For me, the most penetrating comments were these; first, from Frank Furedi, Sociology Professor at the University of Kent:
"What 9/11 has done is normalised the idea that you do things just because you think there might be a problem rather than because you believe that there is a problem" [his italics].
In other words, it has lowered the burden of proof. Now, that may or may not be a rational response to changing events, but it has also resulted in a greater scepticism among citizens, about the balance between actual risk, perceived risk and counter-measures.
Then, from Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, who concludes that some of the more controversial facets of prosecuting the 'war on terror' have
"had the effect of lowering the human rights bar for everybody else".
I suspect that the effects of these changes are both pernicious and incremental, and by the time they are openly acknowleged they will be extremely hard to eradicate.
Posted by racingsnake
@ 09:11 AM GMT+00:00
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