A quiet revision of a Pentagon directive governing the use of military assets in intelligence on U.S. soil has sparked fears of the use of “lethal force” — by the U.S. military — on U.S. citizens.
The directive, Department of Defense Directive 5240.01, grants President Joe Biden and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, increasing domestic spying powers. It also provides for federal assets and assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies at the SecDef’s and White House’s discretion.
The document’s language around “lethal force” led former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, perhaps the preeminent critic of government encroachments on Americans’ freedom, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to speak out on dangerous overreach.
Reactions to the update have sparked backlash and fact checks from media, but the timing, weeks before the November election, as well as left-media priming the narrative for protests against an increasingly likely Donald Trump victory have done little to quell fears.
The context of the update in recent remarks from top Biden-Harris officials, and media and the Harris campaign breathlessly claiming Trump himself would use the military on U.S. citizens, have clouded the revision’s optics.
Add to that recent claims from top Biden-Harris administration officials that domestic extremists pose a grave threat, and the political context further clouds the update.
Days before the directive was updated, embattled Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed “homegrown extremists” were a top threat to the U.S.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg recently repeated the debunked claims about Trump on the heels of the Pentagon update.
Further signaling Democrats’ desperation over a Trump victory, even former Vice President Mike Pence’s staff came forward over disgraced General John Kelly’s false claims about Trump.
So, what does the directive actually say?
And, to what extent will Americans compartmentalize DoD 5240.01 updates from and Democrats’ projection of their authoritarian tendencies and threats to democracy onto Trump?
Critics and fact checkers have pointed out the Pentagon directive is still limited by the “Posse Comitatus” Act which has for 150 years prohibited the use of U.S. military forces on domestic soil and U.S. citizens.
The Pentagon directive says officials must “consider” the Posse Comitatus Act in conducting intelligence and other support with military assets.
What it permits:
“Providing specialized equipment, technical knowledge, or assistance of expert personnel for use by any Federal department or agency, or when lives are endangered, to support State and local law enforcement agencies.”
“Provision of personnel to support response efforts for civil disturbances, which may also require Presidential authorization.”
Lethality:
“Assistance in responding with assets with potential for lethality, or any situation in which it is reasonably foreseeable that providing the requested assistance may involve the use of force that is likely to result in lethal force, including death or serious bodily injury. It also includes all support to civilian law enforcement officials in situations where a confrontation between civilian law enforcement and civilian individuals or groups is reasonably anticipated.”
The Pentagon directive also provides for the use of drones.
“Provision or use of DoD unmanned systems in the United States except as delegated by the Secretary of Defense pursuant to the October 31, 2023 Secretary of Defense Memorandum.”
On its face, the directive indeed appears to authorize use of lethal force on U.S. citizens, even as it gives consideration to Posse Comitatus. Why the apparent contradiction?
The Pentagon denied Thursday that the White House had authorized troops to use force against Americans.
But given the face of the document itself, it may be, rather, that the White House did not authorize troops to use force on citizens, but gave itself authorization to activate troops to do so.
Whatever the directive does or does not allow, as compared with Posse Comitatus, Americans will weigh their trust in the Pentagon and the White House against invasive surveillance in the era of the Patriot Act and 2024’s renewal of domestic spying under FISA provisions that House Republicans delivered for them.
Americans may also compare the looks of the updated directive against North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s delayed response in activating National Guard assets in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
And, they may also ponder the acceptable number of apartment buildings taken over by Venezuelan gangs under the Biden-Harris administration without intervention on behalf of impotent local authorities.
Would Americans be wrong to wonder why the Biden-Harris administration updated Pentagon directives vis-a-vis lethal force and U.S. citizens while ignoring their real and urgent needs?
