by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 2, 2002
All Rights Reserved.

ivil liberties must take a back seat to protecting national security. Taking off the FBI's handcuffs, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft announced the most radical overhaul of Justice Department rules for investigating subversive groups since the 1970s. Getting the green light, the FBI is no longer hogtied by "probable cause," giving agents broad license to scour the Internet and spy on mosques, political rallies and other public places to find terrorist clues. After all, it was the lack of "probable cause" that prevented the Minneapolis FBI general counsel Coleen Rowley from searching the laptop computer of suspected terrorist and probable "20th hijacker" Moroccan-born, Frenchman Zacarias Moussaoui. Reversing directions and acknowledging "missed opportunities," FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III admitted that proper attention to "red flags" might have prevented Sept. 11. Urgent flaws in national security pushed Ashcroft to loosen "search and seizure" guidelines over the objections of vociferous civil rights groups.

     Instead of shuffling chairs, the Ashcroft decided to fix serious gaps in homeland defense. Both Ashcroft and Mueller realized that the DOJ and FBI must change their ways or risk a repetition of 9-11. "There was not a specific warning [before Sept. 11] about an attack on a particular day. But that doesn't mean that there weren't red flags out there, there were dots that should have been connected to the extent possible," said Mueller, admitting that better intelligence might have prevented Sept. 11. Aschroft and Mueller announced sweeping changes at the FBI, creating a new Office of Intelligence headed by a CIA analyst and redeploying 3,700 agents to counter-terrorism work, a 70% increase. Shifting to "intelligence-gathering" and "counter-terrorism," the FBI hopes to reshuffle assets to better fit a post 9-11 era. Critics charge more centralization won't improve operations in the field. But centralization wasn't the glitch causing Sept. 11. Redirecting attention to intelligence-gathering and permitting field offices greater latitude with "probable cause" offers better prevention.

     Four simultaneous hijackings proved that something went terribly wrong with national security on Sept. 11. Since waging war in Afghanistan in November 2001, it's been difficult to point fingers at the agencies responsible for defending national security. With enough distance now, Ashcroft boldly acted to correct egregious failures contributing to Sept. 11. He correctly recognized that there are no civil liberties in the afterlife. More than 3,000 Americans lost their lives—and their civil liberties—at the hands of Islamic zealots, bankrolled and orchestrated by millionaire-Saudi-terrorist-mastermind Osama bin Laden. Civil rights groups haven't yet caught up with the reality that America is currently fighting an asymmetrical war, leaving the mistaken impression that it's still business as usual. "Apparently, Atty. Gen. Ashcroft wants to get the FBI back in the business of spying on religious and political organizations," said Margaret Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, forgetting the insidious infiltration of terrorist cells on American soil. Yes, spying on suspicious groups or individuals is an essential part of preventing terrorism.

     President Bush's war on terrorism goes beyond the battlefield into the cryptic machinations of organizations and groups aiding and abetting subversive activities. Examining convoluted financial maneuvers of seemingly legitimate nonprofits raise the specter of civil rights abuses seen under former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. "We intend to honor our Constitution and respect the freedoms that we hold dear," Bush told reporters at an impromptu new conference. "We want to make sure the we do everything we can to prevent further attack—to protect America, reminding critics that the victims of 9-11 have no rights at all. Civil liberties advocates can't have it both ways: Beefing up security and preserving all civil liberties. Fourth Amendment [pertaining to unlawful "searches and seizures"] guarantees weren't designed to add constitutional protections at the expense of national security. Striking a balance between constitutional rights and homeland defense, Ashcroft sought to "detect and deter terrorism," not trample on the civil rights of law-abiding Americans.

     New FBI guidelines raise concerns about racial profiling, especially among law-abiding Arab or Muslim citizens. "The attorney general seems to be saying, 'Make a list of anyone attending a particular mosque in the name of preventing terrorism,'" said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security, expressing concerns that Middle Easterners would be unduly singled out. The American Civil Liberties Union said that Ashcroft's decision "threatens core civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights," once again ignoring the attorney general's primary job of protecting national security. "If you have terrorists inside your borders, you don't have the luxury anymore of separating law enforcement from the need to gather intelligence," said Stewart A. Baker, former counsel general for the National Security Agency, reminding critics that since 9-11 the government has a responsibility to balance privacy concerns against national security. Before Sept. 11, few people viewed foreign terrorists or Islamic extremists as imminent threats to national security.

     Dredging up shameful images of J. Edgar Hoover doesn't detract from today's pressing security concerns. Since 9-11, most Americans recognize that "civil liberties" can't trump national security. "The abuses that once have been alleged about the FBI decades ago, about the keeping of files or records about prominent figures in the this country, would not be allowed either under the guidelines or under the statutes regarding privacy," said Ashcroft, reassuring critics that today's changes wouldn't turn back the clock on constitutional rights. With the colossal security failure on Sept. 11, something dramatic had to be done. Loosening "probable cause" requirements permits agents in the field to collect better intelligence with which to alert authorities about possible security threats. Even FBI Director Mueller now admits that better intelligence might have prevented 9-11. Ashcroft latest move is one bold step toward helping law enforcement better see the "red flags" and "connect the dots."

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He's director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in corporate consulting and strategic communication. He's author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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