UW-Madison faculty and students gathered Thursday to discuss the war on terrorism and the related challenges facing the United States.
The forum was part of a series sponsored by UW’s International Institute to address issues raised by the attacks of Sept. 11, specifically examining foreign and domestic policy.
“There has been a gradual, yet steady erosion of sympathy for the United States,” said Joseph Elder, sociology professor and director of UW’s Center for South Asia.
People from Pakistan and India initially had much sympathy for the victims of Sept. 11, but that sympathy has shifted to victims of the war in Afghanistan, Elder said.
U.S. efforts to instill law and government in Afghanistan were criticized by law and political science professor Kathryn Hendley.
“We need to try to figure out how to build them back up again–and not just in our image, but in the image of the folks there,” Hendley said.
Hendley addressed the new importance of Russia’s role in the United States’ efforts in Afghanistan and asked for an examination of whom the U.S. government has allied itself with.
Immigrants’ civil liberties were also discussed.
UW law professor Bernard Trujillo questioned the constitutionality of actions taken by the government that detain people without any specific charges.
“It’s not a question of what the accused deserves but rather what justice demands,” Trujillo said. “Are we going to expect or allow a cheapening of the legal system so we can achieve a particular result?”
Trujillo said the USA Patriot Act, a new law that eliminates checks and balances for both domestic law enforcement and international intelligence agencies in regard to surveillance, defines terrorism too broadly and infringes on First Amendment rights. He also criticized the military order of the president that enables noncitizens to be tried by a military tribunal.
Though no one has yet been tried under these laws, Trujillo said the United States should not take unconstitutional action that will be regretted at a later date. He cited the post-Pearl Harbor American detainment of Japanese in internment camps as an example.
Suggestions were also made regarding how the community can educate itself and get a more accurate picture than the mass media presents on a day-to-day basis.
Professor of journalism and mass communication Hemant Shah warned the audience against trusting the mass media to provide all information. He said the media cannot provide the background or history necessary to achieve a full understanding of the present issues.
“I think that when we see so-called debates in the media, as consumers, we need to be quite skeptical that an actual debate is taking place,” Shah said.
He suggested the Internet as an excellent source to use in order to become informed about multi-sided debates.
“We have to be active participants,” Shah said. “We need to promote media literacy and encourage others to do the same.”
