Editorial

Public panic over sniper attacks in the Washington, D.C. area is
pulling the U.S. government further down its slippery slope ““
this time resulting in spy planes being commissioned to hunt down a
lone killer.

The Department of Defense agreed Tuesday to assist the FBI in
tracking down a sniper who has evaded authorities after killing
nine people in the Washington area. Authorities have argued that
reconnaissance flights are necessary at this point to catch the
criminal as soon as possible. But despite the harm this gunman has
caused and the risk of future attacks, the military should not be
used to help resolve domestic issues. Period.

The government has claimed that military involvement is legal
because it complies with the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids the
direct involvement of military personnel. This law, however, was
passed in 1878 ““ before the invention of aircraft, let alone
spy planes. Military involvement in this case is deemed legal
because the personnel and equipment would be used under the
supervision of civilian law enforcement agencies. This is called a
loophole. Essentially, what the military is doing under FBI
supervision is what it would do anyway if called on to hunt down
the sniper itself ““ in short, the military is
“lending” the FBI the equipment so the operation can be
“legal.”

More troubling than the U.S. government trying to grant itself
powers it shouldn’t have, though, is the pattern of Americans
willingly going along with their attempts. Since the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, public sentiment has been little more then a rubber
stamp for the will of the federal government. Surveillance
permission was given to the government under the USA PATRIOT Act
allowing it to monitor, among other things, Internet activity and
religious gatherings. Also, the American public mounted no
opposition to the United States’ refusal to give prisoner of
war status to al-Qaeda captives, something recognized as
international protocol for war criminals. But most importantly, the
constitutionally-outlined declaration of war process was recently
devalued by Congress’ giving President Bush power to wage war
on Iraq based on the attack of an unrelated villain.

The shootings in and around Washington have been terrible.
Schools have locked their children indoors, some businesses have
essentially shut down, and people are afraid to leave their homes.
But the precedent set by using spy planes to hunt down a killer is
more dangerous to the American people than the sniper himself. This
incident can be used as a stepping stone to expand military
involvement in domestic issues in the future. Given the recent
questionable expansions in federal powers, this would hardly come
as a surprise.

The unibomber, Jeffrey Dahmer, Timothy McVeigh and uncountable
other serial killers were brought to justice without the
involvement of the of the U.S. military. The sniper is undoubtedly
dangerous, but so were other murderers that have come before him.
In previous cases, the government has retained its dignity by
leaving law enforcement to the law enforcement agencies. This time
should be no different.

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