Bush Weighed Using Military in Arrests

From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — Top Bush administration officials in 2002 debated testing the Constitution by sending American troops into the suburbs of Buffalo to arrest a group of men suspected of plotting with Al Qaeda, according to former administration officials.

Some of the advisers to President George W. Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, argued that a president had the power to use the military on domestic soil to sweep up the terrorism suspects, who came to be known as the Lackawanna Six, and declare them enemy combatants.

Mr. Bush ultimately decided against the proposal to use military force.

Read more ....

My Comment: There are a couple of errors in the New York Times story. Specifically ....

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

Scott Sillman has forgotten about the Bonus Army riots of 1932. Gen. Douglas MacArthur with two Army Regiments and tanks broke up the riots in Washington DC on the orders of the President. Also .... as a "child" of the 1960s, on numerous occasions U.S. National Guard units (while not active-duty military) were also deployed on multiple times during the race and anti-Vietnam riots in the 1960s.

There is "plenty" of precedent for a U.S. President ordering American military action on U.S. soil, Posse Comitatus Act or not.

Personally .... I am glad that the U.S. Army was not ordered to arrest this terror cell. It was not necessary, and it would only have diverted attention away from the war in Afghanistan and the battle against international terrorism.