There's a reason you separate military and the police

A Battlestar Galactica quote for the post-9/11 world becomes fresh again

Probably one of the most quoted lines from Admiral Adama in Battlestar Galactica is this:

“There’s a reason you separate military and the police. One fights the enemies of the state, the other serves and protects the people. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the state tend to become the people.”

The 2000s reboot of BSG was a show about the post-9/11 world, a reaction to what was happening in America after the deadliest terrorist attack in our history. It asked how far fear could push a democracy toward authoritarianism.

Now, that quote feels brand new again.

President Trump, speaking today to admirals and generals in Quantico, said the U.S. military would be used against the “enemy within.” He defended sending American troops into American cities—specifically, cities run by Democrats, even though many red-state cities post higher crime and murder rates.

“This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room, because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control… It won’t get out of control once you’re involved at all.”

Trump also said he told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Democratic-run cities should be used as “training grounds” for the military.

That runs head-on into the Posse Comitatus Act, the 150-year-old law designed to keep the military out of civilian law enforcement. Whether any commanders push back remains to be seen. Trump and Hegseth made it clear that resistance would not be tolerated. In fact, Trump said:

“I’m going to be meeting with generals and with admirals and with leaders, and if I don’t like somebody, I’m going to fire them right on the spot.” (Link)

A science-fiction warning, written for the post-9/11 era, is suddenly relevant again.