U.S. Army Soldiers Deployed on the Streets of Samson, Alabama

[Christa]

I was reading this Reuters piece about a mass shooting in Alabama when I noticed these photos:



I’m waiting for a response from the Public Affairs Office at Fort Rucker. I’ll post it below if it ever comes:

Subject: Fort Rucker Soldiers Deployed in Alabama
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:30:29 +1300
From: Kevin F
To: [e-mail]

To Whom it May Concern,

My name is Kevin Flaherty. I am the editor of a news and analysis
website called Cryptogon.

I saw Reuters photos of Fort Rucker soldiers deployed on the streets of
Samson, Alabama in the wake of a mass shooting there on 10 March 2009.

See:

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=USTRE52A01D20090311&channelName=topNews#a=8

U.S. Army soldiers from Ft. Rucker patrol the downtown area of Samson,
Alabama after a shooting spree March 10, 2009.

REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser

and

http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/articleslideshow?articleId=USTRE52A01D20090311&channelName=topNews#a=9

U.S. Army soldiers from Ft. Ruker guard a home with five bodies inside
as investigators search for clues in Samson, Alabama, March 11, 2009.

REUTERS/Mark Wallheiser

More here:

http://cryptogon.com/?p=7433

[maxsolomon]

1. posse comitatus?

i assume that's what you're pointing out.

[indepat]

2. Fuckin' posse comitatus done bit de dust

:P

[MercutioATC]

3. How do we know they're actually U.S. Army?

They are very clearly wearing "POLICE" vests.

[NeedleCast]

5. Probably MPs

They are wearing correct army uniform, including barrets.

[Renew Deal]

8. The photo is captioned that way.

They say "soldiers from Fort Rucker." :shrug:

[14thColony]

16. Army Military Police and Air Force Security Forces

also wear "Police" vests in circumstances like this.

These are very definitely soldiers.

[NeoGreen]

4. 1st Rec

This should be on the "Greatest" page asap.

[greenkal]

6. WTF is wrong with Obama doing this?

Why are you being critical of him?

[Renew Deal]

7. Are you kidding?

I can't tell if this is a joke or not. I hope it is.

[NeedleCast]

9. What Leads you to the conclusion that Obama Did This?

I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but in this case - and we're talking about a one-traffic light town in rural Alabama with (I'm betting) a police force of half a dozen at most - it would appear that they're being used to secure crime scenes.

[rhett o rick]

11. Obama as commander in chief is responsible. We do not want our president, any president

using Army troops in the US. Posse comitatus act of 1878 is a very important safe guard against dictatorships.

[NeedleCast]

13. Nothing I've read so far leads me to believe Obama was consulted

[rhett o rick]

24. I doubt he was. My point is that he is responsible. He either condones the actions or should work to

stop the actions. Bring back posse comitatus a foundation of democracy.

[rhett o rick]

10. Do you know why we have (or had) posse comitatus? If not, look it up. nm

[14thColony]

17. Two things...

1. You don't seriously think the President of the United States was involved in this decision, do you? Seriously?

2. It's irrelevant who did it. If these are regular troops instead of guardsmen, it is very possibly a violation of Posse Commitatus. No one gets to do that 'just because.' The Rule of Law - it applies to everyone.

[tangent90]

19. Aren't you the uh, person who wants the cops to go into everyone's house and look

for guns & stuff?


foad

[rvablue]

12. Don't really get why everyone is so up in arms about this. Couldn't these men be

National Guard troops, deployed by the Governor as a gunman was running around shooting people?

[14thColony]

20. It's possible

but if the captions are correct, unlikely - Fort Rucker is a regular US Army post, not an Alabama National Guard post. There may be an NG armory there, but more likely than not Fort Rucker = regular Army troops.

[Lex]

14. Maybe they are broke as hell and don't have enough police.

nt

[NeedleCast]

15. This is Rural Alabama

I don't know if they're broke...but a comment in one of the articles from a person who lives in one of the small towns where this took place said they have a police force of two.

[shadowknows69]

21. That's what State and country Police forces are for then.

I can't believe how many people are making excuses for this continued travest. Posse Comitatus is one our most sacred ideals as a country. To me anyway. Call me a crazy lefty I guess.

[shadowknows69]

18. Fuck this shit, I guess I'd be gunned down

Because I'd be hard pressed not to floor it. I don't recognize the authority of a U.S. Soldier over me. These are illegal orders no matter who the fucking President is.

[lib2DaBone]

22. Ya.. I saw that. But you gotta remember a small military town...

With Ft Rucker nearby.... its a big influence. The lines are going to be blurred. I wouldn't be too worried about this particular case. If I saw tanks deployed and long term MP Access control.. I would worry. I do agree that under Bush, the Posse Comitatus was DESTROYED!

Obama is reversing 8 years of Bush oppression.. it's going to take a while.

[seafan]

23. Interesting, in view of this story from December:

US Military to conduct civil reconnaissance in 5 eastern North Carolina counties, Jan 2009, December 26, 2008


Posse comitatus. It was good while it lasted.