The Military Should Not be a First Responder

The President proposed that Congress consider placing the Pentagon in charge of disaster response. This could be applied to natural disasters, disease outbreaks and terrorist attacks. This may involve use of federal troops for civilian law enforcement in the U.S.

Use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. This law was enacted during reconstruction to prevent federal troops from policing elections in former Confederate states. Under Posse Comitatus, while the military may not actually police, the army is permitted to give technical support to civilian law enforcement agencies. At the beginning of this week, the President requested that Congress amend Posse Comitatus to allow the military to respond first to stabilize a situation in the event of a disaster. The rationale given for this request is that the military has the most resources and can respond quickly.

Amending Posse Comitatus is not a good idea. It places too much power under federal control. If we ever were to elect a president who wished to greatly increase his power, the absence of Posse Comitatus would help him do so. Posse Comitatus protects us from takeover by the executive branch or by military coup. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan stated that federal authority would be invoked only in “really extraordinary circumstances.” How is “really extraordinary” defined? Could the definition be expanded to include minor tremors or category one hurricanes if a federal power grab is desired?

As things are now, each state’s governor can request that his state’s National Guard troops be federalized in an emergency. If a governor makes that request, the President can send active duty troops into that state for up to ten days at a time. State governors command their states’ National Guard and Coast Guard troops. States and localities are not unprotected in disasters.

The purpose of our military is to fight our enemies in wars. It was not meant to be a domestic police force. The failures of local law enforcement in New Orleans after Katrina do not mandate the use of military law enforcement under orders from the Pentagon during national disasters. It does indicate that local officials should be held accountable. A combination of low pay and an in-city residency requirement made the New Orleans police force unattractive to the best qualified applicants. New Orleans attracted some officers who left their posts during Katrina and its aftermath and a few who actually participated in the looting. Additionally, police were given time off during the storm and, afterward, all were assigned to search and rescue leaving no manpower for law enforcement. The result of these poor decisions was that the lawlessness that was allowed to begin unchecked became very difficult to control. This was not the case in other cities affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This is a call for better local management not federal control.

We need to assess the performance of local and state officials who were in charge in Louisiana when Katrina struck as well as those whose cities and states successfully weathered storms. From that, other state and local officials can learn what steps helped evacuations, relocations and rescues run smoothly and what steps were counterproductive. As voters, we need to ask candidates what organizational experience they have and how they would handle a disaster.

Individuals, families and neighborhoods should be prepared and have contingency plans. We the people must be able to use our initiative to evacuate, have supplies, protect ourselves and to watch out for each other. However, there are things only government can do such as re-routing highway traffic, arranging for fuel trucks along evacuation routes, providing police protection and organizing the return of evacuees. These necessary activities should be left under local and state control rather than federal jurisdiction. The head of the National Governors Association, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, stated, “I haven’t heard any governor say, ‘That’s a great idea. I’ll give up my power to an unelected general to oversee my state.’”

Nothing should be hastily undertaken to increase federal powers. Posse Comitatus may be an old law, but a balance of power between the federal and state governments protects individual rights. We should not allow our fears to overtake our vigilance. Now, we are learning that many reports of events in New Orleans after Katrina including those of rapes and murders inside the Superdome were false. Much of the reportage of anarchy in the city was based on unconfirmed rumor.

Should we permit an expansion of federal powers on the basis of incompetent local leadership by one mayor and one governor combined with fear mongering by the media? Limited government is essential to our freedom. George Healy, a senior editor at the Cato Institute, said, “When it comes to domestic policing, the military should be a last resort, not a first responder.” I’ll second that.

Copyright Eva Ellsworth, 10/02/05, all rights reserved