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The Other Drone Question: Is Obama Building A Federal Police Force?
American Thinker ^ | Mar. 18, 2013 | Tara Servatius

Posted on 03/18/2013 6:39:52 AM PDT by EXCH54FE

Less than two weeks ago, Sen. Rand Paul's demanded to know whether the president believed he had a right to kill an American citizen on American soil with a drone, finally getting an answer that had to be dragged out Attorney General Eric Holder. An equally important, but still unasked question is whether the president intends to build a federal, drone-based "public safety" force to police local communities.

Somebody had better ask the president about this quickly, because it appears that his administration intends to use drones to actively usurp what were once local police and sheriff's department functions.

Put it all together, and it sure looks like Obama is building the backbone for that national police force he wanted the first time he ran for office.

Worse yet, both Democrats and Republicans are now openly discussing a plan to put all the drones flown in America's skies, including those owned and operated by local police departments, under the ultimate supervision of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice, consolidating the country's surveillance and law enforcement powers under one powerful federal police jurisdiction.

According to Wired.com, DHS is now experimenting with how its drones can be used in "first responder, law enforcement and border security scenarios."

The DHS's drones could also be used, Nextgov.com reported, "to support emergency and non-emergency incidents nationwide" and to give the department "situational awareness" in public safety matters or disasters, including forest fires. The department also plans to use its drones, and their attached cameras to surveil and police sporting events, political events and large public gatherings.

The problem with DHS's plans is that many of the above functions used to be handled by local law enforcement without any help from the federal government.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: backoffbarry; bhofascism; bloodoftyrants; cwii; cwiiping; deaddronesflying; democrats; donttreadonme; drones; dronesus; govtabuse; guncontrol; obama; obamabrownshirts; policestate; secondamendment; socialistdemocrats; surveillance; tyranny; waronliberty
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While the intentions here might not be totalitarian, the ultimate outcome could be, especially as more federal and local law enforcement agencies come to rely on drone technology and the federal government begins to police the interior in ways that were unthinkable just 15 years ago, before the Department of Homeland Security - and the use of drone technology -- even existed.
1 posted on 03/18/2013 6:39:52 AM PDT by EXCH54FE
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To: EXCH54FE

Ya don’t build a big bright and shiny police state and not use it!


2 posted on 03/18/2013 6:40:45 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: EXCH54FE; Eaker; Absolutely Nobama; afnamvet; Ancesthntr; An Old Man; APatientMan; ...
CW2 Ping.


3 posted on 03/18/2013 6:43:01 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Travis McGee

4 posted on 03/18/2013 6:43:49 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: EXCH54FE

Look for drones to be increasingly looking for regulatory violations from executive agencies like the EPA or to simply eavesdrop on US citizens. It is ironic that the same liberals who rant about how conservatives are going to end privacy by restricting abortions have no problem with a government drone spying on their movements or even peering in thweir windows.


5 posted on 03/18/2013 6:46:18 AM PDT by The Great RJ
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To: Travis McGee

Good question. Why do the police need 30 round magazines? They are trained shooters who shouldn’t need that many rounds to take down a suspect, especially since they operate in teams.


6 posted on 03/18/2013 6:47:11 AM PDT by kabar
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To: Travis McGee

We should hope and pray that the local police will rebel at their authority being stolen - and that they will themselves become the opposition to this - with force if necessary.

Of course, that probably won’t happen in the blue states except perhaps the rural areas and smaller cities.....


7 posted on 03/18/2013 6:47:12 AM PDT by Arlis (.)
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To: EXCH54FE

Currently, the US has 16 major intelligence agencies, and over 100 federal police agencies. And because of a relatively new change in the law, non-police federal agencies may now procure and use weapons and even set up their own SWAT-like enforcement teams.

The most notorious use of these so far was when the Department of Education sent a SWAT team to arrest a woman who was in default of her student loan, breaking into the home of her ex-husband, who lived there with their child, but not the woman. The accusation against her was of student loan fraud, for concealing assets that could have been used to pay off her loan. Typically a civil offense.

