Posted on 09/18/2005 9:52:51 AM PDT by Very Goldwater
President Bush's push to give the military a bigger role in responding to major disasters like Hurricane Katrina could lead to a loosening of legal limits on the use of federal troops on U.S. soil.
Pentagon officials are reviewing that possibility, and some in Congress agree it needs to be considered.
Bush did not define the wider role he envisions for the military. But in his speech to the nation from New Orleans on Thursday, he alluded to the unmatched ability of federal troops to provide supplies, equipment, communications, transportation and other assets the military lumps under the label of "logistics."
The president called the military "the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice."
At question, however, is how far to push the military role, which by law may not include actions that can be defined as law enforcement _ stopping traffic, searching people, seizing property or making arrests. That prohibition is spelled out in the Posse Comitatus Act of enacted after the Civil War mainly to prevent federal troops from supervising elections in former Confederate states.
Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said, "I believe the time has come that we reflect on the Posse Comitatus Act." He advocated giving the president and the secretary of defense "correct standby authorities" to manage disasters.
Regardless, I don't want to see the National Guard in a foreign country, and the US military in our streets.
I'm here from the government and I'm here to help.
Slippery sloap... alert!
I knew this bullchit was coming...thanks to an absolute incompetence of the lousyana dembos
I strongly suspect the Pentagon's lawyers will seek to limit any changes to the Posse Comitatus themselves. We in the military don't WANT to be the police. We don't train to be police officers and don't want to. To put soldiers who don't train for policing in policing roles is as dangerous a situation for the soldiers as it is for the civilians. If we'd wanted to be police officers, we'd have joined the police.
The Possee Comitatus Act should be left the way it is... the only thing that needs to be changed are the people in charge of the cities and state of Louisiana.
If they want to patrol the borders, I'm all for it, but you just can't trust the gubmint.
The Dims will raise a great cry against this in an attempt to style themselves defenders of liberty.
No, no, no, no, no!
The only solution to anything seems to be more power to the government. Someone is enjoying this crap!
They told 70 y/o Patricia Konie,"We are here to help you" before they tackled her, disarmed her, and drug her out of her stocked house to a 2.5x6 foot cot.
bump
Only a MORON would not raise a cry against this.
If I were still in the military and I saw another soldier confiscating a gun from a civilian, I would shoot the soldier, shoot to kill. I don't think I'm the only one. Perhaps it would even be legal to do that.
This is a matter for Congress to decide, not the President or the Pentagon.
Nonetheless, any realistic exercise involving a large scale disaster, natural or by terror, should have already led to such a review and recommendations to Congress to provide guidance. I believe that even before 9/11, when Federal Govt planners ran "Dark Winter" (a simulated biological terror attack)....these command and control issues involving the use of military and National Guard for emergency support...were obvious.
While the framers of our Constitution envisioned local and State governments stepping up to the forefront in leadership during crises.... because theoretically, the lower the level of govt, the more likely to be trusted by the people.... I'm sure our Framers never envisioned people like Ray Nagin and Kathleen Blanco being elected to these offices of what used to be public trust.
And I'm sure we can name a few other notably corrupt and/or inept Mayors and Governors......
Factually, even when the people get what they elect, the Feds cannot stand by and let them suffer what they deserve. The Constitution overides the option for the Feds to stand-by when the State fails to act and innocent citizens are deprived of life and liberty by hoodlums willing to murder and destroy for liquor jewelry, plasma screen TV's, and designer running shoes.
Agreed!
And not to worry: the Republicans won't let this happen . . . heh-heh.
You are dangerously disturbed. I am glad you are no longer in the military.
At least he understands what happened in NO. The Constitution was shredded and pissed on by every governmental agency imaginable.
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