). The answer to the medicine problem in combating terrorism may be to invest more in biomedical research and development. By investing, scientists may find faster, cheaper ways to produce safe medicines to protect the public.With all of these reforms in how we deal with terrorism, there are some legal and civil liberties questions about reforms that must be taken into account. For example, many civil libertarians are concerned with the Department of Defense (i.e. the military) becoming involved in domestic issues. This fear is backed up by the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 which prohibited the military from engaging in domestic law enforcement activities. If the military gets involved in domestic affairs by helping manage the after effects of a terrorist attack (through the activation of the National Guard), it would be in violation of law and long standing tradition. Some of the actions the military could take in a post-terrorist attack crisis situation could be to seize community and private assets, take control of public transportation, warrantless detention of individuals for a short period of time, among other actions. Clearly some of these actions are a violation of the constitution, however, the debate remains: how far can the military (and government) go in suspending the rights of individuals to protect the populace? In fact, some in the military would contend that it would be a neglect of their duty (and of the civil liberties of individuals) if they did not carry out their responsibilities should they be called to do so in such a crisis situation. The question of the protection of civil liberties in a time of national crisis (due to a terrorist attack) also comes into play when thinking of how hospitals must react to the situation. Presently, there is no clear plan as to how hospitals should react in a triage setting for mass injuries due to terrorist attack. If hospitals do not have the capacity to help those in...
