Review of the Posse Comitatus Act After Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 (PCA) and as amended restricts the use of the Army or the Air Force for law enforcement purposes. Hurricane Katrina and the events of September 11, 2001, combined with the potential use of a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) in a domestic terrorist event have brought the PCA into the spotlight for review. Should Congress repeal the PCA, leave PCA "as-is", or modify the PCA? This paper provides background on the issue of the use of the military for law enforcement and makes the case that policy and not necessarily statutory guidance drives the use of the military in the domestic venue for rapidly responding to a wide range of crises.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 2006
Accession Number
ADA448803

Entities

People

  • Mark C. Weston

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Border Security
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Military Science
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

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