Canadian Posses
24 February 2008 - 19 אדר א' 5768 by Huw
News reaches us of a treaty between the US and those folks across town who both agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies:
News of the deal, and the allegation it was kept secret in Canada, is already making the rounds on left-wing blogs and Internet sites as an example of the dangers of the growing integration between the two militaries.
On right-wing blogs in the U.S. it is being used as evidence of a plan for a “North American union” where foreign troops, not bound by U.S. laws, could be used by the American federal government to override local authorities.
“Co-operative militaries on Home Soil!” notes one website. “The next time your town has a ‘national emergency,’ don’t be surprised if Canadian soldiers respond. And remember - Canadian military aren’t bound by posse comitatus.”
Posse comitatus is a U.S. law that prohibits the use of federal troops from conducting law enforcement duties on domestic soil unless approved by Congress.
(Props to Mobius.)
Which only goes to show that both the extreme left and the extreme right have an incredibly warped view of reality.
In passing, it also shows that just because someone expresses a view of reality, that does not mean that it is equally valid with every other view. (That is, reality has a communitarian component to it.) It is not in any way “true” that all views of reality have equal validity.
As I noted to another reader in chat, I found this story on a leftist (sorta) wing blog..
I think that comment is spin from the newspaper, really: I’m not sure about the politics of the website (Canada.com) or the source paper (Ottawa Citizen).
Speaking as a lefty sort of person, I’d not be surprised to see Canadian soldiers at the next anti-Bush protest…