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Posse Comitatus Act - Question


Bluehawk
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The Posse Comitatus Act, which passed after the Civil War to keep federal troops from policing the South, limits federal troops' deployment on U.S.soil and forbids using them to enforce domestic laws. The President can deploy troops if there's an insurrection or invasion on U.S. soil.

 

My question:

 

It is fairly easy to understand what constitutes an "insurrection" - however, what constitutes an "invasion"?

 

Assuming that the definition and the triggering would be up to the discretion of the CINC and down the chain of command, starting with the SECDEF, would the decision fall within guidelines similar to those contained within the War Powers Act?

 

Or, is there some objective U.S. military definition of the term "invasion"?

 

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Every mention of invasion I could find in the US Code defined it as an act perpetrated by a foreign nation or government. So if North Korea mobilizes its army and drops an airborne Division on Portland, it's an invasion. If a truck full of drunk Canadians celebrating the Jets winning the Stanley Cup blows through a border crossing on their way to a bar in Minot, it's not.

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easterneagle87

OK, let's just ask about the elephant in the room... 7,000 organized marchers, from a couple of places we supported up through the 80's to combat communism, headed directly for the Southern border of our country. We invaded Panama and Grenada with less.

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Yeah, I figured this thread would go this direction in a matter of a few posts. This one is a hot potato and a political nuke. I am locking it now before we run out of moderators to handle the problem that this thread will surely become.

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