"Yes, I am talking about softening the Fourth Amendment. I hate to say that, I really do. But to find the hidden terrorists, we might have to."
Another terror attack yesterday. I could just about cut and paste my last article which addressed Euro terror attacks, but I will not. Why? I have a different angle on this one. I would like to say it is due to my unique thinking, but that would be a lie. I am going to hitchhike on something a terror expert said this morning on one of the news shows.
First - the attack. Once again, the good guys got lucky. Why? The Islamic Terrorists we were dealing with yesterday were not the cream of the crop. First off, there was a house explosion earlier in the week in Spain. The authorities first thought it was a natural gas explosion. It turns out it was a bomb making facility getting ready for yesterday's attacks. The bomb maker was not quite ready for prime time, and blew himself up along with the house.
In spite of the house mishap, the attacks proceeded in Barcelona and a smaller town about 100 miles to the south of Barcelona. Once again, weapon used were vehicles. By a miracle, only 15 died. This could have been much, much worse. There were also four college basketball teams from the states staying close to the street in Barcelona where the attack took place. Fortunately, all involved with those teams are safe and accounted for.
Back to the terror expert this morning. The Islamic State has become very brazen before any attack these days. They tell us what they are going to do. As much as they would like to go after an airliner again, the myriad of soft targets are just too tempting for them. Plus, they can get a "weapon of mass destruction" very cheap and very easy. Just rent a truck. On their web site, the instructions how to do this is very clear. What kind of knives or guns to use when you exit the vehicle. How to kill.
Is this going to stop? Probably not - in fact, it is going to get worse. Very tempting targets for the Islamic State are the high speed trains on our East Coast. How do I know that? That too, is on their web site. Even more carnage derailing one of those things than running over people in a crowd with a truck. Can we protect every mile of track 24 hours a day? Of course not. Then what are we going to do to protect our innocent people riding trains? That is the $64,000 question.
Another terror expert from the UK had a much more blunt warning for us all. Terrorists of opportunity will continue to kill so long as we allow them easy access to our sovereign nations by giving them access through open borders. Also, by not playing "who is who" for those who are inside the borders. We need to find these sleeper cells, and root them out. With whatever means necessary. Our PC has only resulted in DOA for many innocent people.
Both the President and the Vice President have vowed to put an end to ISIS. To end this needless terror. Easy words to say. Much harder to do. I have said this since 9/11. The only way to make this country as safe as possible is to surrender some of our freedoms. Yes, I am talking about softening our Fourth Amendment rights. I hate to say that, I really do. But to find the hidden terrorists, we might have to.
The 4th Amendment
ReplyDeleteThe right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Seems to me the amendment language allows "probable cause" to be enough.
If we were to determine "probable cause" to be an Arabic or Middle Eastern name, then we have entered a slippery slide which would be similar to the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended the provisions of the German constitution that protected basic individual rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly.
The decree also permitted increased state and police intervention into private life, allowing officials to censor mail, listen in on phone conversations, and search private homes without a warrant or need to show reasonable cause.
Under the state of emergency established by the decree, the Nazi regime could arrest and detain people without cause and without limits on the length of incarceration.
Or maybe that's what 45, the alt-right and the Republican Party members would like to happen.
Maybe we should start by making a list of neighbors who don't meet our standards and have them on hand when the thought police come to our door. I can think of several in my neighborhood that are suspect.
Might be a smarter activity than waiting for the next incident.
Guess you would agree.
David Gjerdingen