ACLU Report, “A Call to Courage,” on Civil Liberties in the Years After “9/11”
On the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., on September 11, 2001, the ACLU issued a report on this day entitled, “A Call to Courage: Reclaiming Our Liberties Ten Years After 9/11.” The report condemned the impact of the war on terrorism as “A Cancer on Our Legal System.”
From the ACLU report: “Ten years ago, we could not have imagined our country would engage in systematic policies of torture and targeted killing, extraordinary rendition and warrantless wiretaps, military commissions and indefinite detention, political surveillance and religious discrimination. Not only were these policies completely at odds with our values, but by engaging in them, we strained relations with our allies, handed a propaganda tool to our enemies, undermined the trust of communities whose cooperation is essential in the fight against terrorism, and diverted scarce law enforcement resources.”
And: “We look to our leaders and our institutions, our courts and our Congress, to guide us towards a better way, and it is now up to the American people to demand that our leaders respond to national security challenges with our values, our unity—and yes, our courage—intact. Our country is strong. And it is our fundamental values that are the very foundation of our strength and security.”
Read the report: https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/acalltocourage.pdf
Read: Susan Herman, Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of American Democracy (2011)
See the ACLU’s “Keep America Safe and Free” program: https://www.aclu.org/keep-america-safe-and-free-0
Follow a timeline on post-9/11 events in the war on terrorism: http://www.investigatingpower.org/timelines/9-11/