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Rex 84
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a plan by the United States federal government to test their
ability to detain large numbers of American citizens in case of massive civil unrest or national emergency.
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.

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]

Contents
1 References
2 External links
2.1 Concerns about future civil liberties issues
2.2 Critical of conspiracist interpretations

References
References
1. ^ Diana Reynolds, "The Rise of the National Security State: FEMA and the NSC (http://
www.publiceye.org/liberty/fema/Fema_0.html) ," CovertAction Information Bulletin, issue #33 (Winter
1990).
2. ^ Donner, Frank (1980). The Age of Surveillance: The Aims & Methods of America's Political Intelligence
System. New York: Alfred Knopf, 166.
3. ^ Reynolds, [1] (http://www.publiceye.org/liberty/fema/Fema_3.html)
4. ^ Ridenhour, Ron (1975). "Garden Plot and the New Action Army". CounterSpy.
5. ^ Chip Berlet, Right Woos Left, [2] (http://www.publiceye.org/rightwoo/rwooz9-14.html)
6. ^ Berlet and Reynolds

External links
Concerns about future civil liberties issues
"U.S. Can Confine Citizens Without Charges, Court Rules," Jerry Markon, Washington Post, September
10, 2005; Page A01 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/
AR2005090900772.html)
"Reagan Aides and the 'Secret' Government," Alfonso Chardy, Miami Herald, July 5, 1987. (http://
www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/secret_white_house_plans.htm) Also available as
photoscans in PDF format here (http://www.noncombatant.org/trove/chardy-shadow-government.pdf) .
"Martial Law Concerns," Congressman Jim McDermott, House of Representatives, March 11, 2003
(http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/sp030311.shtml)
Information about Operation Garden Plot, the larger operation of which Rex 84 was a part (http://
www.cryptome.org/garden-plot.htm)
"Foundations are in place for martial law in the US," Ritt Goldstein, Sydney Morning Herald, July 27,
2002 (http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/07/27/1027497418339.html)
"The Model State Emergency Health Powers Act: An Assault on Civil Liberties in the Name of
Homeland Security," Sue Blevins, Heritage Foundation Lecture #748, June 10, 2002 (http://
www.heritage.org/Research/HealthCare/HL748.cfm)
"325,000 Names on Terrorism List, Rights Groups Say Database May Include Innocent People," Walter
Pincus and Dan Eggen, The Washington Post, Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page A01 (http://
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/14/AR2006021402125.html)

Critical of conspiracist interpretations

Chip Berlet, Right Woos Left, Discussion of Rex 84 conspiracy theories. (http://www.publiceye.org/
rightwoo/rwooz9-14.html)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_84"

Categories: Civil detention in the United States
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This page was last modified on 8 July 2008, at 01:10.

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