This bother anybody else?
The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.
The long-planned shift in the Defense Department's role in homeland security was recently backed with funding and troop commitments after years of prodding by Congress and outside experts, defense analysts said.
I know my revulsion is mostly emotional -- troops mean martial law and unrest and freedom put hold -- and such a response is inevitable in the new post-9/11 world. And I want us to be as safe as we can. Still . . . kinda creepy.
Comments
I dunno, Leo...sounds like a plan to me.
I know that while I dont really expect ANY form of N/B/C (nuke/bio/chem) terror threat in MY neighborhood in the near future, seeing some real boots on the ground patrolling in Humvees with a "ma deuce" attached would keep the drug dealers a lot farther underground...
And the boomcars off the damn streets.
Let's face it...in SOME cities across America, SOME form of martial law is NEEDED.
(NOLA comes to mind)
Sure feels like a win-win for "our" side...
;)
Yes, it is a real bother, and should be to all.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." Benjamin Franklin's quote remains as true today as it did then.
The 'Post 9/11 fear card inevitability' was/is visible every time it's played. What did you really expect?
Well, here's your either or choice, be afraid of some terrorist group somewhere or be afraid of your own government agents (military) controlling domestic catastrophes.
To play devil's advocate:
Well if we can't control the devices that perpetrate crime and terrorism, then we have to control the people behind them...
Not the best solution...just a practical one.
B.G.
(btw - NOT for gun control)
Everybody might find the thoughts of security expert Bruce Schneier interesting. ( http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/12/lessons_from_mu.html ) Writing about Mumbai, he notes that, given the availability of weapons that can be used for terrorist attacks, the amazing thing is that there are so few of them. And it's good that terrorism is rare because, "Specific countermeasures don't help against these attacks." So we might get this wonderful military presence that does nothing effective about terrorism and just makes us feel oppressed.
Oh, I wouldn't get too worked up about it. As long as they wear those "snappy" Obama t-shirts and a beret' everyone should have an overwhelming sense of "calm", don't ya think?