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Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
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-Caveat Lector-
RED ALERT
FORWARD AS FAR AND WIDE AS POSSIBLE
x ** TOP_VIEW ** x
The Bigger Picture
7.21.02
Ridge Says Army Needs Domestic Arrest/Shoot Powers
= = = = = = = =
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=
http://www.rense.com/general27/power.htm
Ridge Wants US Army To Have Homeland Arrest And Shoot Power
By Alex Canizares
BloombergNews.com
Washington (Bloomberg) -- The government should consider reversing a
more than a century of tradition and law to give the military authority
to make arrests and fire their weapons on U.S. soil in the event of a
terrorist attack, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said.
Fears that terrorists might attempt a nuclear, biological or chemical
attack on U.S. territory are prompting some lawmakers to support
revisions to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which restricts the use of
the military in civilian law enforcement.
``I think it is time to revisit it,'' Senator Joe Biden, a Delaware
Democrat, said on the ``Fox News Sunday'' program. That would ``allow
for military that has expertise with weapons of mass destruction to be
called in'' if such a plot was discovered.
Since terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization
destroyed the World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon on Sept. 11,
Congress has given law enforcement agencies more latitude to conduct
wiretapping and other intelligence gathering to uncover terrorist
plotting. President George W. Bush has proposed the biggest government
reorganization in 50 years to put more than 100 offices and agencies
into one department devoted to homeland security.
The Bush administration already has taken step to investigate giving the
military a larger domestic security role, the New York Times reported
today. Air Force General Ralph Eberhart, who is in charge of U.S.
defenses against attack, had urged the review, the newspaper said.
Legal Review
Lawyers in the Departments of Justice and Defense are looking into the
legal questions that might be raised by greater involvement of military
personnel, the Times reported.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said in May that the Pentagon would
not seek expanded law enforcement powers and some defense officials are
wary of making any changes, the Times said.
Congress revised the Posse Comitatus Act in 1981 to allow the military
to help the Coast Guard in drug interdiction efforts. Another change
would require congressional approval.
Ridge said officials haven't yet discussed giving the military powers to
arrest U.S. citizens, though such authority might be discussed once
Bush's homeland security department is created.
"Generally that goes against our instincts as a country to empower the
military with the ability to arrest,'' Ridge said on ``Late Edition'' on
the Cable News Network. ``But it may come up as a part of a discussion.
It does not mean that it will ever be used or that the discussion will
conclude that it even should be used.''
Unrealistic Limits
Biden said he may revive a proposal he sponsored with former Georgia
Senator Sam Nunn to revise the Reconstruction-era limits the Army, Navy,
and later the Air Force's law enforcement authorities. That plan was
prompted by the bombing of an Oklahoma City federal building by a
domestic terrorist.
It is "not very realistic'' to deny the military the ability, for
example, to shoot at suspected terrorists trying to deploy chemical,
biological or nuclear weapons on a passenger train, Biden said.
"Right now, when you call in the military, the military would not be
allowed to shoot-to-kill, if in fact they were approaching the weapon,''
Biden said.
Still, he said ``we shouldn't go overboard'' by giving the military too
many domestic powers.
Ridge said on Fox that the discussion should take place between the
Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Bush's proposed Homeland
Security Department, which has not yet been enacted by Congress.
"We need to be talking about military assets, in anticipation of a
crisis event,'' Ridge said. "And clearly, if you're talking about using
the military, then you should have a discussion about Posse Comitatus.''
On another security issue, Ridge said the administration would accept
legislation approved by a special congressional committee last week to
extend by one year the Dec. 31, 2002 deadline requiring all bags to be
screened at airports.
"There is a question, depending on the particular airport, as to the
ability to install some of these massive machines between now and the
end of the year, and I think this probably gives the new agency a little
more flexibility.'' Ridge said.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
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[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
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