Reexamining the legislative restrictions on the domestic use of the United States military to combat domestic terrorism: a comparative analysis

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to compare the current legislative and military posture of the United States, in its effort to deal with a potentially growing domestic terrorist threat, with that of Great Britain. The introductory chapter presents the argument that the United States may learn valuable lessons by examining the British response to domestic terrorism. The second chapter takes a historical look at the development of U.S. legislation that defined the President's authority to call forth the militia and federal troops for domestic use. The third chapter examines the British use of emergency legislation as well as their decision to employ the army in an effort to curtail domestic terrorism posed by the Irish Republican Army when local police efforts failed. The fourth chapter concludes with a discussion on current U.S. legislation dealing with domestic terrorism and on the lessons the United States may learn from the British experience as the U.S. continuously adjusts to a changing domestic security environment.