Erosion of Liberties People For the American Way (PFAW) and People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) sound the alarm when civil liberties are threatened. The abandonment of our nation’s fundamental rights, rather than striking a blow to terrorism, is likely to give those who would attack America a victory they don’t deserve. Erosion of Liberty Since the attacks of September 11, our government has taken many steps to secure the nation’s safety and prosecute those accused of plotting harm against us. But some of those steps may do more damage to our freedom than to our enemies. Troubling government actions include: Broad new investigative powers granted in the USA Patriot Act, which are not narrowly tailored to combating terrorism. Adoption of new FBI guidelines that allow surveillance without probable cause. Attempted expansion of Executive Branch power, allowing the President to unilaterally declare a U.S. citizen to be an enemy combatant, and to suspend certain constitutional rights. In response, PFAW sent a letter to all Members of Congress on October 1, 2001, urging that any amendments and the final legislation reflect the following principles: Language should be carefully crafted in order to preserve constitutional liberties and to prevent the creation of overly broad powers that could lead to abuse. Meaningful judicial review and oversight should not be short-circuited. Anti-terrorism laws should be narrowly tailored to that purpose. PFAWF celebrated a victory in August 2002 when U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the DOJ to release the names of the detainees caught up in an anti-terrorism dragnet following the events of last September. The Freedom of Information Act suit was filed by 23 civil rights and civil liberties organizations, including PFAWF, who was co-plaintiff and co-counsel on the suit. The Department of Justice had responded to an earlier FOIA request with fragmentary, inadequate information, prompting the suit.