Posse Comitatus and Federal Troops

Just a thought....

Historic changes possible in military's role in domestic emergencies

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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..."

"...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 1878, 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..."

"...Di Rita called it one of the "very archaic laws" from a different era in U.S. history that limits the Pentagon's flexibility in responding to 21st century domestic crises.

Another such law, Di Rita said, is the Civil War-era Insurrection Act, which Bush could have invoked to waive the law enforcement restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act. That would have enabled him to use either National Guard soldiers or active-duty troops — or both — to quell the looting and other lawlessness that broke out in New Orleans..."

What specifically is so different about emergency response today that we should consider getting rid of Posse Comitatus and the Civil-era Insurrention Act? These have been in place to protect the American public against the use of armed Federal Troops since 1878. They have worked up to this point, what is different now?

"...The law, was championed by far-sighted Southern lawmakers in 1878. They had experienced a fifteen year military occupation by the US Army in post-Civil War law enforcement. They understood the heel of a jackboot.

In a nutshell, this act bans the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines from participating in arrests, searches, seizure of evidence and other police-type activity on U.S. soil. The Coast Guard and National Guard troops under the control of state governors are excluded from the act..." (The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. US Dept of Justice & Governement Watch)

The Bush Administration now wants to use Federal Troops to arrest, search and seize American Citizens under the pretext of "national emergency". If the United STates hasn't needed this in 123 years why now? The U.S. didn't need posse comitatus changes after 911 did it? Nope, in fact two days after the attack the Bush Administration stated that they knew exactly who did it and why. ( a piece of work that still defies explination, other than Bush knew about it before hand). Anyway, if we could identify the bad guys so quickly, what possible use could the Federal Troops be?

Easy, Bush has made no secret of the fact that he is seeking a Dictatorship. Declaring Martial Law and being able to bring in seasoned Federal Troops to lock down Americans is his goal. The pretext is national security. But, since we have gotten along just fine with Posse Comitatus in place, the reason for change can only be a political manuever by George W. Bush to enslave the American public.

There, I said it. Sounds nutty as a fruitcake to me too. But somehow we have to look at the visible clues and ask ourselves, "What are they up to now?" The Bush Administration has already proven its willingness to lie, cheat and steal, why should we trust them at any level?

Contact your elected representative and remind them that they ARE elected and therefore need to listen, and then ask them to hold strong on keeping Posse Comitatus in place. With George W. Bush in power, we need all the protection we can get.

Don't trust the bastards!