We have been discussing the ways in which governments in the United States attempt to protect their citizens from “enemies, domestic, and foreign.” This is one of the defining duties of any government, and it is one in which governments have been engaged since their inception. The issues involved in this policy area, however, have become more complex in recent years. First, in defense, there is no longer a clearly identifiable enemy against which to plot strategy. Instead, the task is to prepare for a wide range of threats to national security, including some for which the military is not particularly well adapted. There are demands for use of the military for a range of purposes that go well beyond conventional national defense and require it to fulfill virtually a social mission on the international scene. Finally, domestic social and political concerns have invaded the world of the armed forces, requiring some rethinking of the values and mores of that world.

        Crime is an equally complex policy and political problem. It is perhaps even more complex than defense because the United States attempts to combat crime while maintaining an open and free society. Some police measures that might curtail the growth of crime are simply not possible if an open society is to be maintained. Even without the complications of civil liberties, there would be other difficulties for a government attempting to solve a serious crime problem, not the least of which is understanding the root causes of this social pathology and therefore the best means of addressing it.