in article , cjcampbell
at wrote on 9/7/05 7:02 PM:


Philip S. wrote:
in article , Philip S. at
wrote on 9/6/05 7:28 PM:

in article , cjcampbell
at wrote on 9/6/05 3:31 AM:



People who are not Americans may not know this, but federal troops are
actually prohibited from performing law enforcement duties.

Except when the president calls on them to do so. The first President Bush
sent the Guard, the Army and the Marines into L.A. in 1992 during the riots.
Every president has the power to do so.

To the contrary, military personel are prohibited from performing law
enforcement duties by the posse comitatus act of 1878.

"Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly
authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any
part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise
to execute the laws shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned
not more than two years, or both."

The Air Force was added in 1956. The Navy and Marines are included by
DoD regulation.

The cases and circumstances authorized by the Constitution or Congress
are quite limited: National Guard troops acting under the control of
states (not federal authority), military units acting to quell domestic
violence (in L.A., for example), certain support activities in the war
on drugs, use of the Judge Advocate as a prosecuter, and the Coast
Guard, which has full authorization to enforce the law.

Thus, the President may not order the National Guard to protect
property until it has been determined that a state of civil unrest is
in progress. Small scale looting, rape, murder or burglary are not
civil unrest. But the governor could have ordered the National Guard to
start enforcing the law at any time. Why didn't she?

See my earlier post. She requested federal help, in unambiguous terms, two
days before the storm struck.


Oh, and one more thing, and then I'll let the matter drop.

Oh, and I did not get this from some liberal website, either.

Good for you. And it seems that I reneged on my earlier statement that I'd
let the matter drop.