First tangible step towards a police state....

This is without doubt the first tangible proof that a police state is on the way.... harking back to the Gestapo, the NKVD, and the Stasi, repealing a federal law to allow the military to have free reign to enforce terror laws against US civilians would end the protectins given to the American people by the US constitution....

The Bush administration is calling for the repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a law passed after the Civil War to prohibit the deployment of federal military forces onto American streets to control civil action - otherwise known as martial law.

One fear among civil rights activists is that now that the details of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act/Patriot Act 2 have been revealed, the proposals contained therein will be taken apart, renamed and incorporated into other, broader pieces of legislation within the Department of Homeland Security.

The United States Army Field Manual 19-15, entitled Civil Disturbances, issued in 1985, is designed to equip soldiers with the "tactics, techniques and procedures" necessary to suppress dissent. The manual states that "crowd control formations may be employed to disperse, contain or block a crowd. When employed to disperse a crowd, they are particularly effective in urban areas because they enable the control force to split a crowd into smaller segments."

www.vallejonews.com...

Hmmm...DR, that is very disturbing. Always been a "red line" for me...

Any other sources?

Only one I have found yet... if anyone finds any corroborating stories, please post!

I found this in Lexis. I have the whole report but it is VERY LONG. Can't link, but can copy and paste. Quick read looked good. Should I post it?

July 2003

HOMELAND DEFENSE DOD

Needs to Assess the Structure of U.S. Forces for Domestic Military Missions

July 11, 2003

The Honorable Christopher Shays Chairman Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations Committee on Government Reform House of Representatives

The Department of Defense's (DOD) primary mission is to deter and prevent aggression abroad and fight to win if these measures fail. This is accomplished through military presence and power projection. However, the federal government's view of the defense of U.S. territory has dramatically changed since September 11, 2001. DOD has adjusted its strategic and operational focus to encompass not only traditional military concerns posed by hostile states overseas but also the asymmetric threats directed at our homeland by both terrorists and hostile states.

You requested us to review DOD's domestic missions. As agreed with your office, we (1) determined how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions1 differ; (2) determined how DOD's military and nonmilitary missions have changed since September 11, 2001; (3) determined how the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act affects DOD's nonmilitary missions; and (4) assessed the extent to which DOD's organizations, plans, and forces are adequate for domestic military missions and the consequent sustainability of the current mission approach.

Also from Lexis...

The White House Bulletin

July 7, 2003 Monday

SECTION: IN THIS WEEK'S WEEKLIES

LENGTH: 200 words

HEADLINE: Northcom Set To Reach Full Capability In October.

BODY:
Newsweek (7/14, Hirsh) profiles Northern Command chief Gen. Ed Eberhart, reporting that he "is keen to show he's sensitive to the deepest of American fears, that the military might wrest control from civilians. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bars U.S. troops from enforcing U.S. laws. 'It's the elephant in the room,' says Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the Select Intelligence Committee, who joined a congressional trip to Eberhart's headquarters in Colorado Springs last month to figure out just what Northcom is up to. ... But, Harman adds, the Posse Comitatus ban 'is not absolute. It's like the First Amendment. You can't cry fire in a crowded theater and you can't always block the U.S. military on U.S. soil.'" Newsweek adds, "Instituted on Oct. 1, 2002, [Northcom] reaches 'full operating capability' this October. That mainly means a headquarters staff of 500 and the Norad air-defense system, but Eberhart notes that, like Centcom in Iraq under Gen. Tommy Franks, he has an array of forces at his disposal should [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld decide he needs them. Eberhart won't say how many troops he now commands, but 'we're not talking about mass here.'"

LOAD-DATE: July 7, 2003

Any way you can place this in uploads???

We're screwed


Can anyone lend me a gun?

Originally posted by dragonrider
Only one I have found yet... if anyone finds any corroborating stories, please post!

Odd, I'm finding some stuff from 7/02 saying the opposite....
www.macon.com...
and, at the same time, saying something similar...
www.prisonplanet.com...

