3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights

3.2 Internal Security and Individual Rights

The defense of the country requires that we have adequate intelligence to detect and to counter threats to domestic security. This requirement must not take priority over maintaining the civil liberties of our citizens. The Bill of Rights provides no exceptions for a time of war. Intelligence agencies that legitimately seek to preserve the security of the nation must be subject to oversight and transparency. We oppose the government's use of secret classifications to keep from the public information that it should have, especially that which shows that the government has violated the law.

This plank is extremely important and should be adopted by all the parties. (Well, they all should really. But adopting this one would not jeopardize the other parties sacred cows.) The government cannot be held accountable if it actively covers up its misdeeds. The fact that tyrannical governments from the dawn of time have attempted to do this demonstrates the danger of the precedent.

There is simply no excuse for lack of elected oversight. The threat of terrorism is minuscule compared to the threat of nuclear annihilation, which still exists. And yet at the height of the cold war during the Cuban missile crisis the civilian government was kept informed and in control of decision making. Indeed, it is reasonable to conclude that only because of this did we manage to escape such disaster.

The current threats are much more insidious. Todays threats are very individually directed. The government can take covert actions against individuals for any reason it wishes and does not require any judicial oversight. There is no legitimate use for this level of power. This should alarm everyone, conservative or liberal. For the pendulim of abuse will swing back and forth leaving arbitray misery in its wake if this situation is not corrected.