From: *Travis*
Date: Wed, Dec 17, 2008
Subject: Beware of using the military for law enforcement
Beware of using the military for law enforcement
Examiner Staff Writer 12/14/08
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/Examiner_Editorial_Beware_of_using_the_military_for_law_enforcement.html
Here is a disturbing trend.
Since at least 2002, incoming vice president Joe Biden has advocated that
U.S. troops be given authority to arrest civilians here at home.
Since at least 2006, incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has
pushed the ideas of "universal civilian service" and of a "U.S. Public
Service Academy" whose graduates would "commit to spending five years
serving their nation by working in public institutions in health care, law
enforcement, [and] emergency management."
Finally, last July, Barack Obama called for "a civilian national security
force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded" as the
regular military.
What's disturbing here is that in different ways, both the outgoing Bush
administration and the incoming Obama regime seem deaf to warnings from
observers across the political spectrum against large, centrally controlled
military or military-like "security forces" for use within U.S. borders.
Those warnings were renewed earlier this month when it was reported that the
Pentagon plans by 2011 to station 20,000 active-duty troops within the
country to respond to large-scale catastrophes or terrorist attacks.
Specially trained to handle chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or
high-yield explosive attacks, this force has been in planning stages for
several years.
On the surface, creation of such a military unit might appear as a welcome
development that will improve efficiency, order and humanitarian aid in an
emergency. But why couldn't National Guard units be trained to provide the
same capability, especially since guardsmen have a long and distinguished
history of responding to domestic emergencies and disasters?
Critics justifiably worry that both a civilian "security force" as described
by Obama and a full-time professional military force devoted solely to
domestic anti-terrorist and natural disaster operations would inevitably
undermine the spirit and principles of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878,
which is one of the few statutory bulwarks of civil liberties that is
arguably as important as any of the protections in the Bill of Rights. Posse
Comitatus severely restricts the role of the military in domestic law
enforcement, thus ensuring that citizens will be safe from undue use of
deadly force.
Given the reality that government programs inevitably grow more powerful and
expensive over time, the Pentagon and the incoming Obama administration
should re-examine their plans and tread very carefully. Once civil liberties
are lost, they can be awfully difficult to re-establish.
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