Some perplexities of terrorism

Amid acts of terror on our soil, some Americans are making poor choices and observations. Aside from passing unfounded judgments on Muslims and Arabic-speaking individuals, some are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties for the sake of security. Some polls have shown this group of Americans to be as great as 55 percent of the population. \nMeasures are being addressed in Congress that would, among other things, allow the government to increase their ability to tap phone lines, monitor bank, credit card and computer records and obtain school records. The government would also be allowed to confiscate the resources of any foreign organization, person or country in some way related to terrorist activity. I can already foresee that this will amount to some new form of racial profiling. \nWith what I believe to be merely the result of high emotions, some people have embraced this possible intrusion of privacy. Concerning the anti-terrorism initiatives, U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-4th, announced Friday, "I was going to vote against it ... Today, I'm going to vote for it, and I'm still unsure of what 'it' is." \nHow glad I am to see how much Mr. Souder cares about the American people. At no point should the integrity of our Bill of Rights be jeopardized for the sake of national security. You cannot combat terrorist attacks with attacks on the liberties that every American is born with.\nIt is unlikely that detailed intelligence on the private and personal lives of millions of Americans would have prevented the events of Sept. 11. These acts were methodical, exacting and even more chilling -- passionate. You're probably wondering, how then should our combat of terrorism be directed? \nThe focus of intelligence needs to be targeted at terrorists and their meticulous organizations, not on innocent American people. What could most benefit the United States is increased focus on national defense and the military. After all, in the past 10 years, the United States has drastically decreased defense spending.\nThere is no excuse for what happened two weeks ago, and those responsible must suffer the maximum price. But now may be an opportune time to seriously reconsider our foreign policy. We must understand that our job is not to be the referee and social pioneer of the masses. While some of our interventions abroad could be justified, by and large we have neglected our responsibility "to provide for the common defense." A restrained foreign policy coupled with increased defense spending may be the noblest solution and the most responsible method of prevention.