Moody Center
Liberty and Security
RECEIVED Tue., Aug. 15, 2006
Dear Editor,
MI5, the British Secret Service, has apparently saved thousands of lives through its efforts to monitor and track terrorists. As someone who was on a plane during the arrests, I think we owe the British a big thanks.
What is remarkable about MI5 is that they have not one, but two judicial oversight committees. These committees are made up of members from diverse backgrounds and they ensure that domestic counterterrorism operations are carried out responsibly and appropriately.
I wish we had a judicial oversight committee on homeland security. How would they respond to Homeland Security's investigation into our state representatives during the redistricting battle? Would they allow American citizens to be detained without a lawyer? Would they consider dunking someone’s head in water torture? Currently G.W. Bush and his cronies consider these acts to be acceptable behavior.
Richard Clarke, and several members of the 9/11 Commission have recommended similar measures in the United States. Yet the Bush administration continues to claim that our Department of Homeland Security cannot protect us without suspending civil liberties, eliminating judicial oversight, torturing detainees, or detaining American citizens without the right to appeal to a jury of their peers. We deserve both liberty and security.
MI5, the British Secret Service, has apparently saved thousands of lives through its efforts to monitor and track terrorists. As someone who was on a plane during the arrests, I think we owe the British a big thanks.
What is remarkable about MI5 is that they have not one, but two judicial oversight committees. These committees are made up of members from diverse backgrounds and they ensure that domestic counterterrorism operations are carried out responsibly and appropriately.
I wish we had a judicial oversight committee on homeland security. How would they respond to Homeland Security's investigation into our state representatives during the redistricting battle? Would they allow American citizens to be detained without a lawyer? Would they consider dunking someone’s head in water torture? Currently G.W. Bush and his cronies consider these acts to be acceptable behavior.
Richard Clarke, and several members of the 9/11 Commission have recommended similar measures in the United States. Yet the Bush administration continues to claim that our Department of Homeland Security cannot protect us without suspending civil liberties, eliminating judicial oversight, torturing detainees, or detaining American citizens without the right to appeal to a jury of their peers. We deserve both liberty and security.
Thomas Vinson