Fanatic or visionary?

The watchman who sees danger coming and sounds a warning is one man's fanatic and another man's visionary. The tide of events will prove which judgment is true.

On Oct. 1, under the proverbial radar, history was made when an active-duty military unit started training in Fort Stewart, Ga., to prepare for its role as an on-call federal response unit in domestic catastrophes, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The so-called Consequence Management Response Force, which numbers 47,000 and is drawn from the various military branches, is a component of Northern Command, created in October 2002 in the wake of Sept. 11.

Though it has spent the last three years as a war machine in Iraq (it was in the battle of Fallujah), the 3rd Infantry 1st Brigade Combat Team, we are assured, has as its primary purpose "to provide help to people in need in the aftermath of a WMD-like event in the homeland" (Col. Michael Boatner).

Many people are not reassured. The team has been training with Tasers, spike strips, beanbag bullets, shields and batons, and roadblocks, as well as Jaws of Life and other technical life-saving support. Moreover, the initial Army Times report (which later backpedaled) boasted of a new package of non-lethal weapons, and included in the unit's expected duties help with "civil unrest" and "crowd control" (Col. Roger Cloutier).

What have we here? "Incremental encroachments" (the ACLU) on liberty? The expansion of military surveillance and federal powers? Or a reasonable prudence for dangerous times?

Is the watchman an alarmist or a prophet?