'This is war,' Rumsfeld told Bush

Washington Times ^ | 2/23/04 | Rowan Scarborough

[kattracks]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's determination to kill terrorists and transform the military is detailed in "Rumsfeld's War" (Regnery Publishing Inc.), the new book by Rowan Scarborough, defense reporter for The Washington Times. Exclusive excerpts begin today.

Donald H. Rumsfeld sat in a vault-like room studded with video screens and talked with President Bush as the Pentagon burned.

[My Dog Likes Me]

I've heard of it, but I'm not really educated on it. Tell me more. The media always associates it with crazy people & guns. I know this isn't the truth, but that's how it seems to be portrayed.

[piasa]

"I am sweet and loveable," said Donald Rumsfeld, OCTOBER 17, 2002

"Have you killed anyone yet?" Rumsfeld asked.

I've known people who do talk like this and they are sweet and loveable... so long as you're not a threat to anything they love.

[Texasforever]

It is the Federal law that prohibits military action on American soil except under martial law.

[america-rules]

"I say we should make Rummy in charge of our national borders, too. Although he can force the reluctant commander of Special Ops Command to kill these SOBs overseas, why bother when our back door is wide open to them?"

I agree 100% but there is a LAW against this if you didn't know !

[My Dog Likes Me]

Did I say Rummy?

I meant Rudy!

[Texasforever]

LOL

[Texasforever]

I like your style.

[Consort]

Bubba chose Les Aspen....

[Spiff]

"This is not a criminal action," the secretary of defense told Bush over a secure line. "This is war."

Damn straight it is. World War III to be exact. Too bad the Democrats and other leftists can't seem to comprehend that. Maybe if we had actually declared war like we were supposed to...

[My Dog Likes Me]

You too!

I watched some of MSNBC's hour-long bio on Mayor Rudy today. That guy is really something special. He should have a place at cabinet-level in the Administration. Anywhere.
Homeland Security, to start.

[Spiff]

I agree 100% but there is a LAW against this if you didn't know !

Which law, specifically, prevents our armed forces from protecting our own borders even during a time of war?

[Chris Talk]

Sure, tell that to David Koresh.

[Spiff]

Ever heard of Posse Comitatus ?

Passed in 1880 to get federal troops to stop bugging the former confederate states.

It does not apply to protecting the border. History proves this especially along the U.S./Mexico border in the early 1900's. In fact, the last (and possibly only) tank battle to be fought on U.S. soil was around that time in Naco, AZ which is just down the road from my house and the scene of much of our current border invasion.

We already have troops on our border in support roles - building fences, etc. We have aerostats run by the Air Force for drug interdiction purposes. And it was only until recent decades that U.S. troops stopped interdicting border crossers.

And besides all of that, the primary purpose of our military - one of its constitutional charters - is to protect our borders. This supersedes any civil war era law.

Comparing protection of our border to domestic law enforcement is like the Democrats thinking the 9/11 attacks were simply a criminal act.

[FranklinsTower]

Rumsfeld abandoned the Clinton administration's decree that the military must have an official "finding" signed by the president — a step that meant congressional notification and increased the possibility of leaks — before taking any action. Now, special forces on the scene could react immediately to track and kill terrorists.

This is probably one of the main reasons the dims have been so shrill lately. They have been flying blind on this and probably several other matters. As more time passes, the less they know about what is really going on in the present. When they do find out what has happened, it is all said and done -- and too late to leak a warning and/or prepare the spin on the story.

[endthematrix]

Crying foul on Posse Comitatus abuse is akin to getting out of a ticket by complaining to cop that as a taxpayer you pay his salary. It falls on deaf ears!

[Samwise]

Rummy bump

[hershey]

Compare the energy and intelligence behind Rumsfeld's and Bush's common sense decision making, and the mindless dithering that consumed Clinton's administration for weeks when offered bin Laden, after the Cole, etc.. If Kerry gets in, our goose is cooked, and the whole world knows it. That's what they think they want, but if it happened, they couldn't possibly begin to deal with the consequences. Talk about the Dark Ages.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I sure as heck don't want the Democrats ceding our policies right onto Kofi Annan's doormat. Doing this will revert back to the foreign policy days of the Clinton administration wherein our military and intelligence had their collective hands tied and powers gutted. Doing this will turn the US into a big punching bag for the rest of the world and the evil that lurks it. The UN is nothing but a bunch of third world toilets, dictators, and terrorists.

[John W]

That is the most inane interpretation of Posse Comitatus I have ever heard.

[endthematrix]

U.S. Northern Command limitations General Ralph E. Eberhart, head of the newly established Northern Command, based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, which was "tasked" as of October 1st 2002 with the homeland security "mission", stated in the July 21st NY Times report cited above that, "we should always be reviewing things like Posse Comitatus and other laws if we think it ties our hands in protecting the American people", and that "Posse Comitatus will constantly be under review as we mature this command, as we do our exercises."

However, I might add...CINCUSA would be responsible for all Department of Defense related strategies and activities related to homeland defense issues