After the events of September 11, 2001, the world became a radically different place.  The threats of old were no longer germane and a new era of global terrorism was finally noticed by the masses (no one can argue that we long ignored terrorism as an ephemeron and a problem most often dealt with by other countries).  9/11 brought it home to American soil, and in the process it bubbled to the surface of American society an ugly and heretofore unseen willingness to quietly set aside our ideals in the name of national security.

A report by Glenn A. Fine, the Inspector General of the US Department of Justice, states that some of those detained shortly after the attacks in New York and Washington DC were held in unduly harsh conditions and were even subject to abuse.  The report, almost 200 pages long and evaluating 762 people found living in the US illegally, criticizes the DOJ for its treatment of aliens held on immigration charges in response to the terrorist attacks.

"The FBI should have expended more effort attempting to distinguish between aliens who it actually suspected of having a connection to terrorism from those aliens who, while possibly guilty of violating federal immigration law, had no connection to terrorism but simply were encountered in connection with a [FBI terrorism investigation] lead," Fine wrote.

Making note of detainees being held for more than a month before being charged with any crime while others remaining in custody for weeks without any investigation taking place, the report indicates that the American ideals of justice and presumed innocent were ignored.

Some of the worst examples of this behavior came from the New York Metropolitan detention center.  Fine pointed out that 84 of the detainees held there were locked up for at least 23 hours per day and were only allowed one call per week — a situation which often prevented them from obtaining timely advice and counsel.  Worst of all, the report clearly indicates some detainees suffered verbal and physical abuse at the center.

Fine wrote it "affected the detainees’ ability to understand why they were being held, obtain legal counsel, and request a bond hearing."

This doesn’t sound like the justice America purports to engender.

Fine noted that oftentimes FBI agents were so busy with other work that they delayed getting out notices that would allow the detainees to be released.  He added that confinement conditions at the primary holding centers in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Paterson, N.J., were below par.

All of this troubles me and brings me back to questioning the Patriot Act.  Developed and passed in a moment of panic, we readily gave up freedoms and protections in order to feel more secure.  All the while we feign horror at the atrocities cited in this report with lugubrious expressions of concern and outrage.

Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said in an eerily precognitive way, "The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either."

If our freedoms are not worth defending when we are under attack, perhaps they are not worth defending at all.  If we are to be Nazis, then declare democracy dead and move forward with the Fourth Reich.  Otherwise we need to seriously remember our foundation (remember that thing called a Constitution?) and tread carefully as we attempt to weigh security against our freedoms.