What Are They Afraid Of?

Today's NY Times has a disturbing article about our treatment of "terrorist" detainees, this time in Afghanistan. This looks like it might be serving as a 'Guantanamo under the radar.' No names, no pictures, no charges, no lawyers, no hope. Most of us believe it 'can't happen here' but things aren't shaking out that way. Just what is the government afraid of if it lets international public monitors visit and report on the people we incarcerate? Openness in our society is supposed to be one of its virtues and attractions. In the heyday of the cold war people wrote of the restrictiveness of Soviet society, of controlled access or non- access to towns and cities, of the lack of road signs, etc. Now we are told that we need to keep a tight lid on our own country to protect against terrorists. But terror is only a name; some claim that our own government terrorizes peoples around the world. Our administration's position seems to be that it can do anything to anyone anywhere and not have to be held accountable. Of what are they afraid? Will someday there be a new Nuremberg trial and our leaders will be held accountable?

Some would claim that if one is innocent of wrongdoing then there is no need to fear the government's spying on us. Lots of problems with that idea, in addition to the fact that only a dunce would espouse it. First, this nation was founded on the principle of freedom over tyranny: we don't have to petition for our rights; the government has to ask us for empowerment. We don't need to prove our innocence; they have to prove our guilt. And in the real world things often get complicated. The alphabet agencies of our government want to spy on terrorists and they end up spying on peaceful protestors. Bush complains about dissidents giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Does this mean that an elected member of Congress, let alone an average citizen, can be considered a terrorist? Suppose a House member introduced Articles of Impeachment on the House floor. Could Bush declare him (or her) an enemy combatant and sweep that person into some hole in the ground to be lost forever?

A minor amount of research shows that terrorist attacks have increased each year since the Iraq invasion. Current and former members of the armed forces and the administration admit that Iraq has become the largest training ground for terrorism. Some think that this war makes us and the world a more dangerous place. We armed the mujahadeen against the Soviets and next they turned their sights on the other infidel: the United States. The chickens came home to roost.

If there is hope for us and our neighbors in this world it's certain to come through letting the light shine through. If we don't need to fear Caesar, then why does he fear us? Just what are they afraid of?