Posse Comitatus - 20,000 by 2011

[creeky]

MSNBC LINK

(Snippets)

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

There are critics of the change, in the military and among civil liberties groups and libertarians who express concern that the new homeland emphasis threatens to strain the military and possibly undermine the Posse Comitatus Act, a 130-year-old federal law restricting the military's role in domestic law enforcement.

Domestic emergency deployment may be "just the first example of a series of expansions in presidential and military authority," or even an increase in domestic surveillance, said Anna Christensen of the ACLU's National Security Project. And Cato Vice President Gene Healy warned of "a creeping militarization" of homeland security."There's a notion that whenever there's an important problem, that the thing to do is to call in the boys in green," Healy said, "and that's at odds with our long-standing tradition of being wary of the use of standing armies to keep the peace."

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Does this kind of creep anyone else out? I can see some of the logistical benefits I guess, in regards to Massive Chemical, or Biological attacks... having ober trained reaction forces does make some sense, but it stills gives me the creeps.

Maybe it is the idea of using active army, and not a Federal Department type for it. Not there would be much difference I guess.

(Need to read the whole article to put it in the proper perspective.)

Edited December 1, 2008 by creeky

[Guest bang-flash]

Don't agree with it. We already have, or used to have N.G units to do the same job.

[Guest nraforlife]

Beginning of the end?

[et45]

Beginning of the end?

Gotta start sometime.

[DavidD]

Yes, this is exactly how one might imagine the end of our freedoms would begin.

[Guest 270win]

This has already been going on....nothing new. The guard units were used in the 60's quite a bit during rioting and of course New Orleans. There were also NG in the airports after 9/11.

[Guest Astra900]

Can you say *Marshall Law*?

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

Can you say *Marshall Law*?

No, but I can say "Martial Law."

[Guest jackdog]

Can you say revolution???????????????

[DaveTN]

It’s time to repeal Posse Comitatus it serves no purpose. Someone is going to take control. We saw at New Orleans that local government couldn’t handle the problem and FEMA was doing more talking than acting. That resulted in the unnecessary deaths of many people.

Executive Order 12919 already allows for a Federal take over. I don’t know about any of you but I would rather see the military running things in an emergency that FEMA or Homeland Security.

[Punisher84]

"So this is how democracy dies? To thunderous applause." Maybe, but I'll tell you how it starts back up...gunfire.