Taking Liberties

In this eye-opening work, the president of the ACLU takes a hard look at the human and social costs of the War on Terror. A decade after 9/11, it is far from clear that the government's hastily adopted antiterrorist tactics--such as the Patriot Act--are keeping us safe, but it is increasingly clear that these emergency measures in fact have the potential to ravage our lives--and have already done just that to countless Americans. From the Oregon lawyer falsely suspected of involvement with terrorism in Spain to the former University of Idaho football player arrested on the pretext that he was needed as a "material witness" (though he was never called to testify), this book is filled with unsettling stories of ordinary people caught in the government's dragnet. These are not just isolated mistakes in an otherwise sound program, but demonstrations of what can happen when our constitutional protections against government abuse are abandoned. Whether it's running a chat room, contributing to a charity, or even urging a terrorist group to forego its violent tactics, activities that should be protected by the First Amendment can now lead to prosecution. Blacklists and watchlists keep people grounded at airports and strand American citizens abroad, although these lists are rife with errors--errors that cannot be challenged. National Security Letters allow the FBI to demand records about innocent people from libraries, financial institutions, and internet service providers without ever going to court. Government databanks now brim with information about every aspect of our private lives, while efforts to mount legal challenges to these measures have been stymied. Barack Obama, like George W. Bush, relies on secrecy and exaggerated claims of presidential prerogative to keep the courts and Congress from fully examining whether these laws and policies are constitutional, effective, or even counterproductive. Democracy itself is undermined. This book is a wake-up call for all Americans, who remain largely unaware of the post-9/11 surveillance regime's insidious and continuing growth.
"Taking Liberties offers a compelling case that the basic constitutional protections most Americans take for granted, including the rights to free speech, a fair trial and due process, as well as freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, were seriously compromised after 9/11 as a result of the government's well-meaning but ill-conceived efforts to safeguard the country against another attack. . . [P]ersuasively fair and reasonable . . . A valuable contribution to the growing body of literature regarding the War on Terror's impact on our constitutional rights." --Kirkus Reviews

"This smart and passionate book shows how we as Americans - and not our faceless enemies - have the most to lose from the erosion of our civil liberties since 9/11. By showing what has happened to real people, Susan Herman offers the wake-up call we need to regain our perspective and reclaim our values." - Linda Greenhouse

"Taking Liberties is an engrossing read full of heartbreaking stories about how the War on Terror more than made up in zeal what it utterly lacked in logic. In the immediate aftermath, the errors documented here were understandable; ten years out, they are unforgivable. Anyone who cares about civil liberties, believes the War on Terror is making us safer, or even believes the War on Terror is about the War on Terror should read this book." -Barry Friedman, author of The Will of the People

"'If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about.' This phrase is destined to be with us for all time, kept alive by the same people who cheerfully volunteer that they are willing to trade some 'liberty for security.' Susan N. Herman's new book, Taking Liberties: The War onTerror and the Erosion of Democracy, provides a sharp rebuttal to this compliant mind-set that gave the government more power over the rest of us . . . [A] great catalog of personal injustice anecdotes, with story after story of people who don't do anything wrong yet haIntroduction PART I: DRAGNETS AND WATCHLISTS Chapter 1 The Webmaster and the Football Player The Material Support Dragnet The Football Player The Material Support and Material Witness Dragnets Chapter 2. <"Foreign Terrorist Organizations,>" Humanitarians, and the First Amendment The Iranian Democrat Peacemakers and Humanitarians Chapter 3. Charity at Home The Campaign against Charities Collateral Damage to Freedom of Religion and Association Chapter 4 Traveling with Terror Watching the Watchlists Security Theater? The Rights of Others Chapter 5 Banks and Databanks Financial Institutions as TIPSters Watchlists and the Private Sector Does It Work? Collecting the Dots Why Should I Care? - Privacy and Democracy PART II - SURVEILLANCE AND SECRECY Chapter 6 Gutting the Fourth Amendment The Fourth Amendment and Terrorism <"Foreign>" Intelligence Surveillance, Americans, and the Patriot Act Mayfield v. United States Part II The Secret Court and the One-Sided Litigation A Job for Congress and the Courts Chapter 7 The Patriot Act and Library/Business Records American Librarians Judicial Fumbling Third Party Records and the Fourth Amendment Reconsidering the <"Library Provision>" Chapter 8 Gagging the Librarians The Library Connection Other Librarian Tales Chapter 9 John Doe and the National Security Letter Why National Security Letters? John Doe and Victor Marrero Loosening the Gag Fourth Amendment Rights for NSL Recipients First Amendment Rights for Internet Users The Inspector General Exposes 2007-2010 National Security Letters, the Fourth Amendment, and Congress Chapter 10 The President's Surveillance Program In the Halls of the Department of Justice The Rubber Stamp Congress Closing the Courthouse Doors Post-FAA Litigation The Secret Court Strikes Again <"What Else Is It That We Don't Know?>" PART III: RESTORING CHECKS AND BALANCES Chapter 11 American Democracy - The President, the Congress, and the Courts The View from the Oval Office - From Bush to Obama and Beyond The Sleeping Watchdog Secrecy and the Courts The Eclipse of the Courts Conclusion Ordinary Americans Restoring Balance