Bush Administration Claims U.s. Military Can Police American Citizens

BY MICHAEL WEBSTER: Syndicated Investigative				inhibit such employment.
Reporter: Dec 18, 2008 at 12:30 PM PST				The term posse comitatus [po.si komitei.tAs, -tius ,
The Bush administration claims that the use of the				[med. (Anglo) L., force of the county: see prec. and
military to support civil authorities stems from core				county.] applies to the 'The force of the county’;
national values as expressed in the Constitution.				the body of men above the age of fifteen in a
Article I, Section 8. It states, “Congress shall				county (exclusive of peers, clergymen, and infirm
have power... to provide for calling forth the Militia to				persons), whom the sheriff may summon or
execute laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections,				‘raise’ to repress a riot or for other
and repel Invasions.” Article II, Section 3 states				purposes; also, a body of men actually so raised and
the President, “...shall take care that the Laws be				commanded by the sheriff.
faithfully executed.” The 10th Amendment reads,				In the United States the posse comitatus was
“The powers not delegated to the United States				perhaps most important on the Western frontier
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it, are reserved				(there known as a posse), but it has been preserved
to the States respectively...,” providing the basis				as an institution in many states. Sheriffs and other
that Federal government support, including DoD				peace officers have the authority to summon the
assistance, is provided in support of State and local				power of the county. In some counties it is a crime
authorities.				to refuse assistance. In general, members of a posse
According to Gerry J. Gilmore of "Family Security				comitatus have been permitted to use force if
Matters reports that Pentagon officials have				necessary to achieve a posse’s legitimate ends,
established a new rapid-response joint task force and				but state laws differ as to the legal liability of one
plan to create two more in coming years to bolster				who in good faith aids an officer himself acting
assistance to civil authorities following potential				beyond his authority.
chemical, biological or nuclear attacks or natural				Congress sought to terminate the prevalent use of
disasters, a senior U.S. official said.				federal soldiers in civilian law enforcement roles in the
These new units will team with other federal				South during the Reconstruction Period following the
agencies in support of local responders following				Civil War. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 created
chemical, biological or nuclear terror attacks on the				general prohibition against use of military personnel in
homeland or during natural disasters, Paul McHale,				civilian law enforcement. The most renowned
assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense				statutory exception has been traditionally referred to
and Americas’ security affairs, told reporters				as The Insurrection Acts (10 USC 331–334) that
recently.				were modified and renamed to Enforcement of the
The establishment of the new units “builds upon				Laws to Restore Public Order by the 2007 National
a decade of improving [Defense Department]				Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The new
capabilities to deal with a domestic terrorist attack				language clarifies Presidential authority to invoke the
involving a weapon of mass destruction,” McHale				acts for situations resulting from natural disasters and
said.				other emergencies.
The first new 4,700-member task force was				Military resources may be employed in support of
assigned to a component of U.S. Northern Command				civilian law enforcement operations in the 50 States,
on Oct. 1, 2008 McHale said. The new unit, he said, is				the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
built around a core of active-duty soldiers from the				Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories and possessions
U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade				only in the parameters of the Constitution and laws
Combat Team based at Fort Stewart, Ga. This task				of the United States and the authority of the
force, he said, falls under the control of				President and the Secretary of Defense, including
Northcom’s Joint Force Land Component				delegations of that authority through this Directive or
Command, U.S. Army North, in San Antonio.				other means.
Commanded by				The primary responsibility for protecting life and
Plans are to stand up the other two new joint task				property and maintaining law and order in the civilian
forces in 2010 and 2011, respectively, McHale said.				community is vested in the State and local
These units, he said, mostly will comprise reserve				governments. Supplementary responsibility is vested
component personnel from all the military services.				by statute in specific Agencies of the Federal
Each task force will be capable of performing tasks				Government other than the Department of Defense.
such as medical response, decontamination, technical				The President has additional powers and
rescue, patient evacuation, and communications and				responsibilities under the Constitution of the United
logistics support, to include air and land transportation				States to ensure that law and order are maintained.
assets for transport of supplies, people and				The mission at NORTHCOM is to anticipate events in
equipment, according to U.S. Army North documents.				the homeland and to be prepared to respond, to
The task forces would be ordered into action by the				either prevent the attacks or defeat them if they
president, McHale said, following requests for				occur and then to mitigate the consequences of
disaster-relief assistance from state governors.				those attacks should they occur. In addition,
The Bush administration indicates that the President is				NORTHCOM has a secondary mission to provide
authorized by the Constitution and Title 10 (10 USC				defense support to civil authorities. It's an old mission
331–334) to suppress insurrections, rebellions, and				that the Army used to lump together under the
domestic violence. After issuing a Cease and Desist				Garden Plot scenario, in that there was always a
Order, the President issues an executive order that				brigade that was prepared to respond to civil
directs the Attorney General and the SECDEF to				disturbances.
take appropriate steps to disperse insurgents and				"Our job at NORTHCOM is to ensure that if there's a
restore law and order. The Attorney General is then				seam or a gap there that we're thinking of how we
responsible to coordinate the federal response to				could fill that with some other capability out of" the
domestic civil disturbances. The restrictions of the				Defense Department "What that has forced us to do
Posse Comitatus Act no longer apply to federal				it is think about, 'How do you solve that time
troops executing the orders of the President to quell				distance problem, even on a short-notice event. And
the disturbance in accordance with Rules of the Use				so I have access to capabilities now that I didn't
