Subject: Bush Moves toward Martial Law


Bush Moves Toward Martial Law
Frank Morales



      October 26, 2006   www.uruknet.info?p=27769

      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."

      A few weeks later, on the 29th of September, Leahy entered into the
Congressional Record that he had "grave reservations about certain
provisions of the fiscal Year 2007 Defense Authorization Bill Conference
Report," the language of which, he said, "subverts solid, longstanding
posse comitatus statutes that limit the military's involvement in law
enforcement, thereby making it easier for the President to declare martial
law." This had been "slipped in," Leahy said, "as a rider with little
study," while "other congressional committees with jurisdiction over these
matters had no chance to comment, let alone hold hearings on, these
proposals."

      In a telling bit of understatement, the Senator from Vermont noted
that "the implications of changing the (Posse Comitatus) Act are enormous".
"There is good reason," he said, "for the constructive friction in existing
law when it comes to martial law declarations. Using the military for law
enforcement goes against one of the founding tenets of our democracy. We
fail our Constitution, neglecting the rights of the States, when we make it
easier for the President to declare martial law and trample on local and
state sovereignty."

      Senator Leahy's final ruminations: "Since hearing word a couple of
weeks ago that this outcome was likely, I have wondered how Congress could
have gotten to this point. It seems the changes to the Insurrection Act
have survived the Conference because the Pentagon and the White House want
it."

      The historic and ominous re-writing of the Insurrection Act,
accomplished in the dead of night, which gives Bush the legal authority to
declare martial law, is now an accomplished fact.

      The Pentagon, as one might expect, plays an even more direct role in
martial law operations. Title XIV of the new law, entitled, "Homeland
Defense Technology Transfer Legislative Provisions," authorizes "the
Secretary of Defense to create a Homeland Defense Technology Transfer
Consortium to improve the effectiveness of the Department of Defense (DOD)
processes for identifying and deploying relevant DOD technology to federal,
State, and local first responders."

      In other words, the law facilitates the "transfer" of the newest in
so-called "crowd control" technology and other weaponry designed to
suppress dissent from the Pentagon to local militarized police units. The
new law builds on and further codifies earlier "technology transfer"
agreements, specifically the 1995 DOD-Justice Department memorandum of
agreement achieved back during the Clinton-Reno regime.(4)

      It has become clear in recent months that a critical mass of the
American people have seen through the lies of the Bush administration; with
the president's polls at an historic low, growing resistance to the war
Iraq, and the Democrats likely to take back the Congress in mid-term
elections, the Bush administration is on the ropes. And so it is
particularly worrying that President Bush has seen fit, at this juncture
to, in effect, declare himself dictator.

      Source:

      (1) http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/091906a.html and
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/092906b.html See also, Congressional
Research Service Report for Congress, "The Use of Federal Troops for
Disaster Assistance: Legal Issues," by Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative
Attorney, August 14, 2006

      (2) http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill+h109-5122

      (3) Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International,
"Recent Contract Awards", Summer 2006, Vol.12, No.2, pg.8; See also, Peter
Dale Scott, "Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps," New
American Media, January 31, 2006.

      (4) "Technology Transfer from defense: Concealed Weapons Detection",
National Institute of Justice Journal, No 229, August, 1995, pp.42-43.

    


:: Article nr. 27769 sent on 27-oct-2006 03:18 ECT

==========================
NEW ARTICLE
==========================

The following articles from the October 30, 2006 issue of The New American are now available online.

Are YOU the Enemy?
Under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, you could be.

Expanding Surveillance Authority
The surveillance power demanded by the Bush administration would expand executive branch power.

Saving Our Elections (Excerpt)
America's once proud and trustworthy elections are being undermined, but concerned citizens can take steps to restore the integrity of our electoral process.

How They Voted
Our final look at the 109th Congress shows how every representative and senator voted on key issues, including warrantless surveillance, the border fence, and military tribunals.

The Fall of Rome (Excerpt)
Beginning in the fourth century, an unprecedented wave of immigration washed over the Roman Empire, leading to the end of the empire in the West.

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