Before the Next Attack:Preserving
Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism,
by Bruce Ackerman, Yale University Press,
New Haven, Connecticut, 2006, Paperback,
$26, 227 pages, indexed.

REVIEWED BY: Mayer Nudell,
CSC, is an independent consultant on crisis management,
contingency planning, and related issues.

5 Stars

Dealing with the threat posed by terrorism requires action of many levels. We are often pre-occupied with the hunt for Osama bin Laden, aviation security, or other “front-page” aspects of the counter/anti-terrorism effort. However, there is a more fundamental level on which these efforts must be considered.

Before the Next Attack: Preserving Civil Liberties in and Age of Terrorism is a superlative work focusing on the dangers that political reactions to terrorism and its challenges can infringe upon the rights and liberties that are the bedrock of freedom. The author, noted academic Bruce Ackerman, argues that civil liberties are the foundation of democracy and that they are under serious attack in the wake of 9/11. Recognizing that some temporary adjustments of the balance between freedom and security are needed, Ackerman notes that the reaction in the U.S. to 9/11 has in many ways been excessive and repressive. He also notes that our faith in a protective judiciary is misplaced as a counterbalance to government excess and provides historical examples of how the courts have “failed” us before–notably during the Republic’s early days, during the Civil War, and during World War II.

Ackerman argues convincingly that, as dangerous as the current threat of Islamist terrorism is, it is not the gravest challenge we have faced. "Though our situation is grave," he writes, "it is not as grim as the bad old days of the twentieth century, when Hitler and Stalin really did threaten us with physical occupation and political takeover. We managed to maintain our liberties during those perilous times, and with some institutional imagination, we can do it again."

One of Ackerman’s most compelling arguments is the lack of a current “exit strategy” for the “war on terrorism.” How will we know when it is over? How will we know when we have won? Can we even “win?” Without such strategic thinking, he argues, “short-term emergency responses will morph into the long-run destruction of freedom.” We may already be seeing this in some areas, as intrusions on personal liberties and freedoms slowly become accepted “facts of the new reality.” Ackerman points out the importance of creating an “emergency constitution” giving the government powers to deal with any future terrorist acts on the scale of 9/11 while ensuring that these powers are of limited duration and extent and not renewable ad infinitum.

In our zeal to confront the terrorist challenge, we must not overlook the potential danger(s) inherent in the policies and tactics we adopt. Before the Next Attack is must reading for all of us.

©2007 by Mayer Nudell, CSC,
Worldwide Consulting Services for Crisis Management, USA

Go Top