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|NEXT STORY »

Bush Considered Deploying Military for US Terror Arrests

By Rob Quinn| Posted Jul 25, 09 5:02 AM CDT|

(Newser) – President Bush seriously considered deploying the military to arrest terror suspects in a Buffalo suburb in 2002, former Bush administration officials tell the New York Times. Dick Cheney was in favor of the almost unprecedented deployment of troops on American soil, the officials say, while Condoleezza Rice and others were opposed. Bush ultimately decided to use the FBI to arrest the "Lackawanna Six."

"Frankly, it was a bit of a turf war,” one former senior administration official says. “For a number of people, crossing the line of having intelligence or military activities inside the United States was not worth the risk.” The Constitution and subsequent laws restrict the military from carrying out domestic raids, but Cheney and his allies cited a 2001 Justice Department memo that stated using the military to arrest al-Qaeda suspects was within the president's authority.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. presides over the bail hearing of the six suspected al-Qaida terrorists from Lackawanna, NY in this 2002 photo. (AP Photo/Jane Rosenberg )

President Bush gestures while posing for photos with troops during his visit to the National Training Center at Fort Erwin, Calif.. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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29 comments

VIEWING:

Kookey90
Jul 25, 09 5:16 AM CDT

Hmmm, so the former president was looking at options. So what, the use of the military didn't happen. When you're the commander in chief you first consider all possible opotions, dicuss them with your advisors and go with the best possible recommendations - I assume this is what happened, not much of a story here. Reply

-11

IN RESPONSE:

dontlikenobody
Jul 25, 09 6:57 AM CDT

THIS is one of the best possible recommendations? My first move would be to get me a bunch of new advisors. But no, not old George.

IN RESPONSE:

UrUndertaker
Jul 25, 09 7:08 AM CDT

Not news, nothing important, not a big thing…..If that is honestly how you feel, if that is indeed all this story means to you then I say you deserve to live in Russia or for that matter Iran where personal freedom means nothing and the Gov determines your fate from birth to death. For over 200 years soldiers have fought to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States of America and you just spit on each and every soldier who ever served both the living as well as the ones dead who died serving this country. Furthermore if you do not fully understand the implications of allowing US Troops operate on US soil I honestly think you need to go back to school and this time be forced to pay attention in Civics Class as well as American History. Since the Civil war troops have not been allowed to carry out military missions on this countries soil and they acted then only because the country itself was torn apart and at a war within itself, but then again you probably think the Civil War was fought about Slavery and you could not be more wrong, Slavery was a side issue to Lincoln and tossed in to bring in fringe states so they would support the war. The Calvary served in the west but even that was stopped once an area became a state and laws were instituted. Go back to grade school, and again…this time study the country in which you live and find out why the Constitution and Bill of Rights are NOT a G/D piece of paper. Your ignorance scares the hell out of me.

+20

IN RESPONSE:

Reader64481089
Jul 25, 09 8:32 AM CDT

Let me expand upon what Undertake began and he is correct, totally correct in how he feels. Doing this thing Cheney wanted done violates an act known as the Posse Comitatus Act .....now here is the history lesson you must have missed in either American History or more like when you skipped Civics class............................Posse Comitatus Act passed on June 18, 1878, after the end of Reconstruction, with the intention (in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807) of substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. The Act prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services (today the Army, Air Force, and State National Guard forces when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) within the United States..................................................................................The statute generally prohibits federal military personnel and units of the National Guard under federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress. The Coast Guard is exempt from the Act during peacetime....................................Not I suggest you go and attempt to understand why this law, the Act is so very important to this country, need an example? Try a recent thing known as how the People of Iran are mowed down in the streets by the military or look to South America...do some reading

+12

IN RESPONSE:

shonangreg
Jul 25, 09 8:32 AM CDT

Good response, UrUndertaker, but Kookey apparently lives in the UK.

