Reynolds on "SWAT Overkill"

On Popular Mechanics' website, law professor and Instapundit Glenn Reynolds weighs in on the troubling trend towards treating domestic police operations as paramilitary exercises. Just a few weeks ago, a 92 year-old Atlanta woman who lived in a rough neighborhood was shot to death after she opened fire on an intruder, who turned out to be a policeman conducting a "no-knock" drug raid.

One thing that has never ceased to amaze me during the last few years has been the willingness of conservatives - who are voted into office by people who genuinely want the government to leave them alone - to disregard civil liberties completely. It's good to see someone like Reynolds, who considers himself a conservative libertarian, speaking out against this brand of over-the-top tactics:

It used to be that police came to the door, announced themselves and, once a homeowner responded, entered the premises. Most policemen still work this way. But an alarming number now break down doors first and ask questions later. Don'’t get me wrong: Police often do dangerous work and they need equipment that'’s going to protect them. And dynamic entry is valid when dealing with desperate criminals, but these tactics put ordinary citizens and the police at risk . . .

Our homes are supposed to be our castles. The police shouldn'’t treat them like enemy camps.

"SWAT Overkill: The Danger of a Paramilitary Police Force" [Popular Mechanics]

Webb on America's class struggle

The new Senator-elect from Virginia published an op-ed piece in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the dangerous trend towards a class-based society in America:

"Class Struggle" [Wall Street Journal]

RUMSFELD TO RESIGN!

Thank God . . . and let the oversight investigations into pre-war intelligence begin. Every American citizen needs to understand how these people lied to us.

"GOP Officials: Rumsfeld Stepping Down" [CNN]

UPDATED 11/9/06:

Here's an interesting article on Rumsfeld's replacement, Robert M. Gates. Gates, former Director of Central Intelligence under Bush Sr., is currently President of Texas A & M, and has been serving on James Baker's independent Iraq Study Group, which is expected to critique the Bush administration's Iraq policies sharply in its upcoming report.

"The Analyst Cometh: Why Robert Gates is the Best Man for Rummy's Job" [Slate]

Pentagon war games predicted trouble in Iraq

On the eve of the election, the National Security Archive has released documents from "Desert Crossing," a series of war games conducted by the Pentagon during 1999, which predicted that regime change in Iraq could have dire consequences. Gen. Anthony Zinni (ret.), who conducted the war games, warned the Bush Administration to review them prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The response? According to Zinni: "They said, 'What's that? Never heard of it.' "

According to the National Security Archive:

The report forewarned that regime change may cause regional instability by opening the doors to "rival forces bidding for power" which, in turn, could cause societal "fragmentation along religious and/or ethnic lines" and antagonize "aggressive neighbors." Further, the report illuminated worries that secure borders and a restoration of civil order may not be enough to stabilize Iraq if the replacement government were perceived as weak, subservient to outside powers, or out of touch with other regional governments. An exit strategy, the report said, would also be complicated by differing visions for a post-Saddam Iraq among those involved in the conflict. [National Security Archive]

In other Iraq news, Military Times has printed an editorial calling for Rumsfeld to step down, regardless of what happens in the election tomorrow. [Army Times] I recently seconded Andrew Sullivan's nomination of Lindsey Graham as Rumsfeld's replacement.

Finally, on a positive note for the Bush administration, it can claim an Iraqi court's sentencing of Saddam Hussein to death as a victory of sorts, although it is unclear how it will effect the situation on the ground in Iraq. [TIME] Nothing will convince me that invading Iraq was a good idea, but seeing Saddam Hussein being tried and punished for his crimes against humanity is an undeniably good thing.