But I don't think Tom is serious about casting the evil eye at Gates.

Historically, a military challenge to the civil government can be blowback for a refused or failed foreign war. Any whisper of peace meant death for a series of pre-WW2 Japanese politicians. Gorbachev was unseated by plotters bonded on the Afghan battlefield. Even a war hero like De Gaul's life was threatened by veterans after his divestment of the Algierian colony. Shrill and potent criticism of Kennedy's failure to unseat Castro remains a 'usual suspect' in the motorcade routing and security, on that President's last day.

My guess is that our #44 has read Godfather and enough Lincoln bios, and has taken measures to at least embarrass certain parties, in the event his bodyguard proves unable to stop a 'sic semper tyranis' event. Wouldn't you? But the approach taken against 'teach those oil barons a lesson' Carter seems more likely. Economic instability is scary to us pensioners; but to an insider it's pure adrenaline, like a powder day on their favorite slope.

The last really possible threat of a military coupe in this country was following the Battle of Antietam when McClellan’s clique of sycophantic staff and a few line officers encourage him to march on Washington and seize power. Lincoln naturally was not amused that McClellan found it necessary to sit on his butt for a month of inactivity rather than pursuing Lee’s army back across the Potomac. The egoist McClellan, thinking he had saved the republic from Lee’s army, which was about half the size of his own, was resentful of Lincoln’s sensible urgings to follow-up the battle with a vigorous pursuit. However, McClellan was too much the organization man and probably fearing hanging if a revolt failed declined the opportunity.

Smedley Butler was approached by a group of business leaders and vet group org leaders during the Depression and asked to be the head of an apparent build up to a coupe, Butler being the type of guy he was (2x Medal of Honor Winner and recommended for it a 3rd time, wrote the book "War is a Racket" too) alerted the FBI and put the kybosh on it. Now, it was always rumored that it was an over reaction on Butlers side and the no real conspiracy was afoot but you never know.

There have been indications that in 1933 a bunch of swells planned to topple FDR - nver been proven but the stories won't go away. I think the BBC did something on it a while back.

Also, I I'm nit sure where I read this, Marine General Smedley Butler believed that when MacArthur disobeyed ordered and destroyed the Bonus Army's camp he was plying around with the idea of going after FDR as well. No proof for that one either, but both are plausible given the tenor of the times and the types of individuals implicated.

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. said "Most people agreed with Mayor La Guardia of New York in dismissing it as a "cocktail putsch..."

So there was real talk, if not any concerted attempts at action much less any plan that has been discovered. After all, in the 30s a lot of the old money felt that Fascism and/or National Socialism were reasonable alternatives to the international communist conspiracy."

Interestingly, the captcha for this post is "Aramco Moscow." How do they do it?

Ya beat me to it by about one minute! ;-)

Ah yes, Smedley Darlington Butler the ‘Fighting Quaker’. Interesting guy and pretty smart for a Jar Head. The only way a military coup of such magnitude could have succeeded would have been with the cooperation of Douglas MacArthur who was Army Chief of Staff at the time. The problem would have arisen firstly with a Marine getting Army cooperation and secondly, no one could ever imagine MacArthur playing second fiddle to Butler. If there was going to be an American Caesar then MacArthur would make sure it was no one but himself.

lol Sorry brother, I had to do a paper on the guy, only reason I knew that. Never was proved to be on the scale that Butler thought, always was curious about it, if it was on that scale then Butler may have saved the Nation in a way most will never know. Guy was recommended for the MH 3x, Boxer Rebellion, Vera Cruz and The Banana Wars in Nicaragua. Really amazing man, he became a bit of a socialist after some of the stuff that happened in WWI and the depression, other than that he rocked ;)

Butler actually stopped it, after he was approached he alerted the FEDs and the whole thing was broken up and laughed off as an over active imagination on Butlers part. If anyone could have gotten away with a coupe, MacArthur was it I think.

He was only awarded 2 though in the end, one for Veracruz and one for Haiti, he was looked at for one in the Boxer and Banana Wars though. The fact that he is living after one MH is amazing, two and living is more so and he should have gotten a third as well but either way, amazing stuff. A side not for Military Hx buffs, the Banana Wars were the first use of USMC CAS :)

...or even a sedan?

Ducky, are you at the VFW Hall with Ty and having one to many? ;)

The media referred to the Sandinas as bandits back then. Not a happy adventure - we are still getting blow-back for that intervention.

But we gave them baseball - a positive cultural interaction.

It always makes me think of Al Haig's "I am in control" comment after Reagan was shot.

After all, Haig was MacArthur's ADC in 1950 - so there is a direct link there.

I'm not being serious about this, but who knows?

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar but sometimes there really is a conspiracy. Paranoia reigned in Northern Ireland when I lived there because half the time when something goofy happened it really was MI5 or some other spook outfit stirring the pot.

Al Haig's absurd "I am in command” had less to do with a MacArthur like megalomania (although Haig was nearly as arrogant) and more to do with his ignorance of the contents of the U. S. Constitution.

Actually I think it was probably inadvertent. My sense is that he was trying to tell the worried public that a reliable, steady hand was on the tiller.

I suppose he couldn't conceive of the possibility that many Americans wouldn't be particularly comforted by the idea of him being "in control."

Not that it was for the first time. According to Woodward in The Final Days, he was defacto president while Dick was putting away the J & B and having deep meaningful conversations with Lincoln, Jefferson, and all the other dudes hanging out on the walls of the west wing!

As you hinted at a couple of posts above, Haig was probably the filter between a tipsy and maudlin Nixon and the JCS.