I titled this review "A Voice of Reason." Because, if anything, Alan Dershowitz is a thinker, and a very good one. I did not mean to imply, however, that I agree with all his reasoning. But, oh how refreshing to hear a non-combative voice of reason on the issue of how to deal with terrorism. Everyone wanting to know more about what we should do and should not do should read Dershowitz' book first. It will set up the mind constructs you need for thinking about the problem.
Some reviewers claim Dershowitz is biased; i.e.--that he focuses too much on Palestinian terrorists. I disagree. His 21 pages enumerating Palestinian terrorist attacks convince me that Dershowitz focuses his attention right where it needs to be. He does not neglect Al Quaeda. He gives them the attention they deserve. And he gives the Palestinian terrorists the attention they deserve.
Dershowitz proposes that there be a world-wide debate about what defensive techniques should be allowed against terrorists. He includes a most thoughtful discussion about whether or not a country is justified in torturing a terrorist if the country feels that a massive terrorist attack is eminent. He argues that history proves that all countries will use torture in such a situation, but it will be sub-rosa torture in the countries where it is outlawed. He argues for a formalized system where the Federal court system gives the okay in extreme situations, so that the protections the judicial branch afford to us are afforded in these extreme situations too. He argues that judges are far less likely to approve such extreme tactics as are heads of intelligence agencies.
Detractors of his argument claim Dershowitz is proposing a reversion from civilized morality back to a darker era. He asserts, however, that he is not proposing anything new or reversionary. Rather, he is protesting the fact that torture occurs sub-rosa instead of being subject to judicial review. Disagree if you will, but it is wrong to mischaracterize what Dershowitz proposes. It is, after all, the same kind of argument as the "condoms for kids" issue. One side argues that premarital sex is happening anyway, so we should provide condoms to help prevent pregnancy and disease. The other side argues that the condoms themselves promote ever more promiscuity. There is truth on both sides of the argument. Dershowitz is fully cognizant of both sided of the issue. I wonder if some of the reviewers here are.
Dershowitz' argument for NICs (national identity cards) is the single area where I think he may have missed a critical point. Undoubtedly, NICs would help us control who gets into and stays in the United States. They also would stop lots of identity theft, fraud, and abuse. No arguments there. No arguments with his rationales either. But, just like the Social Security number, soon businesses would require the NIC as proof of person. Can you imagine the economic damage that could be done to a person if his/her NIC came up "invalid?" You could buy nothing without cash, and you couldn't get the cash without a valid NIC. Hmmm! That gives the government power to economically sanction individuals that voice opposition to their policies. The invalidation of your NIC would, of course just be an "unfortunate mistake" should you be successful in drawing the media's attention to it. Dershowitz says nothing about this possibility, which surprised me, because no fundamentalist Christian would ever miss this "mark of the beast" issue.
Notwithstanding the one omission just mentioned, I heartily recommend this book. The author makes you think, and leaves you enlightened and assured that we can manage terrorism and still preserve our liberties if we approach the problem with non-partisan rationality.
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Top reviews from other countries
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- M. D RobertsReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 15, 2003
Fighting terrorism without appeasement.
