Bush Restricts War Information

Re “An Informed Public Is the Greatest Weapon of Democracy,” Commentary, Oct. 11: Information about the government lying or twisting the truth never comes as a surprise to me. The government has always had secrets.

We as Americans have come to accept many unjust laws and policies. Many assume someone is watching their back, and someone else will solve all of the problems that arise. If you think a law is unjust or unconstitutional, stand up and fight! Do not assume it will solve itself. Where would we be if Rosa Parks had simply gotten up and moved to the back of the bus?

Sean Momsen

Altadena

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Re “Congress Chided for Leaks,” Oct. 10: According to President Bush’s spokesman, “In a time of war, the usual rules do not apply.” Members of Congress and the public itself are to be denied the kind of information about military operations and law enforcement to which we have previously been entitled. This is coupled with an anti-terrorism bill that defines terrorism so broadly that anyone who has ever been to a picket line or protest where peaceful civil disobedience has occurred, or has ever given a donation to a lawful organization or charity that has ever funded such an activity, can be targeted as a “terrorist” and can summarily lose his or her basic rights. Indefinite detention, secret evidence, widespread wiretapping, retroactive legislation, abolishing statutes of limitations, hiding vital information about what our government is doing from Congress, the press and the public--these are portrayed as tools to fight terrorism, but they are primarily the tools of a totalitarian regime.

This kind of overreaching government power--a poisonous atmosphere in which one is afraid to speak out for fear of reprisals; the stifling of dissent; the potential for tyranny--was exactly the danger the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they wrote the Bill of Rights. Yes, the Bin Ladens of the world are a threat--would that they were the only long-term threat to our safety, democracy and freedom.

Leone Hankey

Los Angeles

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As it was then, it is the same now: Loose lips sink ships. I applaud President Bush. Keep information for key leaders only. I don’t want every member of Congress to have access to this information. This would mean their staff members do too. Need I say more?

Kathleen Dudley

Northridge

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And so the people’s elected representatives are to be denied information critical to the exercise of reasoned judgments of the nation’s actions in the current crisis. Bush’s behavior subverts the entire notion of participatory democracy. The inevitable result will be, or should be, a second crisis, a crisis of confidence in an executive branch that so cavalierly undermines a fundamental pillar supporting democratic society.

Gregg A. Payne

Monarch Beach