Since that time, understanding of the dangers of deploying the military in the domestic arena has diminished. Francis Mullen, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, once casually dismissed civil libertarians' concerns about potential abuses if the military joined law enforcement. Military leaders appear more aware of the danger of deploying forces domestically. Marine Major General Stephen G. Olmstead, deputy assistant secretary of defense for drug policy, warned a Senate subcommittee in 1987 that calling out the military to fight the drug war within the U.S. would be unwise. History is replete with countries that allowed that to happen.
Disaster is the result.
Use of military procedure by FBI agents proved disastrous at Ruby Ridge. Vicky Weaver was murdered in part because the officers who shot her were governed by military rules of engagement. At Ruby Ridge the rules of engagement let officers fire at any armed adult, rather than engage in usual threat assessment. Even though using the military to perform civilian functions is extraordinarily dangerous, the Posse Comitatus Act has gradually been eroded. The Stafford Act of 1984 allows the military to help during natural disasters.