of Force (RUF) approved by the DoD General				have a year or two ago that I can move very
Counsel and the Attorney General.				quickly to fill that need. said Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr.,
Even though McHale said, the new units do not				commander of United States Northern Command and
conduct law-enforcement missions. And further				the North American Aerospace Defense Commander.
stated in the event of civil disturbances and some				"For example, if there were something that occurred
other types of national emergencies, other				in the El Paso area that the Texas National Guard
designated U.S. military units could be ordered by the				might not have a capability immediately available to
president to help civil authorities establish order as				respond, but Fort Bliss did in an active-duty unit, then
part of the Garden Plot domestic security plan.				I would pull that active-duty unit out and make that
However the USNORTHCOM Concept Plan				available to the state to assist."
(CONPLAN) 2502 (Civil Disturbance Operations), is the				They are being staged and immediately available as
plan for supporting state and local authorities during				emergency "on call" units for use against terrorist
civil disturbances. This plan serves as the foundation				threats on the nation's border and local disasters, said
for any CDO operation and standardizes most				Gen. Renuart Jr.
activities and command relationships. Tasks				Possibly the greatest challenge will be to support
performed by military forces may include joint				National Guard and reserve forces feeling the strain
patrolling with law enforcement officers; securing key				of repeated deployments that also have depleted
buildings, memorials, intersections and bridges; and				equipment supplies. Guard units respond to natural
acting as a quick reaction force. The JTF commander,				disasters as well as bridge collapses and other
a general officer, coordinates all DoD support with				human-caused incidents Renuart said.
the Senior Civilian Representative of the Attorney				The Coast Guard, as well as the other Services, is
General (SCRAG). DoD will usually establish a JTF				required to maintain support plans. GARDEN PLOT is
headquarters near where the Attorney General’s				the name applicable to such service plans. Standard
local representative is based.				Operating Procedures (SOPs) of operational
Garden Plot is the DoD Civil Disturbance Plan, the				commanders should reflect guidance herein. Military
generic Operations Plan [OPLAN] for military support				assistance to civil authorities is a peacetime matter,
related to domestic civil disturbances. The				not to be confused with military support of civil
department of the Army Civil Disturbance Plan (DA				defense (MSCD), which is a wartime function.
GARDEN PLOT), is the governing publication for				DOD task force operations to quell civil disturbances
planning, deployment, employment, and redeployment				off military property can be initiated only by
of federal military resources involved in countering				Presidential order. Cases of such initiation in the past
domestic civil disturbances. Military assistance to				occurred during the urban political and racial unrest in
Federal, State, and local government (including				the Vietnam era when federal troops were deployed
government of U.S. territories) and their law				on a number of occasions. GARDEN PLOT operations
enforcement agencies for civil disturbances and civil				may include terrorist incidents, though the FBI, not
disturbance operations, including response to terrorist				the Army, will then be the lead agent. In the event
incidents, are referred to cumulatively as "Military				of civil unrest upon the high seas and waters subject
Assistance for Civil Disturbances (MACDIS)."				to the jurisdiction of the United States, where in the
The DoD Strategy for Homeland Defense and Civil				Coast Guard has standing statutory responsibility,
Support (2005) defines Defense Support of Civil				Coast Guard units will in all likelihood be legitimately
Authorities (DSCA) as, “DoD support, including				involved in law enforcement operations well before
federal military forces, the Department’s career				any Presidential invocation of civil disturbance plans.
civilian and contractor personnel, and DoD agency and				The Coast Guard character for law enforcement and
component assets, for domestic emergencies and for				cooperation with civil authorities is much broader than
designated law enforcement and other activities.”				that of DOD services. DOD services are subject to
It notes that DSCA is also often referred to as Civil				law enforcement restrictions that are not applicable
Support. There has been discussion in some DoD				to the Coast Guard.
offices of distinguishing between the two terms: Civil				Cooperation with other services in GARDEN PLOT
Support as a total force construct with DSCA				operations is paramount and requires particular
involving Federal support only and not include the				understanding of task force constitution and chains
National Guard in Title 32 or State Active Duty				of command. Civil disturbance planning cannot be
status. But as of 2008 they remained essentially				deliberate in that force mix and locales are obviously
synonymous.				indeterminate. Guidance herein will provide a basis for
Civil disturbances are riots, acts of violence,				Coast Guard participation and related area and district
insurrections, unlawful obstructions or assemblages, or				supplemental instructions or other directives. Actual
other disorders prejudicial to public law and order. The				Coast Guard participation will in all likelihood be the
term civil disturbance includes all domestic conditions				logical extension of traditional law enforcement
requiring or likely to require the use of Federal Armed				functions.
Forces pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 15 of				The Insurrection Act permitted the President to call
Title 10, United States Code.				the militia into Federal service to suppress
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (PCA), subsequent				insurrections and to enforce the law, including when
amendments and policy decisions prohibits the use of				State authorities were unable or unwilling to secure
federal military forces (to include Reserve forces) to				the Constitutional rights of their citizens. Rarely in U.S.
perform internal police functions. PCA thus restricts				history has this authority been employed. In fact, the
the type of support DoD can provide domestic law				National Guard has been federalized under the
enforcement organizations. There are a wide variety				provisions of the Insurrection Act only ten (10) times
of exceptions to the PCA and the law essentially				since World War II.
gives the President all the authority he needs to				It is believed by critic's and other patriots that the
employ DoD forces inside the U.S. although there				U.S. Government plans to exercise these options and
may appropriately be political consequence that would				imprison citizen decedents.

CharityWeb

Bush Administration Claims U.s. Military Can Police American Citizens