I found this pretty interesting...
Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
By Frank Morales
In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which,
according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the
President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the
Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to
deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331
-335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385),
helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic
law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo
those prohibitions.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007"
(H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th,
2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a
"public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control
of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or
local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he
signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the
two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention
abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to
order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for
putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term
is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon
another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use
of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public
emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the
President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in
Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United
States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious
public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in
any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that
domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted
authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail"
in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any
insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
For the current President, "enforcement of the laws to restore public order"
means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local
governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another
state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against
"disorderly" citizenry - protesters, possibly, or those who object to forced
vaccinations and quarantines in the event of a bio-terror event.
The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of
protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other
"undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under
construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up
"immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern
border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps
designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush
administration.
An article on "recent contract awards" in a recent issue of the slick,
insider "Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International"
reported that "global engineering and technical services powerhouse KBR
[Kellog, Brown & Root] announced in January 2006 that its Government and
Infrastructure division was awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite
Quantity (IDIQ) contract to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) facilities in the event of an emergency." "With a maximum total value
of $385 million over a five year term," the report notes, "the contract is
to be executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," "for establishing
temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE
Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) - in the event of an emergency influx
of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new
programs." The report points out that "KBR is the engineering and
construction subsidiary of Halliburton." (3) So, in addition to authorizing
another $532.8 billion for the Pentagon, including a $70-billion
"supplemental provision" which covers the cost of the ongoing, mad military
maneuvers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, the new law, signed by the
president in a private White House ceremony, further collapses the historic
divide between the police and the military: a tell-tale sign of a rapidly
consolidating police state in America, all accomplished amidst ongoing U.S.
imperial pretensions of global domination, sold to an "emergency managed"
and seemingly willfully gullible public as a "global war on terrorism."
Make no mistake about it: the de-facto repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act
(PCA) is an ominous assault on American democratic tradition and
jurisprudence. The 1878 Act, which reads, "Whoever, except in cases and
under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of
Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or Air Force as a posse
comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than two years, or both," is the only U.S. criminal
statute that outlaws military operations directed against the American
people under the cover of 'law enforcement.' As such, it has been the best
protection we've had against the power-hungry intentions of an unscrupulous
and reckless executive, an executive intent on using force to enforce its
will.
Unfortunately, this past week, the president dealt posse comitatus, along
with American democracy, a near fatal blow. Consequently, it will take an
aroused citizenry to undo the damage wrought by this horrendous act, part
and parcel, as we have seen, of a long train of abuses and outrages
perpetrated by this authoritarian administration.
Despite the unprecedented and shocking nature of this act, there has been no
outcry in the American media, and little reaction from our elected officials
in Congress. On September 19th, a lone Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
noted that 2007's Defense Authorization Act contained a "widely opposed
provision to allow the President more control over the National Guard
[adopting] changes to the Insurrection Act, which will make it easier for
this or any future President to use the military to restore domestic order
WITHOUT the consent of the nation's governors."
Senator Leahy went on to stress that, "we certainly do not need to make it
easier for Presidents to declare martial law. Invoking the Insurrection Act
and using the military for law enforcement activities goes against some of
the central tenets of our democracy. One can easily envision governors and
mayors in charge of an emergency having to constantly look over their
shoulders while someone who has never visited their communities gives the
orders."
Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
By Frank Morales
In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which,
according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the
President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the
Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to
deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331
-335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385),
helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic
law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo
those prohibitions.
Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007"
(H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th,
2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a
"public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control
of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or
local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."
President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he
signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the
two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention
abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to
order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for
putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term
is "martial law."
Section 1076 of the massive Authorization Act, which grants the Pentagon
another $500-plus-billion for its ill-advised adventures, is entitled, "Use
of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies." Section 333, "Major public
emergencies; interference with State and Federal law" states that "the
President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in
Federal service, to restore public order and enforce the laws of the United
States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious
public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in
any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that
domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted
authorities of the State or possession are incapable of ("refuse" or "fail"
in) maintaining public order, "in order to suppress, in any State, any
insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy."
For the current President, "enforcement of the laws to restore public order"
means to commandeer guardsmen from any state, over the objections of local
governmental, military and local police entities; ship them off to another
state; conscript them in a law enforcement mode; and set them loose against
"disorderly" citizenry - protesters, possibly, or those who object to forced
vaccinations and quarantines in the event of a bio-terror event.
The law also facilitates militarized police round-ups and detention of
protesters, so called "illegal aliens," "potential terrorists" and other
"undesirables" for detention in facilities already contracted for and under
construction by Halliburton. That's right. Under the cover of a trumped-up
"immigration emergency" and the frenzied militarization of the southern
border, detention camps are being constructed right under our noses, camps
designed for anyone who resists the foreign and domestic agenda of the Bush
administration.
An article on "recent contract awards" in a recent issue of the slick,
insider "Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International"
reported that "global engineering and technical services powerhouse KBR
[Kellog, Brown & Root] announced in January 2006 that its Government and
Infrastructure division was awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite
Quantity (IDIQ) contract to support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) facilities in the event of an emergency." "With a maximum total value
of $385 million over a five year term," the report notes, "the contract is
to be executed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," "for establishing
temporary detention and processing capabilities to augment existing ICE
Detention and Removal Operations (DRO) - in the event of an emergency influx
of immigrants into the U.S., or to support the rapid development of new
programs." The report points out that "KBR is the engineering and
construction subsidiary of Halliburton." (3) So, in addition to authorizing
another $532.8 billion for the Pentagon, including a $70-billion
"supplemental provision" which covers the cost of the ongoing, mad military
maneuvers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, the new law, signed by the
president in a private White House ceremony, further collapses the historic
divide between the police and the military: a tell-tale sign of a rapidly
consolidating police state in America, all accomplished amidst ongoing U.S.
imperial pretensions of global domination, sold to an "emergency managed"
and seemingly willfully gullible public as a "global war on terrorism."
Make no mistake about it: the de-facto repeal of the Posse Comitatus Act
(PCA) is an ominous assault on American democratic tradition and
jurisprudence. The 1878 Act, which reads, "Whoever, except in cases and
under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of
Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or Air Force as a posse
comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned not more than two years, or both," is the only U.S. criminal
statute that outlaws military operations directed against the American
people under the cover of 'law enforcement.' As such, it has been the best
protection we've had against the power-hungry intentions of an unscrupulous
and reckless executive, an executive intent on using force to enforce its
will.
Unfortunately, this past week, the president dealt posse comitatus, along
with American democracy, a near fatal blow. Consequently, it will take an
aroused citizenry to undo the damage wrought by this horrendous act, part
and parcel, as we have seen, of a long train of abuses and outrages
perpetrated by this authoritarian administration.
Despite the unprecedented and shocking nature of this act, there has been no
outcry in the American media, and little reaction from our elected officials
in Congress. On September 19th, a lone Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
noted that 2007's Defense Authorization Act contained a "widely opposed
provision to allow the President more control over the National Guard
[adopting] changes to the Insurrection Act, which will make it easier for
this or any future President to use the military to restore domestic order
WITHOUT the consent of the nation's governors."
Senator Leahy went on to stress that, "we certainly do not need to make it
easier for Presidents to declare martial law. Invoking the Insurrection Act
and using the military for law enforcement activities goes against some of
the central tenets of our democracy. One can easily envision governors and
mayors in charge of an emergency having to constantly look over their
shoulders while someone who has never visited their communities gives the
orders."
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