 |
Give me a break. You might want to consume a bit less caffeine my friend. |
Posted on 10/15/2002 4:52:13 PM PDT by 11th_VA
WASHINGTON (AP) - Authorities called in the military Tuesday to help solve the 2-week-old sniper case that has left nine people dead and terrorized the capital area.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld agreed Tuesday evening to the FBI's request to use military surveillance aircraft in the hunt for the killer, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The plan calls for having military pilots fly reconnaissance flights accompanied by federal agents, who would relay any collected information to authorities on the ground, a senior defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A main objective is to improve communication among investigators.
Authorities had considered using a Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, but decided to use manned aircraft instead, officials said.
The help will be provided in a way meant to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act - a 19th century law that bans the military from domestic law enforcement. That means the military will relay data to law enforcement and not decide on its own what targets to watch, the official said.
The aircraft would perform general reconnaissance, such as looking for or tracking the light-colored van authorities say was seen at one or more of the shooting sites. Pentagon participation also could involve a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.
More than half a dozen agencies already are working the case, a series of 11 random rifle attacks in 13 days that has killed nine people and seriously wounded two others. All but one of the attacks have been in neighboring suburbs in Maryland and Virginia. One was just inside Washington at the Maryland border.
In two recent killings, police threw up a dragnet near the shooting site, blocking off streets and expressway ramps and stopping traffic to check vehicles. The assailant slipped away.
Another official, who also discussed the matter on condition of anonymity, said that at the request of investigators, the Army has started searching its records for people trained as snipers for any former or current service member who might be involved in the shootings.
Law enforcement officials have not said they suspect anyone from the services. Experts have said the shooter also could be a hunter, a target shooter, someone with law enforcement experience, and so on.
Police from counties where the attacker has struck are participating in the joint investigation as well as both state police forces, Washington's metropolitan police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
By law the military is limited in the ways it can engage in domestic law enforcement, although state governors can call up National Guard troops for such missions.
Federal investigators refused Tuesday to rule out the possibility that organized terrorist groups are behind the shootings that have left some residents apprehensive all around the nation's capital.
"The communities are terrorized," said the homeland security director, Tom Ridge, and said federal investigators don't know whether the sniper might be a domestic or international terrorist or is a working alone.
Asked whether there were links to al-Qaida or other foreign terrorists, Ridge said, "I don't think we can foreclose that. Certainly, nobody in the FBI or the White House has foreclosed that."
CNN - About 1/2 hour ago, said they're "looking for a man that's Hispanic or Middle Eastern, and drives....."(then they showed the pictures of the vans).
I said to my spouce: "Did you hear that part? The part about the man being Hispanic or Middle Eastern?" He said "no", he "missed that part."
They said it quick.
I'm suprised the press isn't even SUGGESTING Middle Eastern terrorism. Does anyone else find that odd? They're not even asking!
This killing must be stopped, and I'll be the good guys will try just about anything by now.
I'm impressed.
A gazillion of these vehicles and from 10,000 feet the military can figure out which one?
Pentagon participation also could involve a system of sensors that could detect flashes of gunfire on the ground, the official said.
Like at Waco?
|
Give me a break. You might want to consume a bit less caffeine my friend. |
If it is a ME terrorist, an Islamist, then there is a whole new and extremely tough set of problems that arise in dealing with it. And those problems relate to public reaction...which could run the gamut right up a sort of mini-civil war on our soil against muslims. There WILL be a majority public (non-Islam public) reaction and it isn't likely to be a reaction within the Kum-bay-a tradition. There may well be serious violence against muslim targets and individuals.
And the last thing the Administration wants is for things to boil over out of control domestically while we are fighting two additional external offensive wars.
Indeed, it would be an effective enemy tactic to bring the war to our soil in this manner -- those are the tactics that we use against our enemies (take the battle to his home). I think this is what the Administration is attempting to avoid if they can.
But if the truth is as we expect they might need to reconcile themselves to much harsher internal measures against Islamist targets while they fight offensively against both Al Qaeda and Iraq (Al Qaeda's storehouse). But that ratchets up the degree-of-difficulty a great deal.
But, but, but... I thought these sensors didn't work. The Danforth comittee on Waco tells us that what looks just like a burst from a gun is actually light bouncing off of ground litter. Of course, the ground litter, in this strange phenomenon, is always locted right next to a man with a gun, so maybe it would still be useful.
Yes, it is.
Even apart from the possibility (probability?) of jihadist connections, what kind of civil liberties requirement says that military sniper-locators must not be used to catch a mass-murdering sniper? An insane one.
A good point. It's almost as if, had the Japanese sent an invasion force into California in 1942, we would have been nearly powerless. "No, no! No troop deployments! Let the local police handle that! Murder cases and property destruction are just the sort of crimes that the sherrif is equipped to handle. It would be improper to deploy troops to stop those 10,000 uniformed criminals. No law enforcement by the military under any circumstances!"
I'd bet the primary locator is audio direction ranging. Flashes are far less certain.
Since when is fighting enemy troops on our own soil considered domestic law enforcement?
Just curious...
Since we are in the perpetual war against a phantom enemy, are all criminals "enemy troops?" Is the next serial killer an "enemy combatant?" Does he get a 1-way ticket to XRAY - no trial, no confronting of accusers, no ability to compel witnesses?
This is scary. As sheeple, we have allowed the gov't to operate an eternal war against a philosophy, and seem overjoyed at the promise that the etheral boundries of this new-found power expand at a whim. All our problems are "terror" therefore any person who is a problem is a terrorist, and therefore denied all the constitutional protections afforded us who are, at present, on the good side of our gov't and popular opinion.
If you give gov't a hammer, expect to get hit on the head.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.