| Cloggie: politics: Civil rights and the "War on Terrorism" |
It's a cliche to say that 11 September "changed the world", but it's nonetheless true. The impact of the attacks is still being felt, still reverbing and it does not look like this will stop any time soon.
One of the aspects that worries me the most, is the way in which civil liberties are being curtailed as a consequence and reaction to them. It seems logical that some liberties have to be given up in order to combat terrorism; it's logic the police and the establishment have always used to justify infringing on people's rights.
However, to me it seems that something far more sinister is going on then the kneejerk reflex of authoritarians. It seems to me the "War on Terrorism" is being used as a cover for a powergrab.
There's no question that most if not all of the proposed and implemented measures being taken in the US are not aimed at curtailing terrorism, but are a blatant grab of power by president Bush, his cronies and sponsors. The specific measures being taken seem to fit perfectly in the pattern of repression and erosion of democracy the Republican party and its allies have been pursuing for over a decade now.
Thanks to the attacks and the "War on Terrorism", the US government has a convenient excuse for any infringement upon civil liberties it undertakes. Any criticism can be dismissed with the magical phrase "national security". If you're critical of the US' policies, you're of course "unpatriotic", "a terrorist sympathiser", "unamerican" or a "traitor".
One of the first things to happen after the attacks were "panic arrests", understandably after what had just happened. At least 500, possibly more people who are not accused of anything related to the terrorist attakcs are still in prison. From the New York Times:
Swept Up in a Dragnet, Hundreds Sit in Custody and Ask, 'Why?'Mr. Elfar is among hundreds of little- known foreigners swept up in a vast dragnet after the terrorist attacks - some of whom have resumes suspiciously like those of the 19 hijackers, and others who have spent days, weeks and now months in prison for immigration violations that before Sept. 11 would probably have been ignored or resolved with paperwork. Government officials say that the aggressive response is warranted by the extraordinary situation, and that they are simply enforcing longstanding laws.
On 22 October The Times ran an article about how torture was considered by at least some members of the US government.
FBI considers torture as suspects stay silent
AMERICAN investigators are considering resorting to harsher interrogation techniques, including torture, after facing a wall of silence from jailed suspected members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, according to a report yesterday.
More than 150 people who were picked up after September 11 remain in custody, with four men the focus of particularly intense scrutiny. But investigators have found the usual methods have failed to persuade any of them to talk.
Options being weighed include "truth" drugs, pressure tactics and extraditing the suspects to countries whose security services are more used to employing a heavy-handed approach during interrogations.
USA PATRIOT (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) Act was signed by Bush into law on October 26th. It sounds like something out of the Gi Joe cartoons, but it is far more sinister:
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni have written a report on the "enemies of civilisation" in US colleges and universities. Those socalled enemies are people critical of the way the "War against Terrorism" is handled, people skeptical of the war itself, or even people simply acknowledging the history behind the attacks. Notice that Lynne Cheney, vice president's Dick Cheney's wife heads the organisation which commisioned this report.
Defending Civilization: How our Universities Are Failing America and What Can Be Done About It
In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Americans across the country responded with anger, patriotism, and support of military intervention. The polls have been nearly unanimous---92% in favor of military force even if casualties occur--- and citizens have rallied behind the President wholeheartedly.
Not so in academe. Even as many institutions enhanced security and many students exhibited American flags, college and university faculty have been the weak link in America's response to the attack. Proving a shocking divide between academe and the public at large, professors across the country sponsored teach-ins that typically ranged from moral equivocation to explicit condemnations of America.
Webpage created 11-12-2001, last updated 11-03-2002