The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S.

[jakeXT]

The Pentagon Wants Authority to Post Almost 400,000 Military Personnel in U.S.
By Matthew Rothschild, August 12, 2009


The Pentagon has approached Congress to grant the Secretary of Defense the authority to post almost 400,000 military personnel throughout the United States in times of emergency or a major disaster.

This request has already occasioned a dispute with the nation’s governors. And it raises the prospect of U.S. military personnel patrolling the streets of the United States, in conflict with the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

In June, the U.S. Northern Command distributed a “Congressional Fact Sheet” entitled “Legislative Proposal for Activation of Federal Reserve Forces for Disasters.” That proposal would amend current law, thereby “authorizing the Secretary of Defense to order any unit or member of the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, and the Marine Corps Reserve, to active duty for a major disaster or emergency.”

Taken together, these reserve units would amount to “more than 379,000 military personnel in thousands of communities across the United States,” explained

...

http://www.progressive.org/wx081209b.html

And I thought nobody cared about Posse Comitatus anymore

[Skink]

1. How about keeping the national guard in America.

[jakeXT]

4. they get the tear gas

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=222x67226

[Historic NY]

5. Exactly states militia has been used more & more outside the US..

leaving places w/o a source in time of real need to help.

[bemildred]

2. "Warfighters" don't make particularly good disaster relief staff.

This sounds like a power grab to me.

Edit: in any case it ought not be the Sec. of Defense making these decisions.

[atreides1]

3. This will Help....

....calm the nerves of those who believe that this administration is trying to put a government into every aspect of their lives.

Is this administration really so stupid as to think that this is a good idea. Please no excuses about how the president isn't aware of how a member of his cabinet like the Defense Secretary is trying to violate entrenched US law. If the president isn't aware then him and Bush do have something in common, neither one seems aware of what's being done in their names.

[vinylsolution]

6. Wasn't this crap supposed to end....

.... with the departure of Cheney & Bush?

WTF is going on?

[pokercat999]

8. it's still the same Army and Sec of Def that was under

Cheney. This is the result of trying to bring the RW into the new government. One of President Obama's more unfortunate ideas.

It's time to stop two unlawful wars and bring our troops home.

[bertman]

7. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!! I can't take it anymore. They've become so fucking brazen.

President Constitutional Lawyer, here's another hot potato for you, Sir.