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Within recent years, the formerly bright line separating U.S. military operations from domestic police work has become increasingly blurred. From Waco, to the WTO protests, tactics and weapons once reserved for wartime combat are being used in domestic law enforcement operations with increasing frequency.
The United States has historically recognized a separation of the roles and jurisdictions of its police and military forces. Despite this tradition, the Posse Commitatus Act, which provides much of the legal foundation for military-police separation in America, has been severely eroded by numerous executive orders and congressional actions, opening the way for military involvement in civilian law enforcement.
During the 1980s and 90s, the Pentagon began supplying both military training and surplus military hardware to domestic law enforcement agencies. Paramilitary SWAT teams, utilizing urban combat tactics, sub-machine guns, and armored personnel carriers, now exist in 90% of American cities with a population of 50,000 or more.
In addition to providing weaponry and support, the military has also become involved in domestic law enforcement in an operational capacity. National Guard troops have accompanied state and local police on drug raids in many areas of the country. Delta Force soldiers provided assistance to law enforcement agencies at both Waco and the Seattle WTO protests, and select army units were put on stand-by for use in domestic counter-terrorism operations during the 2000 political conventions. Since the terror attacks of September 11, new calls have been made to involve the military in domestic affairs, and to further eliminate the traditional fire walls that have long separated these two entities.
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