Regardless, the only current newsbits I can find on this are reprints of DR's link.
I'll keep an eye out for more...

-B.

I hope Val doesn't mind..

www.mysticfish.net...

Originally posted by Nerdling
We're screwed

Can anyone lend me a gun?

You don't have any? Shame on you.

This is interesting...
www.hooah4health.com...

Through a gradual erosion of the Act's prohibitions over the past twenty years, Posse Comitatus today is more of a procedural formality than an actual impediment to the use of U.S. military forces in homeland defense.

By MAJ Craig T. Trebilcock, USAR, October 2000

I didn't know "homeland defense" was used much prior to 9/11.....

-B.

Well thats a great find Banshee,

Sponsored by the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, the Army National Guard, and the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve.

Army reserve eh *goes digging for info*

Originally posted by Banshee
This is interesting...
www.hooah4health.com...

Through a gradual erosion of the Act's prohibitions over the past twenty years, Posse Comitatus today is more of a procedural formality than an actual impediment to the use of U.S. military forces in homeland defense.

By MAJ Craig T. Trebilcock, USAR, October 2000

I didn't know "homeland defense" was used much prior to 9/11.....

-B.

OK, is there ANYONE who now DOESNT believe that most of our current terrorist events are completely engineered????

Can we say CABAL???

Minor legality issue you all konw they would use thses tactics if the need arose.

Originally posted by Quicksilver
Minor legality issue you all konw they would use thses tactics if the need arose.

Thats a given, and there have already been many times when Posse Commitatus has been vilated, most notably during the Waco seige.

However, the fact that they are formally seeking to completely repeal it is extremely disturbing... we can see roadblocks with tanks just like on "Strange Days"...

Nice find Banshee!

The enforcement of a prosecution under the Posse Comitatus Act would necessarily be brought by the Department of Justice, the lead agency charged with combating domestic terrorism. This further suggests that as long as coordination of the use of military forces was part of a coordinated inter-agency effort that the likelihood of prosecution under the Posse Comitatus Act of any executive branch official would seem remote at best.

Gee..the DOJ prosecuting the executive branch. Anyone want the odds on that one..

Originally posted by kukla

Gee..the DOJ prosecuting the executive branch. Anyone want the odds on that one..

I'm gonna go with a snowball's chance in hell of that happening.

Just general FYI, the article seems to have originally been posted here, and this also includes a mini bio of its author.

-B.

OK, is there ANYONE who now DOESNT believe that most of our current terrorist events are completely engineered????
Can we say CABAL???

*raises hand*
I just think that some things can happen outside of a conspiracy enviroment, i know some genuine crazy people who would probably contemplate doing this, yes i believe the iraq war was about opec and the patriot act is going to get us all, but i'm just not convinced on the terror front, its not like the arabs are showering us with roses.

Kudos to you guys for making the arguments though

This seems to be the most direct reference to Posse in the GAO report:

The President identified as a major homeland security initiative a review of the legal authority for military assistance in domestic security, which would include a review of the Posse Comitatus Act. The President maintained that the "threat of catastrophic terrorism requires a thorough review of the laws permitting the military to act within the United States in order to determine whether domestic preparedness and response efforts would benefit from greater involvement of military personnel and, if so, how." 19 In addition to this review, Congress directed DOD to review and report on the legal implications of members of the armed forces operating on U.S. territory and the potential legal impediments affecting DOD's role in supporting homeland security.20 In March 2003, the Commander of U.S. Northern Command stated, "We believe the [Posse Comitatus] Act, as amended, provides the authority we need to do our job, and no modification is needed at this time."21 According to DOD, on May 29, 2003, DOD informed Congress of the results of its legal review, which concluded that the President has sufficient authority to order the military to provide military support to civilian law enforcement authorities, when necessary. DOD does not believe that the Posse Comitatus Act would in any way impede the nature or timeliness of its response.

This really does not bode well for the REX84 theories...