Report: military should help fight gangsters.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: WASHINGTON PULSE: NEWS FROM INSIDE THE BELTWAY

The counterinsurgency skills that U.S. troops have gained in Iraq should be applied in the nation's domestic war against criminal gangs, concluded a group of military and civilian law enforcement officials at an Oracle Corp. conference.

Although the military legally cannot participate in domestic law enforcement, the experts at this event are convinced that criminal activity in the United States is a root cause of terrorism and thus a national security threat.

"The most serious danger is the linkup of criminal and terrorist organizations. This has not yet happened in the United States, although it has overseas, and has led to a form of hybrid warfare," said a report published by...