Report: Bush mulled sending troops into Buffalo

[larrymeyer]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090725/..._domestic_raid

Report: Bush mulled sending troops into Buffalo

47 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration in 2002 considered sending U.S. troops into a Buffalo, N.Y., suburb to arrest a group of terror suspects in what would have been a nearly unprecedented use of military power, The New York Times reported.

Vice President Dick Cheney and several other Bush advisers at the time strongly urged that the military be used to apprehend men who were suspected of plotting with al Qaida, who later became known as the Lackawanna Six, the Times reported on its Web site Friday night. It cited former administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The proposal advanced to at least one-high level administration meeting, before President George W. Bush decided against it.

Dispatching troops into the streets is virtually unheard of. The Constitution and various laws restrict the military from being used to conduct domestic raids and seize property.

According to the Times, Cheney and other Bush aides said an Oct. 23, 2001, Justice Department memo gave broad presidential authority that allowed Bush to use the domestic use of the military against al-Qaida if it was justified on the grounds of national security, rather than law enforcement.

Among those arguing for the military use besides Cheney were his legal adviser David S. Addington and some senior Defense Department officials, the Times reported.

Opposing the idea were Condoleezza Rice, then the national security adviser; John B. Bellinger III, the top lawyer at the National Security Council; FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III; and Michael Chertoff, then the head of the Justice Department's criminal division.

Bush ultimately nixed the proposal and ordered the FBI to make the arrests in Lackawanna. The men were subsequently arrested and pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges.

Scott L. Silliman, a Duke University law professor specializing in national security law, told the Times that a U.S. president had not deployed the active-duty military on domestic soil in a law enforcement capacity, without specific statutory authority, since the Civil War.

[Dredly]

this would have just been stupid, how many armed police agencies do we have in the US that are MORE then capable of something like this without using the military?

I also think this is probably being over sensationalized... it didn't get anywhere near a "Go" vote it, more of the Bush bashing from the media.

[cigarmanpa]

I also think this is probably being over sensationalized... it didn't get anywhere near a "Go" vote it, more of the Bush bashing from the media.

i disagree. this was would have been a clear violation of the laws of this land and could have potentially lead us down a slope where the military could be called out against anyone for anything. As citizens we must be vigilant against abuses of power, no matter where they come from. Also I saw no 'bashing' in this article just a statement of the facts of what happened.

[GuyMontag]

i disagree. this was would have been a clear violation of the laws of this land and could have potentially lead us down a slope where the military could be called out against anyone for anything. As citizens we must be vigilant against abuses of power, no matter where they come from. Also I saw no 'bashing' in this article just a statement of the facts of what happened.

+1
What he said.

[jerkin]

this would have just been stupid, how many armed police agencies do we have in the US that are MORE then capable of something like this without using the military?

I also think this is probably being over sensationalized... it didn't get anywhere near a "Go" vote it, more of the Bush bashing from the media.

Agreed, the .gov talks about a lot of things, doesn't mean they will or could ever happen. Remember back in October when the media got wind of the dems. talking about taking over all the private 401k and IRA plans? I don't doubt for a minute that someone actually said it but how far does any rational human being think that would get?

[Paradigm]

So, Barry is in trouble for basically calling cops stupid, his healthcare plan is failing, and the economy is spiraling downward...then this story pops up out of the blue?


I do agree that this would have been supremely stupid. But to be honest, I'm sure every president has had at his disposal reaction scenarios for anything that could possibly arise. I'm sure we have plans to attack Canada somewhere...does that mean a stitting president will do it? Not likely.

[Dredly]

i disagree. this was would have been a clear violation of the laws of this land and could have potentially lead us down a slope where the military could be called out against anyone for anything. As citizens we must be vigilant against abuses of power, no matter where they come from. Also I saw no 'bashing' in this article just a statement of the facts of what happened.

It happened shortly after we were attacked by an enemy force... mobilizing the military to attack a foreign military presence within our borders would be the same as us being invaded by a foreign country...

It was struck down, it wasn't enacted and who knows who proposed it in the first place... if all the illegal shit being proposed is exposed to the light of day our gov't would crumble, thats why our gov't is built the way it in, to ensure nothing illegal occurs.

[CarolinaGuy]

more of the Bush bashing from the media.

I don't see that at all. If anything, it was Bush praise for him rejecting the fool notion presented by Cheney/etc.

[matty70]

So, Barry is in trouble for basically calling cops stupid, his healthcare plan is failing, and the economy is spiraling downward...then this story pops up out of the blue?


I do agree that this would have been supremely stupid. But to be honest, I'm sure every president has had at his disposal reaction scenarios for anything that could possibly arise. I'm sure we have plans to attack Canada somewhere...does that mean a stitting president will do it? Not likely.

That's what I'm thinking...are things that bad for Obama that the Liberal Media has to dig up shit form 2001-2002 WTF?!?? Why is this even in the news at this point? The report sounds more like an encylopedia entry than a news report who really cares???

[larrymeyer]

I've of been in favor of this if he was talking about Philadelphia




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