IN RESPONSE:

Reader64481089
Jul 25, 09 9:01 AM CDT

@ shonangreg and yes he/she does live in The UK and the next post down is in Austin TX so that explains much of lack of knowledge of the US and it's laws, after all a sitting President and his VP knew nothing of them and that is where they were/are from also

IN RESPONSE:

Shannonals
Jul 25, 09 1:24 PM CDT

Why is everyone flagging Kookey90 over a simple observation and opinion of the article? It wasn't offensive.

IN RESPONSE:

SPH
Jul 25, 09 5:25 PM CDT

The purpose of the thumbs up/down is simply to vote your approval/disapproval of the posted comment...It does not imply anything about the poster......Shannonals you've been here long enough to know this....

| 0 minutes ago

riffran
Jul 25, 09 5:32 AM CDT

no not really a story...As a supervisor or leader you have to look at all options Reply

-11

IN RESPONSE:

foodchain11
Jul 25, 09 9:07 AM CDT

breaking the law is not one of the options a President should consider--unless you're Reagan or Cheney-oops, Bush

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Jul 25, 09 11:09 AM CDT

Even the illegal, unconstitutional ones? No I don't think so. That Cheney was once again the one pushing this is not surprising.

| 0 minutes ago

lasty58
Jul 25, 09 6:44 AM CDT

It's a big deal because it hasn't been done since the civil war. An American leader "Seriously considering", use of the the military when no marshal law has been declared is most certainly story worthy. Reply

+10

| 0 minutes ago

dontlikenobody
Jul 25, 09 6:53 AM CDT

My neighbor's dog barked this morning. While I was considering all my options, my Cousin Benny pushed hard to have me take it out with a little napalm. Now, in my town, that's illegal, but my other neighbor, who's a sorta lawyer, said that because my wife was really mad and I'd already slipped him a 20, I could ignore the law. I decided not to, but it sure is nice to know I'd considered all the options - even the real dumbass one. It was real tempting, though. Geez, that crazy Benny - ain't he a hoot? Nope, no story here. Assholes. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

warhead
Jul 25, 09 7:01 AM CDT

ROFLMAO. Hey guys, let's invade Lackawanna!!

| 0 minutes ago

DarkFrancis
Jul 25, 09 7:19 AM CDT

'Mr President, the Constitution restricts your ability to use the military in this matter, but we have a memo from last year that says you can...' 'Really? Cool. Who wrote it?' 'Er...' Reply

| 0 minutes ago

DontLikeYou
Jul 25, 09 8:36 AM CDT

As a conservative, I can tell you that Bush was very dangerous-- not because he was or is conservative. Far from it. President Bush was very liberal in his ideas. It is the liberalism inside his mind which propelled him to dangerous policies which seemed and were fascist. The National Socialist Workers Party (NAZI) in WWII Germany were socialists. They were librerals. IT is the utopian dream of goverment control which makes liberalism so extremely dangerous to our very country. Reply

-10

IN RESPONSE:

warhead
Jul 25, 09 9:05 AM CDT

Wow! That's the ultimate redefinition of reality. What are you smoking, dontlikeyou?

IN RESPONSE:

foodchain11
Jul 25, 09 9:09 AM CDT

interesting that a militia government is now liberal. Gee I thought liberals were "soft". Boy, you can say ANYTHING and think it true

IN RESPONSE:

Fondue
Jul 25, 09 9:27 AM CDT

There are at least two differences between the Nazi's and socialists in general. 1. Nazi's wanted racial purity for Germans and Northwestern Europeans. This simply is not the case for modern socialists. 2. Nazi's stressed the failure of democracy. As we can all see democracy is alive and well and there are still socialists worldwide. There are socialist parties running countries all across this world and America is still here. -- So, were the Nazi's liberals? Nazism is a form of fascism that incorporates left and right wing politics, yet most of their alliances were on the right. Among the key elements of Nazism were anti-parliamentarism, Pan-Germanism, racism, collectivism, eugenics, antisemitism, anti-communism, totalitarianism and opposition to economic liberalism and political liberalism. These last two should tell you a lot, but considering your past you will probably only pick up on their use of the word "Socialist".

