The Despotism Files - Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions -WaPo

[Leigh Meyers <the.buffalo.in.the.midst@xxxxxxxxx>]

Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions
from Early Warning
by William M. Arkin

The U.S. Northern Command, the military command responsible for
"homeland defense," has asked the Pentagon if it can establish its own
special operations command for domestic missions. The request,
reported in the Washington Examiner, would establish a permanent
sub-command for responses to incidents of domestic terrorism as well
as other occasions where special operators may be necessary on
American soil.

The establishment of a domestic special operations mission, and the
preparation of contingency plans to employ commandos in the United
States, would upend decades of tradition. Military actions within the
United States are the responsibility of state militias (the National
Guard), and federal law enforcement is a function of the FBI.

Employing special operations for domestic missions sounds very
ominous, and NORTHCOM's request earlier this year should receive the
closest possible Pentagon and congressional scrutiny.

There's only one problem: NORTHCOM is already doing what it has
requested permission to do.

In Full: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/earlywarning/2007/06/special_operations_prepared_fo.html