Keep an eye on this:

[lunadelcorvo]

"According to the Army Times, beginning in October, the Army plans to station an active unit inside the United States for the first time to serve as an on-call federal response in times of emergency. The 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team has spent thirty-five of the last sixty months in Iraq, but now the unit is training for domestic operations. The unit will soon be under the day-to-day control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command. The Army Times reports this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. The paper says the Army unit may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control. The soldiers are learning to use so-called nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds."

Not to be overly alarmist, but this move, together with Bush's 'emergency powers' executive orders strike me as a potentially Very Bad Thing. Thoughts?

[EDIT: Link to the article: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/]

[EDIT 2: Thanks to lucretiasheart for pointing this out...

Comments

Re: Food for thought ...

[raven-moon.livejournal.com]

We may at that. However, this remains the first time the actual US Military will be turned loose on our own soil - something of which I *seem* to recall the Constitution taking a dim view. Grim as this sounds, if economic factors prove to be the use to which this deployment is turned, it's still better than the all too numerous other instances I can imagine...

Re: Food for thought ...

[doctoreon.livejournal.com]

It's illegal according to the Posse Comitatus Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act), unless of course they want to claim they are using the troops pursuant to the Insurrection Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurrection_Act) against terrorists or they're being used to stop the transport of nuclear material. That's the only time the military can be used against American citizens on U.S. soil.

Re: Food for thought ...

[raven-moon.livejournal.com]

I am aware it is illegal under Posse Comitatus, but sadly, the emergency powers Bush instated more or less make Posse Comitatus obsolete....

http://www.inteldaily.com/?c=144&a=1431

http://www.towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/911/

http://rinf.com/alt-news/new-world-order/is-bush-administration-planning-martial-law/1588/

http://www.altpr.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=665&mode=thread

http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-bush-moves-toward-martial-law/

Re: Food for thought ...

[doctoreon.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I knew all that to be true, too. I just like to point out in futility that they had to break the law to make what they're doing legal.

Re: Food for thought ...

[raven-moon.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, quite. I am still a little unclear on just how that was accomplished, but it seems to have been, and WTF is to do now?

Re: Food for thought ...

[doctoreon.livejournal.com]

"So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause."

Re: Food for thought ...

[raven-moon.livejournal.com]

Funny thing, but I've been re-watching the first three episodes, and thinking how apt it is.... The manufactured threat to spur the Senate to panicked action, the appearance of a non-regulated army under control of a limited group, the 'emergency powers...'


(Would that make JarJar Palin?)