Dennis Kucinich: 2008 Defense Authorization Bill authorizes use of US military for domestic purposes

Representative Dennis Kucinich reported this during an interview with WINZ Miami radio station this morning. He is reading through this bill and for the first time last evening, noticed this language that has been inserted into the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill.


He said that this language jumped off the page at him and that he was very concerned that people learn about this provision that would authorize domestic operations for the US military.




This is a PDF file. I have typed out the pertinent section.







Please call/write your members of Congress to alert them to this language and its implications.


Thank you, Representative Kucinich, for your dedication to the people of this country.

what is put into legislation or to allow "didn't read it" as an excuse when bad unconstitutional laws are enacted. Thank you Dennis Kucinich for your vigilance in your fight against incremental fascism.

with it. There is more of us than them, and if they shoot us all dead, who will slave away for them?

Then everyone will make the choice: death or slavery. Most Americans have already chosen...

we should take advantage of that, they probably won't know what hit them. Cause they think of us as sitting in front of our TV's all the time, (which not all of us do) or is that their perception of us especially that dimwit in the WH.

They already have.

Someone had to direct a staff member to insert this.

just sayin'

Military Support to Civil Authorities, or MISCA as it's pronounced, has always been a mission for the Reserves and National Guard.

It seems like just weeks ago everyone was talking about the California National Guard being in Iraq and unable to help with the firefighting.

Can't have it both ways. Can they support civil authorities or not?

What do you think specifically is new this year?

I didn't realize it was something that needed to be written out each year. What is the fuss, then?

"The established rule is that the expenditure of public funds is proper only when authorized by Congress, not that public funds may be expended unless prohibited by Congress."

United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S. 317 (1976)

Always entertaining over coffee.

"support the use of the active components and the reserve components"

ACTIVE COMPONENTS.

That means the pResident can simply use what ever means necessary to deal with basically anything or one within the US by way of Military Force.

It is not entirely new, in some ways, as we already lost Posse Comitatus (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act). "In early 2006, the 109th Congress passed a controversial bill which grants the President the right to commandeer federal or state National Guard Troops and use them inside the United States."

Dude. Educate yourself. The National Guard is NOT THE MILITARY. It is part of the state militia so that the states could be free of the federal government, if necessary. It was Duh-bya that has really co-opted The Guard. You don't think he would have cowered in the Guard during Vietname if there had been any REAL chance of his unit going to Vietnam.

"(B) Any additional capabilities determined by the Secretary to be necessary to support the use of the active components and the reserve components of the armed forces for homeland defense missions, domestic emergency responses, and providing military support to civil authorities."

These are the guys who are getting blown up or shot to pieces in Iraq. Now they're going to be asked to perform "homeland defense missions... and provide military support to civil authorities."

Now what the hell does that sound like to you?

Also note that the military commissions act repealed the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which had prohibited federal troops from operating on US soil. So there's no longer any legal constraints against US troops being deployed domestically. And this latest piece of shit bill just gives it the gloss of Congressional sanction.

Unfortunately, since most congresspersons no longer seem to read the garbage they routinely sign, this one is probably going to pass without much debate, too. Pelosi could, of course, kill it by refusing to bring it up for a vote, but that wouldn't be acting in the glorious spirit of bipartisanship the 110th congress seems so smitten with. Meanwhile, unchecked by the alleged opposition party, the little dictator and his puppet masters keep marching on.


wp

lending a helping hand. I had no problem with that......

and we were the go to guys for everything from emergencies of the personal kind to the fire brigade when the area was threatened by wildfires. We all cool with that too.

Maybe a pick and axe as well..Fighting fires takes men with axes and shovels and equipment to move those men around. I am sure the US marines has all of the above..No bullets necessary and in fact I would venture a guess those marines stationed there in California haven't seen any bullets for quite some time...

It is way past time members of congress actually read the fucking bills! Go Dennis!

I could only hope I have the opportunity to vote for him in the general election. us mad assed okies don't have much say in who gets to the general election though

Just how do you propose to control 300,000,000 people? Just askin'

There were more Jews than there were Nazis in Germany but they still got on those trains, didn't they? They were controlled by fear and by the mistaken belief that in a democracy, a modern civil society, the military would not heard a large segment of the population off to the gas chambers.

The NG is often funded through 10 U.S.C. and 32 U.S.C. to provide support to domestic operations and domestic civil authorities. It's kind of our job, yano?

There's intrigue in the air.

Yes, let's have FACTS. The Guard is NOT THE MILITARY. I know you play with guns, and Bush has turned you into the military. But you belong TO THE STATE, NOT THE FEDS. Educate yourself.

There is a big difference between regular military and national guard.

The National Guard remains under the control and direction of the State's Governor, a civilian authority.

The regular Military follows a military chain of command that is not dependent on any kind of direction by an civilian authority.

Once the National Guard is deployed overseas they report to the same chain of command that the regular Military is under.

When the National Guard is deployed INSIDE the US their deployment is under the direction of the governor of the state, a civilian official.

If you read anything about the post Katrina screwup, you would have learned that the Bush Administration tried to force the governor of LA to give up her authority to direct National Guard troops deployed inside her state before Bush would provide assistance from outside the state. She refused, and the Bush Administration tried to blame her for delaying assistance to her state.

be easy to check back to see if, indeed, no language has been changed from the last authorization to this submission. If this submission is not found in the previous submission or there has been changes to the language then it certainly would be cause for concern, imo.

Let me poke around the Lib of Congress for a few minutes.

around Posse Comitatus, it certainly is wise to check, imo.

