Washington maintains regional military commands covering every country on earth, except for North America. The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits military personnel from searching, seizing, or arresting people in the United States. Recent exceptions to the act have eroded this prohibition by allowing military forces to suppress domestic unrest; crimes related to nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons; or for use in the "war on drugs."

Sen. John Warner is reportedly pushing legislation to repeal the Posse Comitatus Act. "There comes a time when we've got to reexamine the old laws of the 1800s in light of this extraordinary series of challenges that we're faced with today," he remarked at a hearing October 25.

The Clinton administration proposed the establishment of a homeland command three years ago, but then-defense secretary William Cohen "quickly dropped it after protests from civil libertarians and right-wing militia groups alike," the Post wrote. "Critics expressed alarm at the prospect of military forces encroaching on areas traditionally considered the responsibility of civilian emergency response, law enforcement, and health agencies."

But despite the Post's account, Clinton did appoint a two-star general to head what was called the Joint Task Force Civil Support within the Joint Forces Command. Cohen said using a name such as the "homeland defense command" was "premature" at the time.

After the September 11 events, Bush set up the Office of Homeland Security, headed by Pennsylvania governor Thomas Ridge.

Commenting on the militarization of the United States, the Post noted that "military forces have been thrust into new domestic security roles," such as using Air Force jets to patrol the skies over U.S. cities, and the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops at airports, bridges, and border checkpoints. These forces all have different chains of command, and one senior Pentagon official told the Post: "We think it's time to clarify things."

The Posse Comitatus Act came into being as a result of opposition by reactionary forces, including former slaveholders and growing layers of the U.S. ruling class, to Radical Reconstruction following the Civil War. Congress passed the act after then-U.S. president Ulysses Grant sent troops to former Confederate states to monitor voting in the 1876 presidential elections. It remains on the books today.  
 
 
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