Posted on 11/26/2002 7:14:50 AM PST by Stand Watch Listen
Recently we have learned, largely as a result of a column by William Safire, that as part of the war on terror our government is engaging in steps that can result in a massive loss of privacy for all Americans. I have no doubt that the war on terror is important. I believe it is absolutely vital that we win the war. The prospect of a world that is dominated or intimidated by the likes of Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, the Iranian Mullahs, the Hizballah, or Hamas is too awful to contemplate.
Recently we heard reports that Al Quaeda prisoners who are not cooperative in interrogation are being turned over to Egyptians for interrogation. This is being done because it is known that the Egyptians are less restrained in their methods of interrogation. In other words the Egyptians torture prisoners in ways that we would not and we are contracting out work that is too dirty for us to do.
I don´t have a problem with that. If the torture of an Al Quaeda prisoner results in information that prevents the mass murder of Americans or other civilians it does not really bother me. The last thing I want to see is Americans die as a result of our meticulous regard for the rights of Al Quaeda terrorists.
The column by Safire noted that the government is forming a database that will collect information on all of our credit card purchases, ATM withdrawals, emails, visits to websites, etc. Now I might not object to the enemy being treated roughly in order to win this war, but I do object to American citizens having their rights trampled. I am not impressed by the argument that the information collected will only be used for fighting terrorism.
Once the information is in the hands of the government there is very little to stop government officials from abusing the information. We all remember how J Edgar Hoover became a blackmailer of government officials through the collection of private information. We remember Nixon asking the IRS to investigate his political enemies. While the IRS officials told Nixon no, many of Clinton´s political enemies had their tax returns audited. We also had FBI files of government officials found in the office of Clinton´s political operative. While we might believe the current President is honest and would not abuse his office, we know that he will not be President forever, and that we will have less honest Presidents some time in the future.
While the Federal Government is in effect getting tough with the American people during this war on terror it is, in some cases, going soft on people who are much less deserving of our sympathy. We have our airport screeners who seem to go out of their way to wave their wands over harmless looking old ladies while letting young Middle Eastern men board the plane unchecked. We are going out of our way not to single out Middle Eastern Muslims for scrutiny even though we know they are the core of the terrorists.
We have avoided offending the Saudis in spite of persistent reports that Saudis have been funding Al Quaeda, despite the Saudi refusal to cooperate in the murders of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia, despite the Saudi financial support of suicide bombers against Israel and despite Saudi refusal to let us use our own air bases on their territory to fight Saddam Hussein. As a brief reminder we built those bases to save Saudi Arabia from Saddam´s aggression at the time of the Gulf War. I understand that the Saudi oil holdings are substantial and necessary and that it makes sense to get along with them. However, I would rather trample on their feelings than on the constitutional rights of American citizens.
Meanwhile in the Middle East, Israel continues to absorb unbearable punishment in its own war on terror. The most recent was a suicide bombing on a bus in Jerusalem. The Israelis have been playing a pathetic game in which they absorb a horrible massacre, occupy the city from which the terrorists came, kill or capture some terrorists, withdraw from the cities they occupy and then suffer another massacre. They must have a feeling similar to what Bill Murray felt in the movie Groundhog Day when he kept waking up to the same day every day.
The Israelis have been much more restrained in their response to terrorism than anyone could reasonably expect. When they have destroyed bomb factories, they have always hit them at night when the workers are gone. As a result they end up destroying an empty building. The employees presumably go to a new factory somewhere else and build bombs that result in more massacres.
The Israelis have in effect made it safe for their enemies to build bombs by pursuing this humane style of warfare. They have destroyed the homes of suicide bombers and engaged in other tough measures but in many ways have been easier on their enemies than on their own citizens.
Several weeks ago, former Defense Minister, Ben Eliezer started dismantling “outposts” which are fledgling settlements. He did this not so much for any strategic reason but to appeal to the more dovish elements of his Labor Party. He also implemented a policy of withdrawing troops from various West Bank cities in order to allow the Palestinians to set up security in these areas and suppress any terrorist elements.
The only problem with this approach is that it was tried and failed already. It was known as the Oslo peace process. As soon as Israeli troops withdrew from Hebron there was a massacre of the Jewish population in Hebron. So Mr. Ben Eliezer got tough with Israelis at the same time he was going easy on the terrorists. He was rewarded for his efforts by being voted out as leader of the Labor Party in favor of a candidate who favored even bigger concessions to the terrorists.
Ariel Sharon got himself back onto Israel´s political map two years ago by visiting the Temple Mount at the height of the negotiations between former Prime Minister Barak and Yasser Arafat. The Temple Mount is a site in East Jerusalem that is holy to both Moslems and Jews. I visited the Temple Mount in 1972 and took a tour. Our tour guide was a local Arab. Our group was met by angry Arabs who were incensed that non Moslems were allowed into their holy place.
Mr. Sharon´s visit was viewed as a provocation by some. They found it outrageous that he would visit a controversial site in the middle of delicate negotiations. I tried to point out to people that this site is holy to Jews and is located in the capital of Israel. I compared it to foreigners complaining if Hillary Clinton visited a portion of Washington DC.
Since Mr. Sharon´s visit to the Temple Mount no other Jews have been allowed to visit the Temple Mount. Again while Sharon´s government goes relatively easy on the terrorists it gets tough with the victims of terrorism.
There is a biblical saying that those who are merciful to the cruel will be cruel to the merciful. We are seeing the realization of that principle in these cases.
If we were successful in eliminating the threat of terrorism as we now know it we would not be talking about a database to compile information on all Americans. In general I think President Bush has done a good job in leading the fight against terrorism. However, whenever he has a choice between upsetting people by being too tough with terrorists, their supporters, or their sources of income, or limiting the rights of Americans I would like to see him choose the former.
If the Israelis took back the West Bank and Gaza and disarmed the Palestinian Authority there would be little talk of cracking down on “illegal settlements” or keeping Jews out of places in Israel that there is no reason to keep them out of.
Does Mr. Sharon feel that Jews have no right to the Temple Mount? He has said the opposite. Do we feel that Americans have more privacy than we have a right to? Our Supreme Court ruled that abortion is legal because there is a constitutional right to privacy. The people leading the fight against terror should get tougher on the enemy and easier on the people victimized by terror. It seems too easy to do the opposite.
12 days since Safire's column and this nonsense is still echoing around the media.
Shouldn't that be "Against Whom Is The War On Terror Being Fought?"
On the contrary, the Saudis were quite willing to cooperate in that endeavor.
They were also contemplating a plot to destroy the English language, but rejected it as redundant.
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