William Arkin has an excellent new blog on WashingtonPost.com that is excerpted below. (Arkin is the author of a book called Code Names and a former military analyst, not a Post staff writer.) He's been posting government reports, for instance, on the menacing dangers of pressure cookers exploited by terrorists: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/files/terroristuseof_pressurecookers.pdf Keep reading to see what Arkin has to say about Posse Comitatus. An article I co-authored years ago on the topic is archived here: http://www.politechbot.com/p-04056.html -Declan --- http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/ Donald Rumsfeld and his ever growing Industry of Military Complexes devoted to homeland security and counter-terrorism seem to be intentionally bad mouthing Posse Comitatus and connecting it to Katrina in order to earn themselves greater operational flexibility in the United States. Last week Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita was Rumsfeld's front man in this effort: According to a September 17 Associated Press story, the Secretary "is reviewing a wide range of possible changes in the way the military could be used in domestic emergencies," Di Rita said Friday. He said these included "possible changes in the relationship between federal and state military authorities." Di Rita called the Posse Comitatus Act "very archaic," and stated that it limited the Pentagon's flexibility in responding. ... Amidst all of President Bush's proposals last night was one decree that the Commander-in-Chief can implement without Congressional or public intervention: "It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces -- the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice." The President has hit upon a seemingly no-brainer solution: Rely more on the one institution in our society that is most respected and competent. The President’s plan is both wrong-headed and dangerous. I for one don't want to live in a society where "a moment’s notice" justifies military action that either preempts or usurps civil authority. ... _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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