“You’re correct, Senator,” Austin replied. “By the very nature of the Air Force mission, they probably have the highest ratio of support personnel to operational pilots. Even some of the pilots are support, ferrying supplies and freight and not fronting the enemy. But we both know all these people are essential to the overall mission and the military services are interrelated. The Air Force flies the Army where it needs to go, the Navy transports the Marines, etcetera.”
“But the public really doesn’t understand all that, General. When the media complains that we had 300,000 troops in Iraq at one point, we probably had less than 75,000 combat troops available, soldiers with rifles out on patrol. These front line troops all have to eat, clean their clothes, receive mail, work the computers, fix the airplanes, do the myriad jobs that keep things working. PSC’s, or their less dramatic counterpart, the contract vendor, have assumed many of these roles, rendering us, at least in my opinion and that of many of my colleagues, less responsive and more subject to a breakdown in the system, should the contracts be called into question.”
Culpepper continued his review. “Enter PSC’s, private security companies. The British hired the Prussian and German mercenaries to fight with them against the colonies during the Revolutionary War. The practice has been going on for centuries. America is now doing it with home-grown security firms. For the most part, they’re staffed with former military troopers, but that’s not the end of the story. The important point to consider is that they’re now performed by private firms, run by civilians, responsible to no single nation, corporation, or entity. They’re responsible to shareholders. They have, in fact, become extremely multi-national in their make-up, especially at the senior levels. Their bottom line is the quarterly profit and loss statement, not the security of the nation. Certainly, I don’t mean to impugn the majority of their staff any more than I meant to discredit the president this morning. They have various types of associates, as I believe their staff members are called, who are loyal to their American oath, but PSC’s have begun to do business with many nations and that fact cannot be overlooked. The question becomes, when push comes to shove, to whom do they owe their loyalty? We all know that today’s international ally is tomorrow’s opposition. How many Asian or Middle Eastern wars have been fought where America had armed both sides over the previous decades?”
Austin nodded his understanding. “You’re suggesting that for some of the corporate executives, their primary loyalty is to the bank account, to shareholder profits?”
“I am, General, I am indeed. With this latest iteration of terrorism, which you, among others, have tried to convince us for several years was coming to American soil, PSC’s are presented with another great opportunity to expand their opportunities to become America’s surrogate military, and-this is the important part-another branch of domestic law enforcement. Believe me when I say, General, that every security provision we now encounter in our airports could, with the flick of a presidential pen, very well be present in public shopping malls, schools, and sports arenas. Our citizens could be subject to search and seizure at the whim of the local law enforcement officials. That’s the extent to which PSC’s would like to extend their authority. And Congress-my esteemed colleagues-are fast moving to become their staunch ally, all in the name of public safety and security.”
“You don’t paint a rosy picture, Senator,” Austin stated.
“Paint it anyway you see fit, General, it’s a fact, and to quote a marketing phrase, ‘ it’s coming soon to a theater near you.’ The quintessential question of our time is fast becoming ‘ How much freedom will our people surrender in order to increase their personal security?’ Who would have believed twenty years ago that we would have armed guards with automatic weapons strolling casually through our airports, that it would take over thirty minutes to an hour just to clear your way through to the departure gate, that older people with knee and hip replacements would need to practically undress because they will never be able to pass the metal screener, and that the most common practice for people flying would be to be dropped off at the curb by their family since sitting at the departure gate with a loved one is no longer permitted? And what man doesn’t go to the public restroom in the airport and check the briefcase or package standing beside a urinal, wondering if it was left twenty minutes ago, or belongs to someone currently using the facility?”
Austin shook his head. “Again, not a rosy picture of the America we all know, or knew, and loved.”
Culpepper stood and walked around to the front of his desk. He reached back and picked up the clear plastic folder and handed it to Austin. “When you have a few moments, General, please review this proposal from SI to enhance their services to our nation. I think it will open your eyes. SI calls it Domestic Tranquility. And this is very close to achieving approval by the congressional committee structure, in both houses, and the military hasn’t even been given the opportunity to review it. At least not openly. I personally gave a copy to Admiral Barrington about ten days ago. He was astonished at the content.”
Culpepper retraced his steps to the window, gazed down at the view of Washington D.C., and stood silent for several minutes while General Austin quickly scanned through the folder. Then Culpepper came back behind his desk and resumed his seat.
“We’ve been talking for twenty minutes and haven’t even mentioned the terrorist attack on our citizens. I don’t take this threat lightly, General, as I stated in committee this morning, but I am absolutely certain, even more so with you at the helm of HSD, that we will defeat, or at least find a way to live with, this level of domestic terrorism. Despite its public image, the media hype, and the fear of our citizens, the actual impact on our people is minimal. The causalities so far have been equated to less than ten percent of our weekly traffic fatality toll. But what I am most concerned about, which I will admit only in private meetings, mind you, is the end result and what type of security arrangements America will have at the other end of this current crisis. If we give the PSC’s carte blanche and allow them to run roughshod over our legal protections, habeas corpus, etc., heaven help us in our attempt to withdraw such blanket authority when the crisis ends. Declaring martial law would be easier to rescind. A greatly enhanced authority provision, called Domestic Tranquility, will live forever.
“Gentlemen, at this very moment, with the full knowledge of the president, Congress is working on a dramatic extension and broadening of the Patriot Act. The changes will authorize almost free reign to law enforcement to seize and hold suspected terrorists or their suspected supporters, for unlimited time. Some are pushing for a ten-day limit, without recourse to legal counsel. A national Guantanamo, so to speak. These are tougher restrictions than Abraham Lincoln enacted during the Civil War. The fear among my colleagues is palpable, reflected by their constituents and the national panic. They feel bound to do something to counter the terror in the streets. And we haven’t even addressed the internal, self-proclaimed militia, the unrestrained, white-supremacist based groups that love to kill anything not Anglo-Saxon.”
Austin nodded to acknowledge his agreement. “You’re absolutely right, Senator, but none of this was discussed this morning. What restrains your colleagues from speaking openly about their fears of repealing too much of our freedom?”