THIS WEEK'S READING: PHILIP HEYMANN

Take a look at Philip Heymann's new book, Terrorism, Freedom and Security: Winning without War. It should be read in conjunction with the Record report (see the post below). Both Record and Heymann criticize the language of the "war on terrorism" for its obfuscatory effects. But while Record is concerned primarily with the question of whether or not the administration's war on terrorism (as currently pursued) will make us safer, Heymann is concerned with a broader array of questions, including what sorts of civil liberties trade-offs are defensible in the wake of the threat from al-Qaeda, and how to approach the relationship between intelligence services (newly invigorated after 9/11/01) and democratic accountability.

On the civil liberties questions, I haven't read too much disappointment about the Court's denial of cert in Center for National Security Studies v. Department of Justice. Perhaps this is because of the inherently ambiguous and un-sexy nature of denials of cert: they don't tell us very much aside from the fact that the Court isn't going to hear this particular case. Still, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision shows the kind of deference in the face of assertions of national security interests that one might expect to get from courts during wartime; the unwillingness of the Supreme Court to challenge that deference on the part of the lower court is not an encouraging sign for civil liberties advocates, although, again, the jury is still out.