Comments Posted By Mike C
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Posse Comitatas as cited earlier isn't quite correctly depicted. It is specifically with respect to Military and was created actually to prevent the influence of military on elections after the civil war (South feared the north would send troops to negatively influence elections). The USCG is able to respond as they are not considered a part of the military except in time of war something unique amongst the services. Also, the USCG has unique federal law enforcement jurisdiction that is distinct from the other services. Other federal agencies, such as FEMA are not bound by Posse Comitatas as they are not "military." The exception as to when Posse Comitatas can specifically be foregone is during civil unrest which is not necessarily the same as lawlessness but rather specific defiance and agression against the government.
There has been a lot of finger pointing and accusations, some very extreme. I imagine various scapegoats will be served up over time both at the federal level and state and local levels.
After the public hangings have passed, I hope that this does not become a political animal and that an earnest effort will be placed on how we improve and learn from the shortfalls of this event.
The press and politicians jumped very quickly to the blame game. We the people, need to be bigger than the politics. The fact of the matter is this was a massive disaster and the actions of many many folks were heroic and I salute them.
God Bless the people of the Gulf Coast and may this never happen again.
Comment Posted By Mike C On 27.09.2005 @ 22:00
