Terrorism And What Is Needed

After September 11th, Americans did not authorize the deterioration of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. However, during the past 6 years, the logic of fear has enabled an agenda of undermining our most basic civil liberties. The enactment of The Department of Homeland security, The Patriot Act, The Military Commissions Act, and FISA, pose unprecedented threats to Americans’ individual freedoms of speech, religion, assembly and privacy; the rights to counsel and due process; utilizing unconstitutional search and seizure, warrantless sneak-and-peak searches, wiretaps, library, medical, internet and financial record searches, the detention and deportation of non-citizens without meaningful judicial review, and increased government secrecy.

Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate who showed the clarity and judgment in opposing these unconstitutional programs from the beginning. In fact, not only did Kucinich vote against each; the Patriot Act in 2001, the Homeland Security Act in 2002, the Real ID Act in 2005, the Military Commissions Act in 2006, and FISA earlier this year; but he has provided leadership in speaking out and offering reform. In 2003, he sponsored the Benjamin Franklin True Patriot Act, which would have addressed and repealed several major sections of the Patriot Act and addressed concerns with The Department of Homeland Security.

It would have eliminated the Patriot Act's subjective search-and-seizure provision, unwarranted incarcerations, and the authority of federal officials to search our private records without probable cause. Further, the legislation would have restored the fundamental right of attorney-client privilege, revoked various Department of Justice secrecy orders, and repealed provisions harmful to the rights of immigrants. In addition, it would restore transparency to Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security administrative procedures by revoking Freedom of Information Act secrecy orders and reinstate the tougher guidelines to reign in a runaway FBI, conducting unlawful surveillance of protesters, peace demonstrators and religious groups.

As President, Dennis Kucinich would work to repeal The Patriot Act and the FISA program, as well as deny retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies, and begin to restore and secure our constitutional democracy.
Just as we cannot end terrorism by stripping Americans of their freedoms, neither can we by unilaterally hunting them down. The roots of terrorism lie in desperation. People with no hope resort to acts of indiscriminate violence. And so, Kucinich is offering a more practical approach: to reduce poverty worldwide with bold changes in current U.S. policy.

Our country and all nations must review and modify all treaties that reject national sovereignty in the cause of a global corporate ethic that does not respect human rights, workers' rights, and environmental quality standards. This means reviewing the practices and the practical impact of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. The U.S. also needs to invest in developmental aid; currently spending only one-tenth of one percent of our Gross National Income on development aid -- the lowest of any developed country. This is not the formula for winning the hearts and minds of the next global generation?

Dennis Kucinich believes in an America that abides by Lincoln's precept: "The only lasting way to eliminate an enemy is to make him your friend." We will accommodate rather than alienate, make friends instead of enemies, and employ carrots far more often than sticks. We need an administration that will drain the swamps of hopelessness, exploitation, and humiliation that cause vulnerable individuals to head down the terrorist road. We need leaders who will be both tough on terror and tough on the causes of terror.

The U.S. must reach out to the international community and openly work with other countries. Further, we must re-engage in the important treaties that the Bush Administration has abandoned. We must affirm and ratify treaties, beginning with:

The Kyoto Treaty on Global Climate Change
The Biodiversity Treaty
The Forest Protection Treaty
The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
The Landmine Ban Treaty
The Biological Weapons Convention
The Chemical Weapons Convention
The International Criminal Court