Publications, Contemplations, Scrutinizations: By Notre Dame Students

I) Close to Home: Civil Liberties

Part of what makes America unique in the world is its unwavering commitment to liberty and freedom for all its inhabitants, in both times of crisis and times of peace. However, this commitment has not been evident in legal actions taken since September 11:

- 1,200 Arab and Muslim non-citizens have been rounded up and detained for "voluntary" interrogation by the INS and FBI.
- Deportation orders are now subject to "selective enforcement" based on national origin and ethnicity.
- The legal standards for granting law enforcement search and seizure warrants have been effectively reduced, and allowance for "sneak and peek" surveillance of telephones, internet, financial documents, and personal information has been expaned.

[Source: www.aclu.org/safeandfree/index.html]

It is becoming increasingly important for us as American citizens to uphold our Constitutional rights and freedoms, as well as the challenges they are presently facing.

America's system of checks and balances is being disturbed. America's courts-the bulwark of free democracy-have been used effectively to prosecute dangerous terrorists in the past, including members of the Al-Qaeda organization. Presently, however, the power of these courts has been overtaken by the government's administration, which has seized from the judiciary some of its ability to review the actions of the executive, infringed upon the right to counsel between clients and attorneys, and caused an open rebellion by some judiciaries (such as the Organization of Immigrant Judges) who feel that their powers have been stripped.

The government's actions are characterized by blanket secrecy and misinformation. Many Arab and Muslim individuals detained by the government are held without being charged with any offense. Further, the government has failed to disseminate information on the status of these individuals and reasons for their detention, and has issued a categorical block on public access to immigration hearings. The ACLU cites this practice as violating the Freedom of Information Act and other Constitutional rights. It is precisely because the investigation into the monstrous attacks of September 11 is of the most urgent public concern that the public must be given full and accurate information.[Source: American Civil Liberties Union: www.aclu.org]

II) The Intermediary: U.S. Foreign Policy

Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has bombed 19 countries, and not a single bombing campaign has led directly to the establishment of a democratic government. Instead of attacking root problems of conflict and seeking sustainable peace, the U.S. government has long backed military regimes around the world to act as a short-term solution to conflict, even when these regimes have been cited as politically unstable, religiously extremist, and in violation of human rights.

Lifting restrictions on the transfers of weapons may be politically expedient, but it is not good policy. The Bush administration and some members of Congress are using arms sales and military aid as the best way to win foreign government support for the U.S. War on Terrorism. The states to which the U.S. is increasing arms sales and military aid are highly unstable. For example, the U.S. has lifted sanctions on India and Pakistan, and has also provided $73 million in military equipment to Pakistan to increase military action against the Taliban. Now India and Pakistan are on the verge of a major war after Islamic militants attacked the Indian Parliament in December.[Source: http://www.clw.org/]

Sending weapons and military aid to regimes in regions of conflict often boomerangs back to hurt U.S. interests. In Panama, Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and even Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers have faced U.S.-origin weapons or technology in the battlefield. In countless other countries, U.S. weapons sold with disregard for human rights have been used to displace, repress, or kill innocent civilians, thus damaging America's international reputation. The U.S. has supported hard-line Islamic movements and governments, such as the Saudi Arabia regime, which have encouraged extremist movements elsewhere. The Taliban was supported by the U.S. from 1991-3 to repress the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and now uses many of the same military tactics, leaders, and equipment in the current war against America.[Source: www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org]

The U.S. must shift from supporting repressive governments to encouraging greater democracy and pluralism in the Middle East. There are better ways to build an international coalition in support of the U.S. struggle against terrorism, such as economic aid packages or debt relief action. These inducements are much less likely to end up arming terrorist groups or assisting state-supported repression, and could actually reduce the abject poverty that is often the breeding ground for terrorism. Further, they could lead to the improvement of America's international reputation and complement its pledge to democracy and peace.

III) Far from Home: Refugees

Despite the fall of the Taliban and a new interim government in Afghanistan, Afghan refugees continue to flood into Pakistan, and most of those already there are not returning home and may remain for several years. Greater attention must be placed on refugees and their dire situation in Afghanistan.

There are some 4 million refugees living outside Afghanistan and more than 1.3 million displaced inside their homeland, fleeing years of conflict, drought and a shattered economy. These Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are not recognized as "refugees" because they lie within their own countries borders, and so are ineligible for international humanitarian aid. Ironically, however, IDPs are often the poorest and most subject to harm. High incidences of malaria, malnutrition and dysentery abound, and there is a shortage of food, blankets and tents. With no toilets and no clean drinking water, hygiene is abysmal, and people are dying every day from cold and starvation as the winter presses on.

Current solutions, such as U.S. airlifts of food, are not an adequate way to reach the needy. The food and supplies-already low in quantity-are often commandeered by those with guns, then either taken to feed troops or sold on the market. There are also reports of food landing in fields laced with land mines, along with looting and sudden eruptions of violence, ultimately making humanitarian deliveries difficult and dangerous.

Many refugees and other civilians are falling victim to attack by the American and Afghan military. Drawing from conservative estimates, there are have been at least 3,959 civilian casualties of U.S. bombing from Oct 7 to Dec 29, 2001. To put this in perspective, that would be proportional to almost 40,000 civilians killed in the U.S. This number does not account for casualties inflicted by Afghan military forces, which necessitates much higher figures.

[Source: www.media-alliance.org/mediafile/20-5/index.html]

As Filippo Grande, head of the UNHCR mission in Afghanistan has stated: "I hope the international community will not forget refugees' re-integration needs and will target reconstruction aid not only to urban areas but also to rural villages so that people can finally return to their homes."

[Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 01/21/02]