COLUMN: All done in the name of 9/11.
Six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, it is important to look at the changes that have taken place in our government. Unfortunately, the attacks have served as both a catalyst and a justification for many of these changes, triggering many decisions that will have a great impact on our future.
A very dangerous trend has occurred that, if followed, could prove disastrous. The federal government is expanding into many areas of our lives, infringing on our rights, and presidential power has expanded to dangerous proportions – all in the name of national security. It is time that we took notice.
Chief among these government actions is the infamous Patriot Act. This law has given the federal government dangerous inroads into our privacy. It has allowed the government access to personal information, including the books we check out at the local library and the phone calls we make. This act has also allowed the government to carry out “sneak and peak” searches, searching private property without the knowledge of the individual being investigated. This act has been sold to Americans as a necessary tool to fight terrorism.
Another change justified by the terrorist attacks was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This involved a massive reorganization of the government to form yet another federal bureaucracy.
Among other things, the Department of Homeland Security is entrusted with the implementation of the Real ID Act, which is scheduled for 2009. This would mandate the issuance of a federal driver’s license. It also calls for the linking of all states’ driver’s license databases together to form a new, national database. The new ID would be required to travel by bus or plane or to deal with the government.
Of course, there are also the embarrassing searches conducted at airports, as well as numerous instances of unwarranted government wiretapping.
The current war in Iraq was also justified by the Sept. 11 attacks. We were assured Iraq had strong ties to the terrorists responsible for the attacks. It has become clear that these claims were completely fabricated. In a speech to the United Nations, the president finally admitted that the United States went to war with Iraq to “defend the peace and credibility of the United Nations.” This war has cost thousands of lives, billions of dollars, and has greatly tarnished America’s image throughout the world.
Last year, Congress passed a bill which authorized the suspension of the Posse Comitatus Act – a law created in 1878 that forbade the use of any part of the Army to enforce law.
In May, the president signed the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, which created a position called the “national continuity director,” who is to make plans for government at all levels, as well as areas of the private sector, in the event of a vaguely defined “catastrophic emergency.” This will be done without Congressional oversight.
We have been told that these measures have been taken to protect us from another attack. However, one of the most important duties the government needs to undertake in order to protect our nation has been ignored. That measure is securing our borders. If our government truly wishes to protect us, as they claim, we must ask why our borders are still wide-open to potential terrorists.
The president has been given many tools which he can use against Americans with the pretext of combating terrorism. Among these are unconstitutional searches and seizures, the authorization to use the military against Americans and the opportunity to coordinate the operations of all levels of government in an emergency. Perhaps the president will not use all the new tools now granted to him. However, when he finally leaves the White House, they will be waiting for whomever the next commander in chief may be.
Former Nazi officer Hermann Goering once made a statement that perhaps the current administration took notes on. He said, “The people can always be brought to the bidding of their leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.”
It looks like that tactic is being repeated.
Colby Lyons is a senior majoring in law and constitutional studies. Questions and comments can be sent to him at c.lyons@aggiemail.usu.edu.