Martial Law Returns
May, 2007
THE JOHN WARNER DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2007 LETS THE FEDS CONTROL STATE NATIONAL GUARD UNITS. THAT'S TROUBLEThe term posse—as in "round up a posse"—derives from the Latin posse comitatus. The 1878 act of that name bars the military from domestic law-enforcement clinics, enshrining in law the 1876 removal of troops deployed in Reconstruction states. Now President Bush, together with the outgoing Republican Congress, has imperiled the act's ability to keep the military out. The Wa...