What would be more alarming, IMHO, is if any DoD Authorization or Appropriations act DIDN'T have this language. That would constitute an "end-run" to consolidate state powers to the federal government and would be dangerous as all hell.

National Guard Empowerment Act 2007

National Guard Empowerment Act 2006

And plenty more like this going waaaaay back in time. Please help yourself and explore Library of Congress

between the two due to the addition of the words "military-unique capabilities" in the current submission. I cannot find those words in either the 2006 or 2007 Empowerment Act:

Here is the relevant section from previous submissions:

Sec. 10503a. Functions of National Guard Bureau: military assistance to civil authorities

`(a) Identification of Additional Necessary Assistance- The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall--

`(1) identify gaps between Federal and State capabilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies; and

`(2) make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on programs and activities of the National Guard for military assistance to civil authorities to address such gaps.

`(b) Scope of Responsibilities- In meeting the requirements of subsection (a), the Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall, in coordination with the Adjutant Generals of the States, have responsibilities as follows:

`(1) To validate the requirements of the several States and Territories with respect to military assistance to civil authorities.

`(2) To develop doctrine and training requirements relating to the provision of military assistance to civil authorities.

`(3) To acquire equipment, materiel, and other supplies and services for the provision of military assistance to civil authorities.

`(4) To assist the Secretary of Defense in preparing the budget required under section 10544 of this title.

`(5) To administer amounts provided the National Guard for the provision of military assistance to civil authorities.

`(6) To carry out any other responsibility relating to the provision of military assistance to civil authorities as the Secretary of Defense shall specify.

`(c) Assistance- The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall assist the Chief of the National Guard Bureau in carrying out activities under this section.

`(d) Consultation- The Chief of the National Guard Bureau shall carry out activities under this section in consultation with the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force.'.



Someone might want to ask why the addition of "military-unique capabilities" to the submission and what does it mean in real terms, imo.

What's the definition of "military-unique"? That's a fairly open-ended question.

definition could be cause for concern, wouldn't you agree?

:thumbsup:

for doing the groundwork in providing the links that allowed the comparison to be made.

:thumbsup:

This is one of the few times where an argument on DU ended well. :)

:rofl:

would be my guess

..."military-unique" is ascribed to things found only within the military. So "military-unique capabilities" would refer to things only the military can do, or to technologies/weapons only the military possesses.

The term is very broad and requires clarification.

Once again, DK proves he is the true voice of the people. :bounce:

to know when something is amiss. He's also thorough about doing his homework and not bringing up an issue unless he can back it up with facts.

I'll trust his judgement on this until someone can prove otherwise.

Martial law.

He gets into the details of these bills while the other candidates banter a bunch of bullshit. He's exposing the issues letting everyone know where he stands.

Maybe that's why some consider him to be unelectable?

Just wondering.

because the others don't give a shit they are part of the elite society, Kucinich is one of us

on Oct.24.2007. The chilling discussion included an in-depth analysis of how HR 1585 could apply in a martial law declaration.

The two experts interviewed on that program were Ralph Schoenmann and Frank Morales, who also delivered an in-person presentation on this topic in Berkeley a few nights ago.

Everyone should listen to this broadcast.

The program is available for download at Rense.com. A quick Google search shows that a Bittorrent version of the broadcast has also been posted at a number of websites worldwide.

which means the military can be called in to enforce the law when requested by the president. He also doesn't need the permission of Governors any longer to get the National Guard to cross state lines.

It is good to know it is circulating and being discussed.

We`all know he would NEVER commit suicide. I suspect politically convenient deaths...

The language worries me a little bit as it should any American. I do have some thoughts though...

Thinking about what's happened in Pakistan and the (IMHO fairly logical) considerations that Bush might try something before 2009 I've pondered what would happen. I'm nothing, not even college educated but...

The biggest hurdle he'd have to face is getting the armed forces to do what he wants.

If you control a nation's armies, you control the nation.

Things are often said that our troops are brainwashed by basic training into following orders but I don't believe it. I've heard that some soldiers are like that... but I've never heard a real soldier on tv or in person who acted like he couldn't think. I believe that the majority of our soldiers are good people who believe in the country.

However, the soldiers have been out of country for months to several years. (Which seems like a good plan when trying to take over a country and use the military for it) You could tell them that the country is becoming increasingly lawless, things are going all wrong and there are terrorists everywhere.. and when they get back maybe they'd take their orders and keep believing those things.

I kind of doubt it though. Particularly with the internet.

Even if Bushco could control the armed forces and make them fight against civilians... just how many ex-military personnel do you think we have in this country? Ex-special forces who know what they're doing AND believe in the country?

How many people in this country own a fair sized arsenal? I'm not even talking about the nut-militias.

This country has 300,000,000 people in it or somewhere around there. I have a hard time thinking there isn't at least 2 or 3 million of them willing to give their life if they really thought that someone was trying to destroy our country, overtly and in a way they can't deny.

It would be a long, miserable fight but I think those who believe in Democracy and America would win.

I think that if there's serious danger in this language (and I trust Kucinich in his belief that it's troubling) then we should do whatever we can to block it. Bushco won't win.

http://www.legitgov.org/DoD_to_augment_civilian_law.html">DoD to 'augment civilian law' during pandemic or bioterror attack Is Bush is getting ready to play the Bioterror Card? Updated 23 Oct 2007

who actually reads through the bills himself, and doesn't rely on staff briefings.

Thank you, Rep. Kucinich, for being so thorough and vigilent. You'll make an excellent president.

:patriot:

to their radical fascist PNAC revolution.

"Bring it on," indeed. :eyes:

Americans won't revolt. We don't have it in us. We lost our desire for freedom when we elected our first Actor President.

ARE YOU?