| | Here is the transcribed text from the Obama speech: "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we have set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that is just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded." - What are the 'nation security objectives' he refers to?
- What is meant by 'powerful' and 'strong' - is this in terms of weaponry?
- 'Just as well funded'? - that means an enormous amount of money - the annual military budget is 1 trillion dollars.
The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits any member of the military, including the National Guard from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States (the Coast Guard is exempted, and the National Guard is exempted but only when under control of a state's governor, and as of 10/1/08 Homeland Security can command the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team in response to natural or man-made emergencies, disasters or terrorist attacks). Would these 'national security objectives' be pursued inside of the country? Would this organization have legal powers of search, seizure, or arrest?
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Wikipedia states: Obama then went on to explain his vision of a national service program similar to the one he outlined in the MTV/MySpace forum, saying he would make federal assistance to schools contingent to school districts establishing service programs, with a goal of 50 hours of service per year for middle school and high school students, and 100 hours of service per year for college students. On September 11 2008, Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama addressed this further, saying, "But it’s also important that a president speaks to military service as an obligation not just of some, but of many. You know, I traveled, obviously, a lot over the last 19 months. And if you go to small towns, throughout the Midwest or the Southwest or the South, every town has tons of young people who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s not always the case in other parts of the country, in more urban centers. And I think it’s important for the president to say, this is an important obligation. If we are going into war, then all of us go, not just some."
This is the official page and it appears to be a giant, do-good, social program that would have both domestic and international components and no military or law enforcement aspects and would be voluntary. But note that it is called a "National Service" organization, not a "National Security" organization. That speech seems to have several 'militant' components not present in any other remarks or web sites.
(Edited by Steve Wolfer on 11/16, 3:21pm)
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