VICE Disaster Planning Show Sounds Like Conspiracy Fare — But It’s Real
By: Manny Otiko
Tags: Election 2020, Politics, War, Trump, Terrorism

One of the shows you should definitely put on your watch list is VICE’s, “While The Rest of Us Die,” a six-part docuseries on the history of America’s emergency management planning process. However, let me issue a warning. Some of the information revealed in this series is downright terrifying, and people, already drained by living through the worst pandemic in living history, might prefer lighter fare. Still, the series, which starts in the Cold War era, has a lot of compelling information. Many of the facts revealed in the series sound like conspiracy theory-fare, but they’re all too true and that’s what makes it frightening.

The series is based on the book “Raven Rock: The Story of the US Government’s Secret Plan to Save Itself — While the Rest of Us Die” by Garrett M. Graff.

“Our hope with ‘While The Rest Of Us Die’ is to show Americans how those inequities are central to the way our supposedly egalitarian society and democratic government operates. From Puerto Rico to Covid-19 to Black Lives Matter, America has long treated some American lives as more worthy than others. This isn’t new-and in fact in the seventy years since the Cold War, the US has long prioritized spending trillions of dollars in the wrong places in the wrong ways, a problem that has been felt from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to the streets of American cities,” said Graff according to Broadwayworld.com.

Some of the interesting facts revealed in the series are:

The government still has bunkers scattered around the country

This fact is old news and is a trope often used in sci-fi films. Many of these bunkers were created during the Cold War era, but some exist today. Former counterintelligence adviser Richard Clarke is asked about one of these bunkers, and he answers, “I can’t talk about that.” These bunkers were designed to survive a nuclear strike and contain laundries, cafeterias, office space and living quarters. But the interesting thing often mentioned in this series is these bunkers are only designed for a few people.

In the event of a major catastrophe, the government only plans to save a select few, mainly government dignitaries and well-connected people. The rest of us are on our own. And even more disturbingly, considering the folly of President Donald Trump, Cold War disaster plans still allow the commander-in-chief to suspend the constitution. This gives the president the power to round up enemies and order their indefinite detention in the event of a disaster.

Another interesting tidbit, the government secretly admitted that the Cold War “duck and cover” plan was a PR scheme to placate the public. In the event of a nuclear strike, hiding under a desk wouldn’t have saved you!

Richard Nixon was as crazy as we thought

I’ve heard several stories about how the world came dangerously close to nuclear war. But this docu-series revealed a new one. Apparently, in 1969, President Richard Nixon ordered the launch of a fleet of nuclear-armed bombers. The move was supposed to bring the Soviet Union to the negotiating table in the Vietnam war. Nixon’s plan never worked because the Soviets called his bluff. However, that gambit could have easily gone south if the Russians had also decided to launch their bombers. Or even worse, fire off missiles.

9/11 was an even bigger screwup

The events of 9/11 are recent history and they have been well documented. (The episode about 9/11 is titled “C.O.G. Clusterf**k.) We know about the miscommunication, the lack of direction and the plans that failed. But “While They Watch Us Die” digs even deeper into the mess. There were are all kinds of other disasters.

Apparently, Sec. Of Defense Donald Rumsfeld broke the chain of command when he helped in the rescue. His deputy was in the air at the time. I’ve read that Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the military to shoot down a jetliner that was headed to DC. But I didn’t know the National Guard pilots didn’t have any arms onboard their fighters. The pilots discussed ramming the plane that eventually crashed after passengers stormed the cockpit.

Also, some fighter jets flew out to the ocean because they thought the attack was from an external enemy. Clarke, who was in the White House, said at one point he told the people he was holed up with to list their names and social security numbers in case they were killed.

But one of the central points on the episode about 9/11 is how the trillion- dollar military-industrial complex, designed to protect America against external threats, failed to stave off a low-tech attack that cost less than $5 million to finance. That’s like building a giant killer robot only to watch it defeated by a guy with a screwdriver! So what did we spend all that money for?

Jeh Johnson could have become president — theoretically.

During the inauguration of President Donald Trump, former Department of Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson was the person secreted away as part of the continuity of government plan. In the event of a catastrophic attack that wiped out most of the leadership, he would have become president. (This scenario is explored in the series “Lone Survivor,” in which Keifer Sutherland plays a lowly-cabinet member who becomes president after a terrorist attack wipes out the administration.) After watching Trump blunder through the presidency, I think it’s safe to say that Johnson would have done a better job.

However, the series also ask some hard questions about the nature of these government disaster plans. In the Cold War years, America’s leadership was entirely white and male. (Things have changed a little.) And that probably decided who and what they decided was worthy of saving. This point was made in an episode that covered Hurricane Katrina. Apparently, during that disaster, a government helicopter was flown into New Orleans, La. to save blank passports while people were still in desperate need.

So far, I’m halfway through the series. It’s compelling viewing, even though it makes it hard to sleep at night. In this case, truth is more frightening than fiction.

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