Monday, October 28, 2013

CULTURISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM


Part One – The Controversy:
The Belgian government believes that we can win the war on terror without infringing on “human rights.” In fact, they have stated that they are convinced, “that the fight against terrorism can only be waged if human rights and international humanitarian law are fully respected.” They argue that, “Terrorism cannot be battled effectively by flouting the very rights and freedoms that terrorists are intent on destroying;” if we compromise our rights, the Belgians argue, the terrorists win.[i]
In practice, the United States’ Patriot Act was touted as minimally compromising rights.  It allows roving wiretaps, but only with a warrant.[ii] But, the recent spate of revelations concerning our National Security Administration, have shown that such spying has compromised our rights more than we initially thought.[iii]  And so while the United States gives lip service to the Belgian model of not violating rights, its actions indicate that it has found this route impractical. 


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