U.S. weighs security concerns against need to protect freedoms
24 October 2000 (Newsroom) — With military bases in the Middle East on the highest state of alert and rhetoric about the Arab-Israeli conflict heating up on the Internet, the United States must continue to balance security concerns at home with the rights of privacy and free speech that Americans hold dear, security experts agree.
“You don’t want to over-react because they (terrorists) win by default,” said Frank J. Cilluffo, senior policy analyst and deputy director of the Global Organized Crime Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.
The rising temperature of rhetoric on Internet sites operated by radical and moderate groups on both sides of the conflict may offend many Americans, but is not illegal, said an FBI spokesman. “These groups have a right to espouse views that are contrary to what most Americans feel,” FBI spokesman Steven Wayne Berry said. “… We are only concerned when their activities become illegal and fall under domestic terrorist guidelines.”
The United States put its forces in Bahrain and Qatar at Threat Condition Delta — the highest level of alertness — in response to intelligence reports of possible terrorist attacks. That state of military readiness is normally reserved for situations in which an attack is believed to be imminent.
Security at British embassies and consulates has been increased worldwide and there is a general heightened threat of terrorist incidents around the world, said Nev Johnson of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office press office. The British government continues to monitor the position at all its facilities and responds as appropriate.
British embassies as well as companies operating abroad are sometimes seen by terrorist groups as associated with the United States and can become subject to increased threats.
Sarah Hayward from the Ministry of Defence said security at British military installations is under constant review, but she would not comment on the specific situation affecting U.S. troops in the Middle East.
Security at military bases in the United States is at a higher level of readiness as well, Cilluffo said. “One of the most difficult challenges in terrorism is they can strike when and where they want to,” he said. “The U.S. has been a lightning rod for terrorism abroad for a number of years. There is a greater possibility the homeland will be more susceptible.”
Berry said the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are “observant and aware of world situations and have appropriate mechanisms in place” to respond to potential threats.
Inflammatory rhetoric from pro-Arab and pro-Israeli camps that is proliferating on the Internet may fuel a tendency to “point fingers because of the color of someone’s skin or their faith,” Cilluffo warned.
“It is a fact that radical Islamic fundamentalist organizations do fund raise in the U.S. and have sympathizers,” he noted. But persecution of someone because of their faith is unacceptable in a democracy, he said.
While there is no immediate cause for alarm, Cilluffo said, “we need to be thinking how to protect ourselves while staying within democratic norms” without violating the freedoms that Americans value so highly.
Copyright © 2000 Newsroom.
Used with permission.