Glenn Reynolds links to a very thoughtful post by Navy SEAL Matthew Heidt, which raises a compellingly important issue:

Do we want to completely evolve our nations law enforcement tactical teams into de facto military units? I don't see what else we can do. For one, these agencies need to be trained with and released from liability for dynamic breaching techniques. In a world of "less than lethal options" these guys need to be more "lethal" as it were. We need the SRT/SWATs to be totally prepared to assault a terrorist hostage target in extremis without regard to the officer safety concerns or the liability issues that exist today. That is a radical mindset change for many SRT/SWAT officers, Team leaders, departments, and communities. But you know America, we're probably going to have to learn this lesson the hard way, because the squishy PC left still wants to free Mumia.

What Mr. Heidt proposes makes a lot of sense in the war against terrorism, but if police are given unbridled military power to go after drug offenders without legal recourse, then there's nothing left of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

Goodbye to freedom. (And in the name of stopping people from hurting themselves!)

Until this country reconsiders the mistaken approach to drug criminalization (equating malum prohibitum with malum in se is in my view flawed jurisprudence), I agree with Glenn Reynolds and Dave Kopel that arming teachers is the better approach.

For that matter, why not allow widespread concealed carry, even on airplanes? We love to hear about the heroes of Flight 93, but if they'd been packing, we might have been able to hear their story on the evening news. (Yeah, I know, pro-gun stories get spiked.... but at least the Internet would have covered it!)

NOTE: Mr. Heidt is absolutely right about the inherent conflict between the nature of SEAL operations and law enforcement, and I cannot think of a more perfect example than the recent story about Navy SEALs facing the oxymoronic charge of battlefield brutality:

....the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is looking into possible abuse by Navy SEALs against an Iraqi detainee in April, a Navy official said. That detainee also died later while in allied custody.

Military officials said it was highly unusual to charge Special Operations Forces, reputed to be highly trained and disciplined, with offenses committed on the battlefield. Investigators have reported that one of the SEALs who was charged struck the captured Iraqi detainee with a rifle butt after the prisoner resisted arrest.

Another example of how law enforcement mindset and military operations are not a good mix. Notwithstanding the comments of Senator Kerry, war is war, and law enforcement is law enforcement. Terrorism should not be treated as crime, and crime should not be treated as terrorism.

I hope we never have to choose between treating all crime as terrorism and all terrorism as crime.

MORE: Those who disagree with me (or who think SWAT teams should be given unlimited power) might want to read more here.