IN RESPONSE:

Doctor_Zaius
Jul 25, 09 11:11 AM CDT

And the backpedaling apologists transform into throwing Bush under the bus. Why, because even they realize they can't polish that turd.

| 0 minutes ago

Timinator2K
Jul 25, 09 9:19 AM CDT

And to think that Bush left true domestic terrorist/racketeer organizations in the US known as street gangs alone to keep doing their "community organizing" for fun, profit and gratuitous killing. Reply

-5

IN RESPONSE:

Shannonals
Jul 25, 09 1:30 PM CDT

Oh you mean like the Maffia.

IN RESPONSE:

Pragmaticrealism
Jul 25, 09 2:30 PM CDT

bush is in on the drug trafficking, just look at afghanistan

| 0 minutes ago

Rocket448
Jul 25, 09 12:49 PM CDT

Yes, the things Bush was interested in and those he was NOT interested in are illuminating, aren't they. I would've hoped that his advisors would have recoiled IN FEAR AND LOATHING at the mere suggestion that troops be used to oppress terrorists on US soil. Of course their go-to fascist, Mr. Yoo, was ok with it. Nothing surprises me anymore. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

jaguarj
Jul 25, 09 1:42 PM CDT

BUSH....the coulda, woulda, shoulda man!! Reply

| 0 minutes ago

BlahBlahBlah
Jul 25, 09 2:21 PM CDT

Ole Cheney would of found some way to spin it. Bush just would of sat there and looked stupid. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 25, 09 6:59 PM CDT

Insurrection Act" The Insurrection Act governs when the President can declare a form of martial law. When the act is invoked, the military, including the National Guard, can carry out law enforcement functions without the consent of a Governor. Posse comitatus, a broad law that generally prevents the military from policing within the domestic United States, does not apply when the act is invoked. Until the “Insurrection Act Rider” was enacted in the fall of 2006, U.S. law focused on enabling the President to invoke the Insurrection Act during violent situations where the states or local communities were resisting lawful orders. The intent of the law, as the title suggests, was to deal with insurrection from individuals or groups. The law was not designed to address other situations, including natural disasters, or attacks from outside the country. WHAT'S NEW: Empowering the National Guard Bush Signs Bill Enacting Leahy’s National Guard Empowerment Reforms, And Leahy’s Repeal Of The ‘Insurrection Act Rider’ January 30, 2008 In its original form, the Act has been invoked sparingly -- only ten times in the past five decades. Over the past 40 years, the act has only been invoked with the consent of the governors, using authorities under other sections of the U.S. Code that allow states to invite in federal military forces for police functions. Under the new language, added to the law in the fall of 2006, the President can invoke the act and declare martial law in cases where public order breaks down as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, terrorist attack, or under the nebulous term of “other conditions." More at: http://leahy.senate.gov/issues/InsurrectionAct/index.html Reply

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 25, 09 7:17 PM CDT

This may be from a survivalist type of website; but they have some facts that bear scrutiny...... Creeping militarism leapt into full view with Bush's October 4 request to Congress to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which prohibits the use of the military in domestic policing except for the purpose of quelling a revolution. Citing the theoretical possibility that Asian avian flu, now only transmittable from bird to human, could mutate into a human-to-human form, Bush said: "If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And who best to be able to effect a quarantine? One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. I think it's an important debate for Congress to have." More at: http://www.rinf.com/news/oct05/martiallaw.html Reply

| 0 minutes ago

TerrifiedCitizen
Jul 25, 09 7:33 PM CDT

One of the most hawkish congressional enthusiasts for Bush's plans to send U.S. troops to the streets of Baghdad is ""Joseph Biden"", Democrat of Delaware. Apparently he wants to see the same troops on the streets of U.S. cities. Interviewed on Fox News on July 21, he strongly endorsed giving power of arrest to U.S. soldiers. Posse Comitatus, said Biden "has to be amended." Even Mr. Homeland Security Tom Ridge begged to differ. More at: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Civil_Liberties/Posse_Comitatus_Law.html Reply

-1

| 0 minutes ago

View all 29 comments »

Bush administration • War on Terror • Dick Cheney • US military • John Yoo • terror suspects • George W. Bush • Buffalo

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