Trading civil rights for a safer society...

[mrph]

Various politicians and columnists seem to be talking about how swapping some civil rights for increased protection from terrorists is a fair trade.

There are lots of reasons why I don't agree with that, but here's one of the main ones: would it actually work? Has anyone got a case study, an example of a country that's actually done this and seen some tangible benefits as a result?

Because right now, I'm having real trouble thinking of one...

Comments

[mister-jack.livejournal.com]

Yes, there's prior examples of this. We did it in Ireland in response to the terrorist threat. Not only did it not work; it meant we jailed a whole bunch of people who later turned out to be innocent.