WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The federal government relies on the state and local governments to be the first responders in major natural disasters, and the military is "not organized, trained or equipped or resourced to step in and do domestic events of that type," US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday.

    Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld said the active-duty troops could take a greater early role in responding to future domestic natural disasters without assuming police duties.

    "It's up to the country, the government, to think that through and decide how they want to be arranged for a catastrophic event of that type," he said.

    President George W. Bush said at the Energy Department on Monday that he and the Congress should immediately begin discussing whether to amend federal law so the military could take responsibilities right away in natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, which has killed over 1,100 people in the Gulf Coast region since its landfall on Aug. 29.

    A 1878 law restricts the role of federal troops when they act on American soil.

    "The president's point was there are some things that are of sufficient magnitude that they require something to substitute for the overwhelmed first responders at the state and local level," Rumsfeld said.

    He said that the active-duty forces could do a lot of things apart from law enforcement.

    In the wake of Katrina, as many as 72,000 active-duty and National Guard troops were involved in rescuing victims, clearing harbors, fixing levees and providing food and medical assistance, he said.

    "There are a lot of ways to go before you get to the fact ... before you decide you want to give active duty forces law enforcement authority," said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers, who will retire this week. Enditem