A chilling analysis of the constitutional costs of the new war on terrorism, from two leading experts. In a vivid and important critique of our government's response to threats—real and perceived—from communists in the 1950s, Central American activists in the 1980s, Palestinians in the 1990s, and now Islamic terrorists in the twenty-first century, two leading constitutional scholars warn that many of our government's anti-terrorism efforts sacrifice civil liberties without effectively protecting national security. James X. Dempsey, former assistant counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, and David Cole, a law professor and leading civil liberties lawyer, contend that in its response to the attacks of September 11, the Bush administration has already repeated many of the worst mistakes of the past, and is unlikely to make Americans more secure.
