Securing the homeland? The impact of 9/11 on the internal role of the United States Army

This thesis examines the impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the internal role of the military in the United States. While there has been some debate about the internal role of the military, 9/11 did not result in a significant reorientation of the military's role within the borders of the United States. Recently the debate started anew, not because of a terrorist Incident but because of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina.;The military has an important role in protecting the United States from foreign enemies in foreign lands, but its use domestically has been restricted; entrenched in law in the late nineteenth century. Few incidents in the American experience have shaken this belief, even 9/11. The military's current internal role in the United States is complicated by historic attitudes towards the military within United States society, the outcome of past internal operations, as well as the relationship between state and federal authorities. The point here is not necessarily to advocate a dramatic change in the military's role, but to understand the forces that have continued to constrain the internal military function.