When the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center last Tuesday, America was forced into a war to protect its freedom.

For the past week, President Bush prepared the American people for war — promising no matter how long it takes, the terrorists will be caught and retribution will be made against “evil.”

However, America is treading on new ground in its fight against terrorism, and leaders are struggling to be careful the government doesn’t trample its own citizens’ freedoms while trying to protect them.

UW political science professor Jon Pevehouse said the United States has always been tough on nations that are believed to be harboring terrorists. However, in this case, the enemy has no boundaries and the fight against terrorism will take place not only abroad, but in America’s backyard.
This means extensive changes will have to be made in airport security and national intelligence to keep the American people safe.

However, the government will have to work hard to strike a balance between providing security and trampling on its own freedom. One of the U.S. government’s founding tenets is to be of the people, with citizens holding leaders accountable.

Yet the United States on Monday said the war against terrorism will be fought with “unprecedented secrecy,” including heavy press restrictions.

“I want to make it clear to the American people that this administration will not talk about any plans we may or may not have,” Bush said. “We will not jeopardize in any way, shape or form, anybody who wears the uniform of the United States.”

The rationale of Pentagon officials is that terrorists lack the intelligence-gathering capacity that nations possess, relying instead on news organizations to find out what their enemies are doing.

Already, the Defense Department has shut down its website that tracks the general location of U.S. warships; there are no plans to allow reporters to deploy with troops or report from warships — routine during the Persian Gulf War.

According to Political Science professor Donald Downs, the government cannot prevent the press from printing information; however, the government does not have to give information to the press.

Downs said it will be up to the American people to question if the government is keeping too much secret and raise that question in the next election.

Regardless, while the government may give out less information, it will be the press’ job to be a watchdog on the government and uncover information the American people need to know. While some information needs to stay classified, the government cannot keep everything from its citizens.

Information such as where troops are, what they are doing and the threat of future attacks on America needs to be available.

Bush stated on Monday, “There are people who hate freedom. This is a fight for freedom. This is a fight to say to the freedom-loving people of the world [that] we will not allow ourselves to be terrorized by somebody who thinks they can hit and hide in some cave somewhere.”

Bush and the federal government must remember why they are fighting to bring down the terrorists; the challenge will be to maintain America’s freedom while doing so.