And credit where credit is due. Though Obama and his bureaucracy are using it, these authoritarian police agencies were for the most part given broad and unconstitutional authorities under George W. Bush, who, while he was correct in taking the War on Terror to our foreign enemies, devoted just as many resources to creating a police state in the US, against its honest citizenry.

It will take decades of concerted action to dismantle this nightmare, and to set up deep constraints on the government against ever doing such things again.


8 posted on 03/18/2013 6:50:29 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: EXCH54FE
I clearly recall “W” setting up the DHS and thinking, “Oh no, this is going to lead to bad things”.

Billions of bullets + 2,700 MRAPs + drones + Obama’s “force at home” statement = Bad news for white conservative Christians

9 posted on 03/18/2013 6:53:07 AM PDT by ryan71 (The republican party is dead to me. Dead. Don't bother trying to revive it.)
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To: MrB
Its like those highway signs,,,"speed limits enforced by aircraft"

....a drone is on your tail.....and the Hellfire Missile is Armed.

10 posted on 03/18/2013 6:53:22 AM PDT by spokeshave (The only people better off today than 4 years ago are the Prisoners at Guantanamo.)
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To: EXCH54FE

Look at Cyprus. They are confiscating 10% of people’s bank accounts. Is that a sign of what the ultimate goal is here?
The old saying follow the money. We’ve heard that the RATS have been talking about nationalizing 401’s.


11 posted on 03/18/2013 6:55:07 AM PDT by kenmcg (scapegoat)
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To: EXCH54FE

No. Those intentions are indeed totalitarian...

No use pretending they aren’t.


12 posted on 03/18/2013 6:56:14 AM PDT by Dead Corpse (I will not comply.)
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To: Dead Corpse

“We don’t want to take all your guns - don’t be absurd!”
“Buy a shotgun”

Yep, they’re still trying to pretend they aren’t what they are.


13 posted on 03/18/2013 6:58:02 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: kenmcg

And if it was not for the results of the 2010 election and getting obamacare passed taking up more time, they would have done it. They have not forgotten about it, time just ran out on them. Look for it to resurface again when they regain control of both Houses of Congress.


14 posted on 03/18/2013 7:02:32 AM PDT by sport
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To: EXCH54FE

“Is Obama Building A Federal Police Force? ‘

Have they already done it? Starting in the KKKlinton administration many federal agencies including the EPA have become heavily armed.


15 posted on 03/18/2013 7:02:59 AM PDT by Brooklyn Attitude (Obama being re-elected is the political equivalent of OJ being found not guilty.)
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To: kabar

Those DHS MRAPs even have shooting ports on the sides, little swivel mounts in the 4” thick bulletproof windows.

So they can stick the muzzles of their full-auto true assault rifles out and mow down their enemies, one must presume.


16 posted on 03/18/2013 7:07:09 AM PDT by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: EXCH54FE

Is there really a doubt at this point?


17 posted on 03/18/2013 7:11:52 AM PDT by HMS Surprise (Chris Christie can STILL go straight to hell.)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
"It will take decades of concerted action to dismantle this nightmare, and to set up deep constraints on the government against ever doing such things again."

I don't think so. As time goes by this will ONLY get worse. Totalitarians don't give up their power a little at a time until it's gone the way once free American's have given up their freedom. Communism can't be undone incrementally. It fails by either total collapse or war.

18 posted on 03/18/2013 7:14:03 AM PDT by precisionshootist
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
And credit where credit is due. Though Obama and his bureaucracy are using it, these authoritarian police agencies were for the most part given broad and unconstitutional authorities under George W. Bush, who, while he was correct in taking the War on Terror to our foreign enemies, devoted just as many resources to creating a police state in the US, against its honest citizenry.

Some of the libertarians in this forum warned of this when Bush signed the National Security Act but were generally reviled as un-American.

No need to say "told ya' so."

19 posted on 03/18/2013 7:15:58 AM PDT by Aevery_Freeman (They say "Right Wing" but they mean "Wrong Wing"!)
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To: Travis McGee
Those DHS MRAPs even have shooting ports on the sides, little swivel mounts in the 4” thick bulletproof windows.

Presumably, that's why the Marines bought them.

20 posted on 03/18/2013 7:24:14 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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