It’s time to take back our civil liberties

[rug]

Osama wasn't here

By Sahar Aziz, May 25, 2011

Washington, DC - It took the United States government nearly 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden in retribution for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Over that same period, Muslims struggled to overcome guilt by association for the criminal acts of bin Laden. Meanwhile, all Americans were forced to give up civil liberties in a purported exchange for more security.

As part of its concerted war on terror, the U.S. government under both presidents Bush and Obama directed most national security resources toward terrorism committed by Muslims, while the likes of Jared Lee Loughner and Joseph Stack attacked undetected. Frightening images of Muslim terrorists persuaded the American public that spending billions of dollars on occupying Iraq and Afghanistan was necessary despite burgeoning economic ills at home.

Compromising our civil liberties also became an acceptable sacrifice to protect us from Osama bin Laden's murderous gang. Body scan machines electronically strip search us at nearly every airport. Fusion centers across the country gather intelligence on average Americans to deposit into massive databases monitored by the government. Tens of thousands of warrantless national security letters are issued every year to obtain information about our financial and political lives absent evidence of criminal activity. And police departments have shifted resources from necessary crime-fighting to mapping communities based on their religious faiths and ethnic origins under the auspices of protecting national security.

There remain many questions about whether such infringements on our civil liberties at home led to the weakening of al-Qaida abroad and the eventual elimination of Osama bin Laden. But one thing is clear. The war on terror was a remarkable success in vilifying more than 6 million people in America of various ethnic, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

http://www.altmuslim.com/a/a/a/its_time_to_take_back_our_civil_liberties/

[Bragi]

1. Interesting web site

Thanks for that. I've bookmarked it and will check it out when I have time.

[struggle4progress]

2. Peace unto our Islamic sisters and brothers