2009 Domestic Operational Law Handbook PDF Download

During the past eight years the Department of Defense has initiated a series of fundamental changes -in both culture and operational capability -in order to better protect the U.S. homeland from catastrophic events, natural and manmade. By necessity, these changes are closely linked to an evolving assessment of the 21st century threat environment. The legal implications associated with these changes are inevitably profound. Indeed, they go to the very definition of the military's proper role within domestic society -reigniting in the process a public policy debate that is as old as the Republic itself.For lawyers within the Department of Defense the professional challenge is immediate and rewarding -the stakes involve core questions of national security, public safety and the preservation of essential liberty. In my judgment, this new edition of the Domestic Operational Law Handbook is the seminal compilation of legal authorities (and related analysis) relevant to DOD's homeland defense and civil support missions. For most of our nation's history the United States was effectively buffered by two great oceans and secured by the war fighting capabilities of forward deployed combat forces. Moreover, a significant threat to our country's security generally required the collective resources and manpower of an adversarial nation state -or frequently, a coalition of hostile nation states. The CBRNE technology of the 21st Century has shattered that paradigm. The brutal attack of September 11, 2001, should not be seen as an isolated event, but rather, as a case study in modern conflict. While DOD must remain ever vigilant in guarding against the continuing threat from aggressive nation states, it's now clear that the asymmetric threat from terrorist organizations -or even isolated individuals -when strengthened by WMD destructive power, can pose a fundamental challenge to public safety and our vital institutions of government.