In this time of crisis, each of us is called to renew our respect for civil liberties, demand a free and informed press, and create a safe and civil environment that encourages open dialogue.
       - From WAND's "Statement on the 9/11 Attacks and the US Response"

The Bush Administration has aggressively expanded government powers following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Consider the following:

• Secret detentions of hundreds of people
• A plan to monitor some lawyer-client conversations
• The authorization of military tribunals
• Efforts to interview 5,000 Middle Eastern men about their possible knowledge of terrorism
• Attorney General John Ashcroft is considering relaxing restrictions on the FBI's spying on religious and political organizations in the US.

Justice Deformed: War and the Constitution
The New York Times, Week in Review, 12/2/01, p.14

Questions for Discussion

1. This editorial claims that the Bush administration has built a "parallel criminal justice system," a "shadow system," that profoundly threatens civil liberties. It has done so without congressional or judicial oversight. It has been able to get away with this for several reasons. What are the reasons?

2. The administration's actions include a number of extreme measures. Name four of these measures.

3. Compare the rules of normal military trials to those of the Bush military tribunals. Who, besides accused terrorists captured overseas, would be subject to the new Bush rules?

4. Bush and Ashcroft defend the extreme powers they have seized by saying that they can be trusted not to abuse their power. Is this a satisfactory defense?

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Critics of the administration's actions argue that the new rules are so broad in scope that they potentially impact everyone's life. Consider ways in which you or those you know may be personally affected by these actions.

• Defend the Constitution Petition From MoveOn.org

• The nightmare: Lebanese art student Salam El Zaatari has been held in solitary confinement for six weeks after airport security found an artist's knife in his carry-on case. His real crime: Being an Arab. (From Salon.com)

Take Action

Working Assets Model Letter
actforchange - http://www.actforchange.com/liberty2

President Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

To President Bush:

I'm writing to you because I'm concerned that many of the measures recently passed in the name of fighting terrorism will erode our civil liberties without ensuring security.

It appears that the government's domestic response to the September terrorist attacks springs from the dangerous notion that granting law enforcement virtually unlimited power will make us all safer.

While some federal actions, such as increasing security in airports, are necessary, common-sense precautions, others erode the Bill of Rights and will ultimately undermine our strength as a nation. Not since the WWII incarceration of Japanese-Americans and the political witch-hunts of the Cold War has the Bill of Rights taken such a beating.

Consider that in recent weeks, your administration has:

• Issued orders that create special military tribunals to try non-citizens charged with terrorism and that allow federal agents to listen in on conversations between a suspect and his attorney.
• Signed into law the USA-PATRIOT Act, which dramatically decreases the power of our judicial system to protect citizens' constitutional rights.
• Continued to fight public requests for basic information about an estimated 1,000 non-citizens who have been detained since September 11.

The impact of these measures is extraordinarily far-reaching and will inflict serious damage to the healthy functioning of our democracy.

I urge you to immediately release the names of the non-citizens who have been detained since September 11, and to rescind the dangerous proposal to create special military tribunals to try non-citizens charged with terrorism.

Civil liberties are the essence of America. Please ensure that the measures used to protect our country don't destroy what it stands for.

Sincerely,

White House Fax: 202-456-2461

WAND

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