U.S. Military ‘Power Grab’ Goes Into Effect

[bananas]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Tx4obama (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Long Island Press

Pentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’

The manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects offered the nation a window into the stunning military-style capabilities of our local law enforcement agencies. For the past 30 years, police departments throughout the United States have benefitted from the government’s largesse in the form of military weaponry and training, incentives offered in the ongoing “War on Drugs.” For the average citizen watching events such as the intense pursuit of the Tsarnaev brothers on television, it would be difficult to discern between fully outfitted police SWAT teams and the military.

The lines blurred even further Monday as a new dynamic was introduced to the militarization of domestic law enforcement. By making a few subtle changes to a regulation in the U.S. Code titled “Defense Support of Civilian Law Enforcement Agencies” the military has quietly granted itself the ability to police the streets without obtaining prior local or state consent, upending a precedent that has been in place for more than two centuries.

The most objectionable aspect of the regulatory change is the inclusion of vague language that permits military intervention in the event of “civil disturbances.” According to the rule:

"Federal military commanders have the authority, in extraordinary emergency circumstances where prior authorization by the President is impossible and duly constituted local authorities are unable to control the situation, to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances."

Bruce Afran, a civil liberties attorney and constitutional law professor at Rutgers University, calls the rule, “a wanton power grab by the military,” and says, “It’s quite shocking actually because it violates the long-standing presumption that the military is under civilian control.”

<snip>

Read more: http://www.longislandpress.com/2013/05/14/u-s-military-power-grab-goes-into-effect/

[DJ13]

1. K&R

[bananas]

2. Naomi Wolf: 5 ALARM ALERT: DOD GRANTS ITSELF CONTROL OF DOMESTIC DISTURBANCES-AS DOD DEFINES THEM.

https://twitter.com/naomirwolf/status/334434055103864832

Naomi Wolf Verified account
‏@naomirwolf

5 ALARM ALERT: DOD GRANTS ITSELF CONTROL OF DOMESTIC DISTURBANCES-AS DOD DEFINES THEM. NDAA ONLY WORSE. SHARE WIDELY: http://bit.ly/19pG7Ek

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3:24 PM - 14 May 13

[DeSwiss]

3. Do you remember when......

...there were organizations who would file lawsuits in the federal courts to stop madness like this? The AC, um, AC, AC.... something.

- Or maybe that was just in a book I read. Hmmm. Oh well, since that would never happen I guess its a Police State for everybody......

K&R

''People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.'' - James Baldwin

[center][/center]

[Unknown Beatle]

4. Well,

it looks like the military-industrial complex is coming to fruition. If that's the case, we're all fucked. This is definitely Orwellian.

[cprise]

5. Hey, its "good for business"

One of the remarks that Pérez Molina made in response to the verdict against Ríos Montt—he was echoing the comments of the American Chamber of Commerce, which represents the U.S. corporations in Guatemala—was to say that this ((genocide)) verdict will discourage foreign investment in Guatemala.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101663406

[wundermaus]

6. Posse Comitatus...

What the fuck was that?
Americans at war with Americans.
The circle of the stupid is complete.
Like all past empires... they consume everything around them and then they destroy themselves.
Sort of like Cancer.
Nature's way of fixing mistakes.
4 billion years down, 4 billion years to go.
Next.

[The Straight Story]

7. Entire doc (42 pages) is here:

http://publicintelligence.net/dod-support-civilian-law-enforcement/

[OnyxCollie]

8. Reminds me of NSPD 51

NSPD-51: National Continuity Policy
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/nspd-51.htm

(b) "Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions;

~snip~

Implementation Actions

(4) Continuity requirements shall be incorporated into daily operations of all executive departments and agencies. As a result of the asymmetric threat environment, adequate warning of potential emergencies that could pose a significant risk to the homeland might not be available, and therefore all continuity planning shall be based on the assumption that no such warning will be received. Emphasis will be placed upon geographic dispersion of leadership, staff, and infrastructure in order to increase survivability and maintain uninterrupted Government Functions. Risk management principles shall be applied to ensure that appropriate operational readiness decisions are based on the probability of an attack or other incident and its consequences.

(5) The following NEFs are the foundation for all continuity programs and capabilities and represent the overarching responsibilities of the Federal Government to lead and sustain the Nation during a crisis, and therefore sustaining the following NEFs shall be the primary focus of the Federal Government leadership during and in the aftermath of an emergency that adversely affects the performance of Government Functions:

(a) Ensuring the continued functioning of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government;

(b) Providing leadership visible to the Nation and the world and maintaining the trust and confidence of the American people;

(c) Defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and preventing or interdicting attacks against the United States or its people, property, or interests;

(d) Maintaining and fostering effective relationships with foreign nations;

(e) Protecting against threats to the homeland and bringing to justice perpetrators of crimes or attacks against the United States or its people, property, or interests;

(f) Providing rapid and effective response to and recovery from the domestic consequences of an attack or other incident;

(g) Protecting and stabilizing the Nation's economy and ensuring public confidence in its financial systems; and

(h) Providing for critical Federal Government services that address the national health, safety, and welfare needs of the United States.

(6) The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government. In order to advise and assist the President in that function, the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (APHS/CT) is hereby designated as the National Continuity Coordinator. The National Continuity Coordinator, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA), without exercising directive authority, shall coordinate the development and implementation of continuity policy for executive departments and agencies. The Continuity Policy Coordination Committee (CPCC), chaired by a Senior Director from the Homeland Security Council staff, designated by the National Continuity Coordinator, shall be the main day-to-day forum for such policy coordination.

[struggle4progress]

9. The military doesn't have the authority to change the US Code, which reflects enacted law:

and regulations are typically collected in the CFR, not in the USC

So the article's assertion "... By making a few subtle changes to a regulation in the U.S. Code ... the military has quietly granted itself ..." is problematic

[defacto7]

13. real question here...

So what does it mean in your opinion? Is it a bum article or are you saying the problematic issue is the regulation change in question? I'm not sure.

[Kablooie]

10. Boy, if this stuff keeps up we may have to admit the Tea Party isn't as crazy as they seem.

[TwilightGardener]

12. They're not necessarily crazy. Just greedy ignorant fearful assholes.

[defacto7]

11. At what times in modern history

has it been that "prior authorization by the President is impossible"?

And we are supposed to trust this? We do have a problem here folks.

[Tx4obama]

14. Locking, sorry. Consensus of LBN Hosts is that the OP is analysis/background. n/t