Illusions of Security: Global Surveillance and Democracy in the Post-9/11 World

"Illusions Of Security: Global Surveillance And Democracies In The Post-9/11 World" by human rights lawyer and activist Maureen Webb offers an eye-opening expose about the secret domestic spying programs that the Bush administration introduced with the passive acquiesce of a Republican controlled congress over the past six years. Even with congress under the limited control of the Democrats, the Bush government is still watching the American public, buying personal data from private contractors and foreign governments. The pretense is that the Bush administration collections this information in order to 'predict' who might be a terrorist. God help you if you are caught up in this web of internal security. Not since the "Watergate Papers" of a generation past has there been so critically important an expose published on what the American government is doing to the American citizenry. Simply put, if our nation is to remain a bastion of democracy, "Illusions Of Security" should be read by every American citizen regardless whether their political philosophies are liberal or progressive, conservative or libertarian, democrat or republican or independent.

Maureen Webb courageously steps forward to elevate our debate, expressing real concerns about the flipside of security. What are the downsides of enhanced security, what are we really giving up to achieve security, and how will this impact our future democracy are all questions Illusions of Security addresses. This is the best book I've found so far, (and I've read numerous others), because it includes all the main points, gives better examples that are not so academic, and because Maureen Webb writes as a real person talking to us as a friend would - not like some professor who clearly knows more than us and wants us to know they know more than us. Even though the subjects are complex ones, muddied further by politics, our own fear of terrorists, and politicians who we have become accustomed to just trusting, anyone interested in preserving democracy must face the discomfort of these subjects and at least hear the other side. At a time when differing viewpoints have been labeled as treasonous and those suggesting them have been accused of "assisting the terrorists" Illusions of Security illustrates how debate is fundamental to democracy. Beginning with real life events carried out in the name of enhanced security, a reader does not need much imagination to perceive the hazard to real people that government secrecy brings. It also does not take much imagination to realize "it could have been me" that faced those threats. Skillfully Maureen Webb takes us through her concerns, showing us the flipside of what we have been told we need for the sake of national security; Presidential secrecy and spying, preemption, global registration, etc. Illusions of Security does a great job of putting the complex ideas and issues of the other side of national security into simple terms we can all understand. Maureen Webb offers solid analogies throughout the text which make it easy to see how this is relevant to today and not something to be dismissed. I would highly recommend this book but encourage you to slow down when reading it, take the time to read and re-read if necessary, and discuss it with friends!