Pentagon to step up military presence…in U.S.
Published 04 December, 2008, 06:53
Twenty thousand additional U.S. uniformed troops, set to be trained by 2011, are to help as a response to the threat of a possible mass terror attack or civil unrest following an economic collapse. But despite assurances from the Pentagon, many Americans are worried by the prospect of seeing the military guard in the streets.
Ben Friedman of the CATO institute, a libertarian think tank, explained his views on what this bombshell will mean for the U.S. Despite some concerns about the recent strengthening of the military in the U.S. he believes this new development will not result in the expansion of their authority.
“I hope not,” he said. “We’ve seen the expansion of the use of the military in the U.S. now for some time… A lot of the concern with the story of the troops being used for domestic purposes is that they would engage in law enforcement, arresting people, detaining them. They can’t do that.”
Many people on the streets of Washington DC, however, are concerned. “It doesn’t seem right to have the military guarding the interior of the country,” said one.
Another said: “Policing your own people, sounds like we’re in Afghanistan or something.”
Others described it as “a dangerous power grab” and “extremely unreasonable”.
But the real concern might be that Americans are depending too much on U.S. troops.
“What we should be worried about is the U.S. citizenry is becoming overly dependent on the military to deal with what are essentially government tasks,” Ben Friedman says.
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