Very striking parrallel in this article.
The vote by the Senate this past Thursday accomplished some very scary things in the name of security.
1. to suspend the right of habeas corpus for terrorism detainees
2. denying them their right to challenge their detention in court
3. the careful wording about torture which forbids only the inducement of “serious†physical and mental suffering to obtain information;
4. the admissibility of evidence obtained in the United States without a search warrant
5. the licensing of the president to declare a legal resident of the United States an enemy combatant
This truly is a monumental shift in executive power, where legally, there can be ramifications against any American who opposes the president. While most people would say this would be far fetched, remember it was hte people that put their faith and freedom in Ceasar, and the rest truly was history. What exactly have we done to ourselves?
In the autumn of 68 B.C. the world’s only military superpower was dealt a profound psychological blow by a daring terrorist attack on its very heart. Rome’s port at Ostia was set on fire, the consular war fleet destroyed, and two prominent senators, together with their bodyguards and staff, kidnapped.
The incident, dramatic though it was, has not attracted much attention from modern historians. But history is mutable. An event that was merely a footnote five years ago has now, in our post-9/11 world, assumed a fresh and ominous significance. For in the panicky aftermath of the attack, the Roman people made decisions that set them on the path to the destruction of their Constitution, their democracy and their liberty. One cannot help wondering if history is repeating itself.
Read the entire article below at the link below
What A Terrorist Incident in Ancient Rome Can Teach Us – Pirates of the Mediterranean – New York Times
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