“The US Defense Department has developed a new counterterrorism strategy “that would increase military activities on American soil, particularly in the area of intelligence gathering.” FoxNews reported Monday that this has caused a great deal of concern among civil liberties advocates who fear the possibility of the military “encroaching” on domestic law.

“Do we want, as a free people, with the notion of privacy enshrined in the Constitution and based on the very clear limits and defined role of government, to be in a society where not just the police, but the military are on the street corners gathering intelligence on citizens, sharing that data, manipulating that data?” asked former Rep. Bob Barr (R) of Georgia, a constitutional law expert and civil libertarian.

The plan, known as the “Strategy for Homeland Defense and Support,” was released in early July without background briefings or a formal news conference. The document says the US government must have a “a multi-layered, preventive approach to national defense” in order to counter an “unconventional” enemy like Al Qaeda, which can attack anywhere at any time.”