Not long ago, a federal judge denounced the FBI for throwing Taiwanese-born scientist Wen Ho Lee in solitary confinement and forcing him to choose between speaking to his family or his attorneys.
Despite the warning, the FBI is at it again, this time with the endorsement of the White House and Congress.
The government's broadened powers to fight terrorism have allowed it to persecute thousands of people of Arab descent, incarcerating them while opting not to reveal the charges against them under the guise of national security concerns.
To say thousands are being held is really a shot in the dark because our government has told national publications such as The Washington Post that it's not really even keeping track of such statistics.
The government has said some are being held in connection with immigration violations, but it now has the power to hold these people for an inordinate amount of time.
In an attempt to reassure the media and civil libertarians, the FBI has said it is only holding a limited number of people and that it is not taking action comparable to World War II Japanese internment camps. If that is the case, then it should release and monitor these individuals rather than continuing to trample on their civil rights in violation of U.S. and international laws through incarceration.
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Let's face it, the war on terrorism is comparable to the war on drugs. Rather than sticking our heads in the sand for decades, let's try to find some honest solutions to the problem that don't involve blindly persecuting others in an effort that only proves our incompetence.
Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
