[Dialogue] Patriotic act unlimited

Fri Nov 4 10:45:37 EST 2005

Colleagues, a view from Egypt of what is happening in the US America. Peace,
Harry 
  _____  

Patriotic act unlimited

It was created as an emergency tool to fight "terror", but the Patriot Act
is headed for renewal as the law of the land for Americans, reports Hicham
Safieddine 

Four years ago, the United States government introduced the Patriot Act, a
piece of legislation designed to grant the federal authorities sweeping
powers to fight "terrorism" in the wake of the 11 September attacks. The
hastily drafted bill curtailed many civil liberties Americans took for
granted. It was blamed for documented discrimination against American Arabs
and Muslims. But the act passed with little resistance given the climate of
fear dominant at the time and the prevailing sense of urgency to hunt down
those responsible for the attacks. 

Some provisions were scheduled to expire by the end of this year, reflecting
the emergency nature of the bill. But the majority of these sunset
provisions along with the remainder sections are expected to become
permanent, thus harder to alter in the future. As a result, civil rights
groups across the country are crying foul.

The president of the Bill of Right Defence Committee, says the temporary and
limited derogation of rights that occurred in 2001 may be considered
constitutional as it was a time of national emergency. But that is not the
case this time around. 

"This uncritical authorisation is a 'constitutional disaster' because along
with new surveillance technologies and the shifting balance at the US
supreme court, it could affect a permanent and harmful change in the
American body politic, undermining such values as diversity, the rule of
law... equality and due process that have been the foundation for US
national law," Pitts, who is a lecturer at Stanford law School, told
Al-Ahram Weekly.

Sticky provisions of the bill include sections that empower the government
and its investigative agencies like the FBI to conduct their work with weak
judicial oversight and limitations.

The so-called "library" provision, for example, allows federal agents to
browse through medical, business, travel, and library records of American
citizens without court supervision. Another contentious section, the
"sneak-and peak" one, enables FBI agents to search residences of citizens
without prior notification.

If the past is any indication of how civil liberties are safeguarded under a
re-authorised and slightly amended Patriot Act, the future of these
constitutionally-enshrined freedoms looks grim. 

The 2001 act has been cited by the Council on American and Islamic Relations
(CAIR) as one of five factors, including the war in Iraq, behind the sharp
increase in reported incidents of discrimination against Muslims in the
United States. In its 2004 report entitled Unpatriotic Acts, CAIR says
claims of harassment, violence and discriminatory treatment rose by nearly
70 per cent in 2003 compared to 2002, the year following the 11 September
attacks. While some of these incidents are hate crimes committed by members
of the public, law agents are cited as a major source of these reports of
harassment.

The executive summary of the CAIR report points out that the 2003 number of
airline passenger profiling and unreasonable arrests had dropped
significantly, but "allegations of mistreatment by federal and local law
enforcement personnel (including profiling and discriminatory application of
the law) accounted for a third of all reports, the highest record ever in
real and proportionate terms."

The extent of law violations by federal officials in the line of their work
was recently revealed by partially censored documents released this month
and cited by The Washington Post. The documents reveal that from 2002 to
2004, over 280 violations were allegedly committed in 13 cases reviewed by
the president's Foreign Intelligence Oversight Board. In one separate case
of FBI conduct, a suspect was kept under surveillance for more than 15
months without notifying Justice Department lawyers.

It remains to be seen how many such violations will take place after the
re-authorisation of the Patriot Act is confirmed.

Earlier this year during its preliminary renewal at the US Congress, two
versions were passed separately by the Senate and the House. A final vote is
expected in the coming week or so. The Senate's version is seen as
containing more restrictions on federal agents that could reduce, if not
prevent, the occurrence of abuses as those mentioned above. Under this
version, the government has to convince a judge that the seizure of
documents facilitated by the "library" provision is linked to an ongoing
terrorism-related case. The Senate version also bars the government from
delaying notification of a residence search for more than a week without
court consent.

Pitts says the pressure by the business community for more protection of
privacy rights that has entered the debate lately may change things slightly
for the better.

There is also incentive found in the Patriot Act itself for law-makers to
make considerable amendments to it. In one of its introductory paragraphs,
the act clearly states that "the civil rights and civil liberties of all
Americans, including Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and Americans from
South Asia, must be protected, and that every effort must be taken to
preserve their safety."

The pressure from civil rights and private interest groups comes at time
when the neo- conservative establishment at the White House is facing a
series of serious setbacks on all fronts. Two of the Bush administration's
top advisers came under fire for involvement in the leaking of the name of
CIA agent Valerie Plame to the press. Vice-President Dick Cheney's Chief of
Staff I Libby Lewis resigned after being indicted for perjury and
obstruction of justice in connection to the case. Carl Rove, the president's
right- hand man on the domestic front, dodged charges but is still under
investigation.

Bush's bid to appoint one of his close political backers to the country's
top bench also backfired. Texas lawyer Harriet Myers withdrew her nomination
for a seat at the US Supreme Court after her qualifications were questioned
by both Republicans and Democrats. The president's ratings continue to
plummet among the general public. The death toll of American soldiers in
Iraq topped 2,000 this month. But these considerable setbacks have yet to
lead to a major overhaul of the White House foreign and domestic policies. 

"Restoring common sense and liberty seems to be taking longer than anyone
thought," says Pitts who believes a Democratic win in the next presidential
elections could tilt things in the opposite direction. "Sadly the hope is
retreating unless and until there is a broader change in political power."

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at:
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/767/in7.htm 

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