217 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
217 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v
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v^v^ ^v^v
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v^v^ How to Overthrow a country ^v^v
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v^v^ An objective essay written by Senator Bunker ^v^v
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v^v^ ^v^v
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v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^^
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Introduction by Someone Else
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----------------------------
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I've been meaning to write this file for months, but it looks like the good
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Senator from California has put forth that extra effort I was too lazy to make
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in putting this together. This is not a humorous article, to bluntly say; it is
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designed to inform you of proper execution of coup d'etat, that 'stroke of
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state' that topples governments so often these days. Enjoy.
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I. Before you begin
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-------------------
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Subjugation of a nation is a tremendous undertaking requiring foresight,
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ingenuity, and careful thought. The first task of many is to decide whether the
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country is a suitable candidate for a drastic and sudden change in government.
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The degree of difficulty varies with size, population, political awareness, and
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literacy.
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The large state, tending to contain a greater number of persons, differs
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substantially from the small state in that the body politic is much more complex
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and hence more difficult to seize control of. It is generally advisable to
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tackle a smaller, unimportant regime rather than a country that, if seized,
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might draw a foreign power into the coup hence rendering it a failure.
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One thing to do before attempting anything of this kind is to make sure who
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your friends and allies are. With a little effort, it is possible to gain a
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mass of supporters such that it is quite difficult to quell your actions. A way
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to do this is to select (if possible) a nation whose government does not have
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support of all of its classes (poor, rich, middle). Or, if neccesary, lure to
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your cause a religious minority, or ethnic minority, that already has grievances
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against the current regime. Perhaps you might form a coalition. Summarizing,
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it is a requisite to get at least some support besides from soldiers of fortune,
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who are generally "gung-ho" incompetents anyway.
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Ideally, you should be part of some branch of the armed forces, police,
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national guard, or some government agency equipped with personnel trained in the
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use of weoponry. In the public's eye, you already have some sort of authority,
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so a little more authority couldn't hurt, could it?
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So, now what kind of government should we tackle? A democratic? Maybe. They
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are usually fragile, anyway. But much of the international community will frown
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on your taking a small, helpless, struggling democracy, and perhaps take actions
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that are unfavorable. How about a Marxist dictatorship? Now, that's a good
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idea. Most of the time these are anti-communist, even though they receive aid
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from the U.S.S.R., so it is a very good probability that Russia will not jump to
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help them. The Soviet Union waits to see if the new government will be
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pro-Soviet, not pro-Marxist, so you will be safe for the first few days. Also,
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not much of the world likes Marxist dictatorships.
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If you have a choice of which nation to put down (you usually don't), do not
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select a NATO country, or some other nation that receives $4 billion annually,
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because superpowers do not like to see their money to go down the drain so
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suddenly. Pick Martinique, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, or Surinam. If you're
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white, don't go in an African dump unless you have a deathwish. Plus, if the
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country has low literacy levels, good, for the people there won't know what is
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happening.
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Things to avoid:
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- High literacy rate
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- Large per capita income
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- Voter participation
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- An "established" nation
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- Countries with allies
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Things to look for:
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- Civilian unrest
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- Minority in control
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- Centralized government
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- Political apathy
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Note: An OK from Washington or Moscow couldn't hurt.
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II. The Mechanism of the Coup d'Etat
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-------------------------------------
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The first thing that should be done is the neutralization of all relevent
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political forces, including the general infrastructure of the state. This
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includes, among other things, highways, telecommunications facilities (including
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radio, TV, etc.), airports, and so on. The reason these are political forces is
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that they are controlled by nonmilitary portions of the state (in the event you
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were wondering). Unfortunately, these are a large and spread apart group of
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targets, so if you have no tactical or popular support your attemps will be
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fruitless.
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Undoubtedly the absolute first thing you should do is to cut all forms of
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communcations with the outside world off at once. Be sure to include:
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Telephone, Telex, Wireless, Radio, etc. THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT. It will
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prevent the present government from mobilizing its forces, deploying their
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forces in strategic locations that are not normally guarded, etc. It will also
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prevent them from calling outside for emergency help, jeopardizing your hard
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work, not to mention your life. Soon the rest of the world will know something
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has happened, but they will not know who has taken the government, how the coup
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is progressing, and so forth. Make sure all forms of communications are
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completely cut.
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One other important thing to do is remove air facilities from the use of the
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loyalist forces. It is not necessary to seize control of the airports; all that
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is needed to be done is to close the airports. A bomb or two in the middle of
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the runways will do nicely, or perhaps a couple of cars parked there, with
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snipers preventing their removal. You should not rely on airfields for your
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coup; if you rely on them and they are shut down, you will encounter problems.
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The old government will probably rely on them, and you will easily be able to
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prevent their usage of them.
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At an early time during the coup it should be evident as to its success.
