Free Republic

A little-publicized Department of Defense Directive (Number 1404.10) establishes a "DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce" and rescinds a prior directive dealing with the emergency use of civilian personnel. The new 1404.10, dated January 23, 2009 -- just three days after the inauguration -- is effective immediately, and cancels the prior directive of the same designation ("Emergency-Essential (E-E) DoD U.S. Citizen Civilian Employees"), that was issued in 1992 under President Clinton. The 1992 directive specifically deals with overseas deployments of civilian personnel, and mentions the term "overseas" no fewer than 33 times. The new directive does not mention the term "overseas" in...

Excerpts from Obama's speech today at the dedication of Abraham Lincoln Hall at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.: "The attacks of 9/11 signaled the new dangers of the 21st century. And today, our people are still threatened by violent extremists ... Yet terrorism and extremism make up just one part of the many challenges that confront our nation. ... A historic economic downturn has put at stake the prosperity that underpins our strength, while putting at risk the stability of governments and the survival of people around the world. ... Poverty, disease, the persistence of conflict and genocide...

This has to be the scariest thing I have read in a very long time. The Rand Corporation was asked by the US Army to prepare a report recommending whether or not the US Needed a National Stability Police force. Basically a call for American "Brown Shirts" Rand's answer was a resounding yes. Our analysis clearly indicates that the United States needs an SPF or some other way to accomplish the SPF mission. Stability operations have become an inescapable reality of U.S. foreign policy. Establishing security with soldiers and police is critical because it is difficult to achieve other objectives—such...

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS By the authority vested in me as President by theConstitution and the laws of the United States of America,including section 1822 of the National Defense AuthorizationAct of 2008 (Public Law 110-181), and in order to strengthenfurther the partnership between the Federal Government and Stategovernments to protect our Nation and its people and property,it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Council of Governors. (a) There is established a Council of Governors (Council).The Council shall consist of 10 State Governors appointed bythe President (Members), of whom no more than five shall be ofthe same political...

Justification and Options for Creating U.S. Capabilities Establishing security is the sine qua non of stability operations, since it is a prerequisite for reconstruction and development. Security requires a mix of military and police forces to deal with a range of threats from insurgents to criminal organizations. This research examines the creation of a high-end police force, which the authors call a Stability Police Force (SPF). The study considers what size force is necessary, how responsive it needs to be, where in the government it might be located, what capabilities it should have, how it could be staffed, and its...

I know someone who purchased this from RAND. By page 19 this report goes from discussing the need for a Special Police Force overseas to supplement interventions, to suddenly needing a force that can circumvent Posse Comitatus. Posse Comitatus exists for a reason and any attempt to circumvent it, not matter how nicely packaged, is a step on the way to "Special" police becoming "Secret" police. They call it :A STABILITY POLICE FORCE: This study asks several questions. First, is a Stability Police Force (SPF) necessary? An SPF is a high-end police force that engages in a range of tasks...