Ashcroft denounced Critics.
Ashcroft: Critics of new terror measures undermine effort
December 7, 2001 Posted: 9:58 AM EST (1458 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft lashed out Thursday at
critics of the administration's response to terrorism, saying questions
about whether its actions undermine the Constitution only serve to help
terrorists.
"To those who pit Americans against immigrants, citizens against
non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost
liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode
our national unity and diminish our resolve," Ashcroft told the Senate
Judiciary Committee. "They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to
America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in
the face of evil.
"Our efforts have been crafted carefully to avoid infringing on
constitutional rights, while saving American lives."
Ashcroft flatly rejected criticism of the administration's policies,
including President Bush's decision to allow the use of military tribunals
to try non-U.S. citizens suspected of terrorism, the detention of hundreds
of immigrants in connection with the terrorism probe, the "voluntary"
questioning of thousands of men from mostly Middle Eastern countries, and
eavesdropping between attorneys and their clients in terrorism cases.
Each of those initiatives, he said, balance constitutional rights against
the threat of terrorism.
"Charges of kangaroo courts and shredding the Constitution give new meaning
to the term 'fog of war,'" Ashcroft said.
But Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the chairman of the committee, opened the
hearing with some implied criticism of the administration, insisting
"tremendous government power" had to be balanced against civil liberties.
"The need for congressional oversight is not -- as some mistakenly describe
it -- to protect terrorists," Leahy said. "It is to protect Americans and
protect our American freedoms that you and everyone in this room cherish so
much. And every single American has a stake in protecting our freedoms."
Senators, mostly Democrats but some Republicans, pressed Ashcroft to outline
what kind of guidelines would apply to the military tribunals. Sen. Edward
Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, conceded the tribunals could be effective, but
said they had "enormous potential for abuse" unless they were conducted with
a clear set of rules and limits.
The specific guidelines for the tribunals, Ashcroft said, would be drafted
by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, but he said Bush's order had been for
"full and fair proceedings." Those tribunals, however, could be held in
secret when the president determined it was in the interest of "national
security" to do so, Ashcroft said.
The attorney general said his day begins with a rundown of terrorist threats
from the around the world, describing it as "a chilling daily chronicle of
the hatred of Americans by fanatics."
To buttress that point, Ashcroft said the Justice Department will post on
its Web site "several lessons" from a terrorist manual "so that Americans
can know about the enemy."
Ashcroft said the manual came from the al Qaeda network and was first made
public during the trial earlier this year of men who were later convicted of
bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa.
The attorney general said the manual shows that terrorists are taught to
manipulate the U.S. judicial system and news media to their advantage.
The administration had its defenders at the hearing. Sen. Orrin Hatch,
R-Utah, the top Republican on the panel, suggested the criticism of the
White House's policies was nothing more than a reflection of Senate egos.
"I would implore my colleagues, let's keep our focus where it matters: on
protecting our citizens," Hatch said.
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