OPINION: Broun had a very good point

Like Congressman Paul Broun, I find the idea to be disturbing. Unlike Congressman Broun, I do not think it rises to the level of the secret police forces used by the Nazis in Germany or the KGB in the former Soviet Union.

In a July speech, Obama was quoted as calling for “a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded (as the military).” But we already have a national security force in place. It is the creation of the George Bush administration in response to the World Trade Center attacks.

In general, national security is the job of the federal government, and internal police and safety is the responsibility of state and local officials. However, a number of national police and safety organizations have been developed over time. They include such national forces as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Treasury agency, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, the Naturalization and Immigration Service and other agencies. Now, all these agencies have been grouped together under the Department of Homeland Security.

Now I and many other Americans find this concentration of police power in a single federal agency to be very disturbing. Anytime you concentrate power in the hands of a few individuals, you create a high risk of abuse of that power. And it already exists. So what additional forces does President-elect Obama have in mind? Do we need a national police force that has powers as strong as our military?

And what does he mean by having such a powerful organization as well funded as the military? That is the part that really bothers me. We spend billions of dollars annually on our military power. Devoting a similar amount of money to a civilian police authority would complete the process of bankrupting our nation.

Every city and county in this nation has a staff of police, fire and medical officials dedicated to our internal safety and security. And that is where the authority to protect our citizens belongs; in the local communities. I can see Congressman Broun’s concern about concentrating this responsibility in a national agency under the direct control of the federal bureaucracy. While such a structure would not likely develop into another KGB or SS force, it would create the potential for political and economic abuse. And it would be totally unnecessary.

The duty to provide safety and security to our communities currently rest in those communities. Let’s keep it that way.

Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frankgillispie671@msn.com. His website can be accessed at http://frankgillispie.tripod.com/