by Robert C. Sage

Created on: September 13, 2007

You "fight fire with fire", so the most incorrigible terrorists can only be stopped forcibly, but America must do better with attracting the poor and spirited Muslims to visions of economic development and growth by example. When violence is our main export, it sends an unmistakable message and it is not flattering. "You catch more bees with honey than bullets!"

Unless "the shining city on the hill" is a beacon of hope and inspiration, it has no meaning or relevance. American leaders parrot values of "freedom" and "democracy" and they proudly recount about holding elections in Iraq, but they don't explain how killing people promotes those values. Most Muslims and most Americans can't see the connection.

G.W. Bush has suspended Habeas Corpus and many other civil liberties for certain classes of suspects. Better hope that you do not qualify or else you will be denied normal rights of American citizen ship, including the right to legal representation, right to be presented with evidence of allegations, right to timely trial, right to freedom, etc.

The problem with abrogation of the Geneva Convention is that it gives up the high moral ground and will make it easier for others to do it as well. When America makes itself exempt from international tribunals, it leads the way for others to do it as well. When the US shows that it won't follow the rules, it puts that idea into the minds of others and soon enough, the Geneva Convention and other treaties have no real meaning. Beware of methods that compromise the basic values of society.

Where America's original values of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are compromised, we must think long and hard. Much of the "anti-terrorism" efforts have come at a profound cost to our freedoms and our democracy. That is not as it should be. There should not be a need to sacrifice the core American values of freedom and civil liberties. When the ends justify the means, then anything can be justified. Yes, America has gone too far with anti-terrorism.

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