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Government officials and employees of higher rank have a choice to make--
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whether to remain loyal to the old government, or to join the new attempt at
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government. If they stay loyal, they may be richly rewarded; if they defect,
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and the coup fails, they will be out of a job mighty quick. The success of your
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coup depends much on whether many of these officials decide to join the coup.
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In addition to those people who remain loyal and those who join your cause,
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there is a "wait and see" element involved. Often this is the majority of the
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population, especially if the present regime is somewhat repressive. They don't
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want to show too much enthusiasm for either side, until it is more or less
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decided who will gain control. It's best to plan a sudden, abrupt seizure of
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all facilities to make the coup seem a smashing success; if this is done, the
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undecided will know to whom to turn.
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When you take power from the original government, it is best to know who
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actually runs it. In most of the world (but not in the U.S.) there are two
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governments: 1- a largely ceremonial government, the part that people see on
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television and at most public events. They are, for the most part, what is
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known as a "figurehead", set off to the side to keep the government's "alter-
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ego" working on policy. 2- the "real" government, the government that
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formulates domestic and foreign policy, makes all executive decisions, and
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basically controls the infrastructure of the nation. The part of the government
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you will need to take is (obviously) the latter. It is composed of the
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executive head (called by whatever title he may hold- Prime Minister, President,
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General Secretary, etc.), ministers, and various deputy and second ministers who
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make small yet influential decisions.
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The people you are most interested in detaining (or bumping off) are the
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Minister of the Interior (he normally supervises the police forces), the party
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leaders (of the ruling party, or of the only party, if a one-party state), the
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Minister of Defense, and the central figure of the "real" government. Once
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these people are neutralized, in one way or another, the basic functions of the
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state will be under your command, at least temporarily.
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What is often done is to detain (under house arrest, of course) the
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aforementioned officials, and leave the ceremonial portion of the government
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alone. This is done to give an aire of legitimacy and continuity after such an
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abrupt turn of events. Later, these may be kept or allowed/forced to leave, as
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need arises.
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You will not stay in power for long if you do not exert some sort of influence
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over the armed forces. The military has the ability to remove virtually any
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threat if perceives from within the boundaries of the nation-- especially YOU.
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If you are a foreigner, and do not have (or used to have but have now lost)
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support of the militia, prepare to die. You as a person will cease to exist,
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unless you leave the country. And, always have several prepared escape routes
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planned out in advance-- even the perfect coup d'etat will have its
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complicatons, and there will be things that you have overlooked. That is why it
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is best to have thoroughly studied the past and recent history of that state.
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Do your homework! If you do you will be richly rewarded.
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III. After the Coup
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--------------------
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Once you have removed the major functions of the government and bureaucracy
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from the Loyalist government, you will not yet be in solid control of them
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yourself. You will want to retain your control, and thus prevent a counter-coup
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from ensuing. Your new regime will be weakest at this time, and many times some
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other group seizes the reins of government hours after a coup d'etat-- and this
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group is not necessarily the old loyalists. The military, political forces
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within the nation, and the public must all be satisfied to some extent in order
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for you to continue your rule. This can be attained either by a show of force,
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or by concessions made to any of these groups, such as a democratically elected
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government in the near future, or granting the military more influence over
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political decisions, and perhaps quickly promoting a number of young officers
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that proved faithful during the crisis. "Promote" those officers who have clout
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but you suspect might try to take more power for themselves to desk jobs, or
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remote outposts. And give them all pay raises, if at all possible.
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The goal of the new regime is to "shear" off the top layer of government, and
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more or less retain the old bureaucracy. Lower officials should be made to feel
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as if little or no change has taken place, and whatever change that has occurred
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is for the better. After a short while these people will realize that the new
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government is fully in control, and all will be calm and orderly.
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Mass media will act as a vehicle to assert your control. Write the first
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communique as a positive, necessary step for a long-needed change. Reassure the
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people that the coup is a revolt for the masses-- not inspired by communists, or
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an extremist group, but by the public in general. Display the national symbols,
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and inspire the feeling of patriotism and unity. These techniques were used
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quite successfully so recently in the 1985 coup d'etat in the Sudan. People
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poured into the streets, waving the old flag of the country, and having an
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all-around good time. A popular general was instated as the new chief of state,
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and a democratic government was promised.
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Lastly, your new regime has to be made to look legitimate in the eyes of the
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international community. Show evidence of atrocities made by the former
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government, witnesses, etc. Take positive steps in the direction of popular
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democracy, promise elections, and invite the foreign (especially American) press
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into the country to see these steps. Soon the world will forget about your
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coup, but whenever your country is in the news, they will remember this.
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IV. A Final Word
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----------------
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You will probably realize now that the fast, simple coup was actually the
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result of much swift planning and hard work. The coup is not an easy thing to
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accomplish-- should you be planning one of your own, know what you are doing and
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be sure to succeed. Hopefully I have been of some help.
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