roosevelt was able to throw millions into internment camps, is it possible

Question

for any future president(s) to do the samething? I mean to through millions into internment camps (especially a certain ethnic group) would certainly be met with revolution and an uprising, would a president even risk that especially today? If they were able to do so how would they be able to "get away" with it?

Answer 1

GITMO (Guantanamo Bay) is an internment camp under the guise of operating as a POW camp. However, several problems exist with the idea that this is, in fact, a POW camp and not an internment camp.

First, the articles of the Geneva Convention are not being adhered to. This would clearly delineate the use of the military base as a POW holding facility, rather than merely as a place to put POW's for interrogation.

Second, the use of a US base outside of the US's national boundaries as the area in which the POW's are being held is clearly not a standard practice for retaining POW's. The justification for using this base is that it effectively becomes a "no-man's land" where the Geneva Convention doesn't apply. As such, no jurisdiction to hold the prisoners exists, and they are thus being held illegally. However, if there is jurisdiction over the area, then the United States would be guilty of war crimes due to the use of clearly-prohibited methods which are essentially torture.

Third, political ideology seems to be used as the justification for maintaining the encampment, rather than actual criminal behavior. We can witness this with the use of indeterminate stays within the prison itself, and release of prisoners tends to be inconsistent and sporadic.

Suspension of Habeas Corpus and much of what was accomplished with the USA-PATRIOT Act has angered and offended American citizens, and the fact that it still has not been completely suspended means that it could conceivably continue indefinitely. This could give future presidents the power to enact similar measures, and to use the military within our own borders and against our own citizens to accomplish its aims.

Additionally, the right of felons to vote is not given in most states, and so a felony conviction for political reasons could suspend the right to vote, thus eliminating any right to oppose what is happening to you. While most people are opposed to the right of felons to vote (on the grounds that suspending citizenship is a part of the punishment), it is far more wise to have no ability to suspend citizenship whatsoever, and to make the prisons themselves into the punishment (rather than making them a place to go to be punished).

There are many reasons for changing the way we handle things, and with all of the threats from our own government, it's time the people actually did something about it. However, people are apathetic because they don't want to be the ones who stand up and do something, as there is nothing happening right now. They won't want to act until things are already happening, by which time it may be too late.

The most likely scenario begins with a political group, which is then linked to ethnic groupings, followed by strict adherence to new laws that specify that these political/ethnic groups are exceptions to the Equal Rights Act. Rounding these people up will then commence after a significant amount of propaganda is forwarded, gaining public support for the action.

Large media companies will be offered significant amounts of money to give extensive coverage to any resistance, which will aggrandize the government's claims that these groups are violent seditionists, and once this group is rounded up, individuals who want to ensure that these people are humanely treated are either government stooges or are arrested for trying to render any assistance.

There's more, but in the end it's far easier than most people think, and all it takes is putting together the right set of circumstances to make it so.

And as to whether or not they would risk it, they have been for 6+ years, now, and nobody's really stepped forward to stop them.

Answer 2

Yes, prez would/could do it and think they could 'get away' with it.

VERY relevant to compare Gitmo (imprisoning non-Americans) to imprisoning Americans.  If govt feels it's ok to do against non-Americans, then it would feel justified to do that to Americans.

To think otherwise is very naive.  (see example below)

(Illustrative example:  David Carradine to assasin Uma Thurman, just before she kills him, in Kill Bill 2:  'Yes, I knew what you were capable of.  I just didn't think you would do it to me.')

Answer 3

You can't get away with doing that to a single ethnic group of American citizens.

All the people who brought up Gitmo are foolish. Those in Gitmo are foreign prisoners. Your question clearly refers to American citizens. Simply said, we;d fight any such thing. To try would be veritable suicide.  

Answer 4

google 600 new FEMA camps and their locations

Answer 5

Bush and Guantanamo Bay!

Answer 6

The Bush Administration is doing this in Cuba. As it happens the Supreme Court and American public opioion appear to be going agaist him.

The Japanese iternment camps during World War II were a big mistake. They were formed from irrational fears.

Answer 7

they could sometime. if we did it, it would be the russians living in our country. The former russian spies. But it probably won't happen.

Answer 8

To compare Bush and Guantanamo Bay with Roosevelt's detention of Japanese citizens during world war 2 is not only wrong, it's stupid.

Almost every occupant of Guantanamo Bay was captured on the battlefield fighting against American troops. According to the Geneva Convention since they were considered terrorists not a legimate fighting force they were not covered by the Geneva convention. What is being done to them is no different that what was done to German and Japanese POWs during the war and they were covered by Geneva.

I often have to laught at the sheer stupidity of liberals in this country who whine and moan about captured terrorists while they did everything they could to undermine the war in Iraq and our troops fighting it.

In spite of them it appears that the war is about over and Bush and the brave American troops did it.

Answer 9

George Bush is doing it right now in Cuba.