Last week
WaPo reported that the military has drafted its first-ever war plans for detering or responding to terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The most publicized of these plans have the military in a supporting role, but some of the plans -- which remain secret -- call for the military to take charge of civilian operations.
According to Adm. Timothy J. Keating, the head of NORTHCOM (the military command responsible for homeland security operations), such situations would probably be temporary, with lead responsibility passing back to civilian authorities.
PROBABLY??!?
That one word just jUMPed off the page at me.
And NORTHCOM's lawyers say that the legal constraints of the Posse Comitatus Act would not apply.
Excerpts from the WaPo article below the fold...
According to NORTHCOM's lawyers, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (which restricts the military from domestic law enforcement) is not relevant because it does not apply to actions authorized by the Constitution, and any domestic use of the military would be under the President's Article 2 authority to serve as commander in chief and protect the nation.
OK, so when would the Posse Comitatus Act ever apply?
Here are excerpts from the WaPo article
The U.S. military has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted the plans. ...
The war plans represent a historic shift for the Pentagon, which has been reluctant to become involved in domestic operations and is legally constrained from engaging in law enforcement. Indeed, defense officials continue to stress that they intend for the troops to play largely a supporting role in homeland emergencies, bolstering police, firefighters and other civilian response groups.
But the new plans provide for what several senior officers acknowledged is the likelihood that the military will have to take charge in some situations, especially when dealing with mass-casualty attacks that could quickly overwhelm civilian resources. ...
[W]hen it comes to ground forces possibly taking a lead role in homeland operations, senior Northcom officers remain reluctant to discuss specifics. Keating said such situations, if they arise, probably would be temporary, with lead responsibility passing back to civilian authorities.
Military exercises code-named Vital Archer, which involve troops in lead roles, are shrouded in secrecy. By contrast, other homeland exercises featuring troops in supporting roles are widely publicized.
Civil liberties groups have warned that the military's expanded involvement in homeland defense could bump up against the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which restricts the use of troops in domestic law enforcement. But Pentagon authorities have told Congress they see no need to change the law.
According to military lawyers here, the dispatch of ground troops would most likely be justified on the basis of the president's authority under Article 2 of the Constitution to serve as commander in chief and protect the nation. The Posse Comitatus Act exempts actions authorized by the Constitution. ...