Did They Win After All?

I consider myself a Patriotic American. It's not something I wear on my shirt sleeve or even openly espouse on a routine basis. But as far as I can tell through genealogic records I am one of a long line of American Patriots. So, perhaps it's in my blood.

I have worn the uniform of the United States Army. And while my time in service was not spent deployed overseas, I was part of the Nurse Corps and was able to serve in a different capacity.

In 2001, I was working as a civilian at the Pentagon. While I was actually on leave that fateful day in September I do know what it's like to have actual terrorism parked on your doorstep. I cannot begin to explain the mixture of feelings I felt when I went back to work on the 12th and saw that gaping hole in the Pentagon. With many people I had encountered during my workday as a nurse now dead, and innocent people on the plane who had surely lived through something beyond horrible, and were also dead, I resolved to return to duty and not let terrorism sway me from my mission.

Almost 5 years to the day, I finally decided it was okay to move on and that everything I could possibly do in my capacity there was done. So I left, but not without mixed feelings.

Today, I was perusing Yahoo news and discovered that at least in Maryland those thugs might have had some degree of victory after all. It seems that the Maryland State Police under the authority of the previous state administration investigated nonviolent activists in the state who for all intents and purposes were acting within the lawful confines of protest, were added to a federal watch list as terrorists. The investigations took place over 14 months between 2005 and 2006. There were undercover operations and infiltrations for intelligence gathering purposes. Nothing according to the article was ever found to suggest any link to actual terrorism. Just people with a conviction for their cause who lawfully protested what they felt was injustice. Here's the link to the story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100703245.html?sid=ST2008100703347&s_pos=list

There are other links attached where you can see the letter that this administration is sending to the people who were tagged. Gov. O'Malley's administration decided that these folks should be made aware that this had happened in case there are future ramifications. They plan to imminently purge this information from the databases and are giving the affected persons an opportunity to view the information prior to its destruction.

However, they are not permitted to bring an attorney or keep copies of these records in case there is a future time that could cause a problem. Imagine getting a letter from the Maryland State Police that says that because of your lawful protest you have been targeted as a terrorist against your own country! Now, I do have to give kudos to the Maryland State Police and Gov. O'Malley's administration for being honest about this whole situation and telling people about their situation. They could have just done the purging without acknowledging anything to anyone.

But, now that they have I am sure that there is more than a little concern about the ramifications of these investigations and their fallout. I am sure this won't be the last we've heard of this issue. However, I do think it unwise to deny people the right to an attorney's advocacy if they want it, or the ability to have copies of these records for their own use before the database is purged.

I realize the State probably doesn't want these files to be copied or lawyers to be involved for the simple reason they don't want to get sued. However, it would seem to me that in a country founded with the unique concept of Democracy that the State should not be allowed to now withhold or destroy information from people who have been mistargeted as terrorists "because it's the best thing to do". What if there are future ramifications? What if the law has been truly violated? Should we the people not get to hold the State or those specifically responsible accountable? How does the State plan to protect those they have targeted from future problems if they have no records to demonstrate they were targeted in the first place?

Doing the right thing here is not limited to acknowledging the mistake alone. It's one thing to have real information about a threat to the State or country, but it's another to decide that any lawful, nonviolent group with an issue is a potential terrorist cell and investigate them to this extent.

This was a 14 month investigation that infiltrated these protest groups and found nothing of worth according to the story. The letter these folks were sent (you can find it on one of the links) states that the new Superintendent of the State Police hopes to prevent future investigations of this nature. Well obviously that's great, but what if the damage has already been done? Destroying the records won't help entirely. And it does not allow people to hold the responsible parties accountable within our justice system if need be. People have a right to confront those alleging they committed or are planning to commit crimes. They have a right to defend themselves. How do they know the information erroneously entered in these databases has not been put elsewhere in other databases? Destroying the original source for the information is no guarantee that these folks are free and clear of the title of "terrorist".

The real terrorists sought to undermine our way of life and cause chaos within our government. While our country, its government, policies, and culture are not always stellar examples of good judgment or even of being right, it is still supposedly a place where you can exercise your right to free speech. I don't always agree with what is said under that right, but it is still a fundamental in our country. Everybody has a right to an opinion and has a right to express it within the confines of the law. These people did nothing more according to the story, yet they were labeled essentially as enemies to the State. How is this kind of thing not playing exactly into the hands of the real terrorists? The State has acknowledged the wrongdoing, but is not going far enough to ensure that the rights of the people it once trampled aren't being walked all over again.

Okay, I'm getting off the soapbox now....