Letter: Terrorism should be fought the American way

Sunday, July 9, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.

Our great country has survived for over 200 years based on laws and utilizing some of the best law enforcement in history.

We faced down the strongest superpowers for decades with great success, finally tearing down walls and other barriers with these nations. We have engaged in a war on drugs, whose "warlords" are much better organized and capitalized than al-Qaida or any other band of punks and thugs.

We may have a long way to go, but our government has been able to continue without the abuses of power by the current administration. Trampling the Bill of Rights with illegal wire/phone tapping and searching of bank records on Americans is certainly not the "American way" that I grew up with. Administration officials "outing" CIA operatives is condoned, yet they blast newspapers for printing already known data. How does that make any sense?

Media attention, often caused by political agendas, has increased the global fear factor so much that many loyal and patriotic Americans have allowed, and even supported, these constitutional abuses. When party loyalty becomes so blinded by visions of fear, and deafened by the "war on terror" rhetoric as a response to every misspent dollar, and every life wasted, we actually help these extremist punks, which is all they are.

Should we fight terrorists? Absolutely, with every grain of our being. But can we not use U.S. and international laws and police to do so?

Don Bright, Henderson