The counterinsurgency skills that U.S. troops have gained in Iraq should be applied in the nation’s domestic war against criminal gangs, concluded a group of military and civilian law enforcement officials at an Oracle Corp. conference.
Although the military legally cannot participate in domestic law enforcement, the experts at this event are convinced that criminal activity in the United States is a root cause of terrorism and thus a national security threat.
“The most serious danger is the linkup of criminal and terrorist organizations. This has not yet happened in the United States, although it has overseas, and has led to a form of hybrid warfare,” said a report published by Oracle after the conference. “Some terrorist groups are sponsoring criminal activities to weaken the State,” said the report. “It may be assumed — incorrectly — that the solution would be some kind of active military offensive against gangs. Absolutely not. Local law enforcement is the front line here, and we who study national security issues have to do some hard thinking about how the local police can be supported without contravening constitutional rights and the federal system.”