Rep. Broun stands by Marxist remarks about Obama

Washington — Georgia Congressman Paul Broun Wednesday stood by warnings that President-elect Barack Obama might set up a Gestapo-like civilian security force.

One day after the Athens Republican told a radio talk show that he regretted calling Obama a “Marxist,” a spokeswoman for the Athens congressman said, “We have not issued any official apology” for comparing Obama’s proposals to the tactics of Hitler and the Soviet Union.

Rep. Paul Broun

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“What he said in the [radio] interview does not negate what he really feels — that he has questions and concerns regarding some of the statements Obama has made,” said the spokeswoman, Jessica Morris.

She said Broun was sticking by a written statement issued Tuesday criticizing Obama for having “socialist views” and raising ominous concerns about a campaign proposal to build “a civilian national security force” to assist the military.

“History shows that ‘civilian national security forces’ bode ill for citizens,” Broun said in the statement.

The flap been watched with particular interest inside the State Department, which already is building a civilian corps similar to the one which Obama described in a campaign speech.

The “Civilian Response Corps,” as it is called, was launched two years ago by the Bush administration, after a bipartisan vote by Congress and the urging of Republicans including former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

“I think the attention to this issue is very important,” said John E. Herbst, the former ambassador to Ukraine who is leading the project.

The civilian corps is now recruiting engineers, law enforcement personnel, health officers, city administrators and other specialists who could be sent overseas to help re-establish local governmental controls after a crisis.

“The impetus was some of the problems we encountered in Afghanistan and Iraq on the civilian side,” Herbst said. “Our military performed brilliantly,” he said, adding that the troops needed the skills and assistance of civilians to help re-establish order.

For that purpose, he said the corps would have 250 full-time federal employees and eventually train 2,000 more as “standby” corps members from eight federal agencies. Another 2,000 would be designated as reserve members, available to be called up for up to one year.

So far, Congress has voted $55 million to begin testing the idea, which eventually would be budgeted at just under $250 million, if supported by the new administration.

Herbst said it would be “presumptuous” to say what the new president will want and declined to comment on the flap over Rep. Broun’s remarks.

But he offered of the civilian corps, “I believe it would save us lives and money in the long-run.”

Broun’s press secretary did not return e-mails or calls seeking his views on the Bush administration program.