The issue of a "Civilian National Security Force" – already discussed by President Obama several times – has come up again, this time before the National Defense University. But there's no information from the White House on what was meant.
Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, prepared to ask two questions at today's news briefing with presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs at the White House but was not given the opportunity.
He had wanted to ask:
- "What did the president mean when he told the National Defense University this month that his administration is committed to 'developing our Civilian National Security Capabilities" through a '"Civilian National Security Force?"
- and "What was the president's reaction to the Washington Post's page one story that in the District of Columbia, the HIV/AIDS rate has risen 22 percent with 2006?"
Meanwhile, among the 73 reporters present, Gibbs recognized 18 to ask questions. He allowed NBC to ask eight questions, ABC to ask seven, Fox News to ask five, CBS, Wall Street Journal and Mother Jones Magazine to ask four each, and CNN, AP, AP Radio and CBS radio to ask three apiece.
Gibbs previously has conducted news briefings by allowing a select few reporters to ask significant numbers of questions. Just a week earlier, he did not allow Kinsolving to ask a question and recognized only 15 of the 75 reporters on hand. At that time an ABC reporter was allowed to ask four questions, and seven others were allowed three each.
WND reporter earlier when Obama cited in a Colorado Springs campaign speech his plans for a civilian security force. At that time he said it should be as big and well-funded as the military – with a budget of hundreds of billions of dollars.
WND later reported when the official website for Obama, Change.gov, announced he would "require" all middle school through college students to participate in community service programs.
However, after a flurry of blogs protested children being drafted into Obama's proposed youth corps, officials softened the website's wording.
Originally, under the tab "America Serves," Change.gov read, "President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in under served schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps.
"Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year," the site announced.
WND previously reported on a video of a marching squad of Obama youth.
Obama's reference to the civilian force came during his "Call to Service" speech in Colorado Springs in which he insisted the U.S. "cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set" and needs a "civilian national security force."
A video of his comments is here:
Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WND, used his daily column first to raise the issue and then to elevate it with a call to all reporters to start asking questions.
"If we're going to create some kind of national police force as big, powerful and well-funded as our combined U.S. military forces, isn't this rather a big deal?" Farah wrote. "I thought Democrats generally believed the U.S. spent too much on the military. How is it possible their candidate is seeking to create some kind of massive but secret national police force that will be even bigger than the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force put together?
"Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?" Farah wrote.
Ask President Obama your own question, through WND's Mr. President forum.