FBI-MILITARY ALLIANCE BLURS TOO MANY LINES

You can understand the impulse to want to eliminate red tape and get the
job done. But a New York Times story detailing a closer-than-ever working
relationship between the U.S. military and the FBI in the effort to hunt
down suspected al-Qaida operatives in Pakistan raises some red flags.

The traditionally independent military and civilian law enforcement
agencies are cooperating in Pakistan even more than in the drug war, where
the lines of authority previously have been blurred. The experiment in
cooperation in Pakistan is seen as a possible model for similar
anti-terrorist activities in the Philippines, Yemen and elsewhere.

There is some disagreement as to how closely FBI agents are working with
Pakistani police in tracking al-Qaida suspects. Pakistani officials tell
reporters that FBI agents have gone along on raids. American officials say
the FBI role is more limited, that the FBI agents develop and hand over
intelligence information to local officials who then take action.

However the new model is working, it bears watching. Until very recently -
notably the objectionable FBI expansion overseas under former director
Louis Freeh - the FBI was seen as a domestic law enforcement agency.

There are serious questions as to whether the FBI should be operating in
Pakistan or foreign countries at all. Blurring lines of responsibility
between civilian and military agencies carries potential dangers for liberty.