by Dan Weaver

Created on: February 21, 2008

Have the terrorists aleady won by creating an epidemic of fear?

If terror is the goal of terrorists, then the terrorists have won because terror is driving politics and policy in the United States. Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that this article is being written by a bleeding heart liberal, let me give you my credentials in the form of my voting record. Reagan, Reagan, Bush Sr., Bush Sr., Dole, Bush Jr., Bush Jr. I will say that if it were possible for President Bush to run again, I would most likely vote against him. Why? Because he has over-reacted to the event we all call 9/11 and in his drive to provide us with safety and security he has trampled on the U.S. Constitution.

Obviously, some reaction to 9/11 was necessary. We needed improved intelligence, tighter security at our borders, at airports and at all important military, transportation and industrial facilities. Terrorists needed to be tracked down and brought to justice.

Whether we should have gone into Afghanistan and Iraq is not as important to me as it is to some people. Both of those countries enjoy a greater degree of freedom today than they did before 9/11. The important question to me isdo we as Americans enjoy greater freedom today than we did before 9/11? I don't think so.

Americans have been spied upon without the government getting subpoenas, internet search engines are being asked to tell the government what information we have been searching for and Americans have been held without being charged with a crime or being provided with a lawyer. Equally troubling is that we are actually debating whether we should use torture to get information out of people, a debate I never thought I would hear in my lifetime.

Many Americans are willing to accept all of this because they believe it keeps us safe. History proves that these frightened rabbits are correct. In pre-World War 2 Germany, terror was the order of the day. Bombs, riots, and assassinations took place on a regular basis. When Hitler came to power, he stopped the terror and brought law and order to Germany. Everyone was safe. Everyone rejoiced, except for Jews and those who opposed the government. The majority of Germans traded away the rights of a minority of Germans in order to be free from terror. In the long run, no one was free from terrorit's just that the new terror came from the government.

If we are going to give the government increased, and even unconstitutional powers, to combat terrorism, we should not be surprised if the government uses those powers against us. The men and women who fought in the American Revolution fought against a government that misused its power and terrorized its own citizens. They would not trade freedom for safety. Neither should we.

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