If they can do it there, why can't we do it here?

Question

It seems that Britain has fallen victim to a string of terrorist attacks and terrorist attempts in the last 2 years. Amazingly though, arrests are made within days and sometimes hours of these attacks & planned attacks. Could it be because of the broader use of wire taps? Cameras on every street corner? More aggressive investigating? So what's the problem with using the same tactics here to prevent terrorst attacks BEFORE they happen? Why is it okay for Britain to employ these tactics and gain praise from the international community, while liberals BLAST our government for the implementation of Patriot Act?

Answer 1

For the record:
Guns don't kill people --- people kill people. Wiretaps do not oppress people or limit their rights and freedoms. However, they have gotten that rap because they could be abused and are by some governments. Most US investigators do not abuse them just as most US policemen do not shoot innocent people with the gun they carry. Wire taps are NOT an infringement on our freedom. They must be abused first and on the whole they are used responsibly.

As to why in Britain you don't see as much in the media about it:
The Bush administration authorized the wiretaps. He is hated by a segment of the media and populous so therefore wiretaps are bad. Had Clinton authorized them he would have been praised by those same individuals. It is political divisiveness. I am shocked how many people actually fall for the line that a wiretap is somehow a supression of freedom. For all I know my phone may be tapped, the FBI may be reading this answer (Keep up the good work guys!) but I am as free as ever.

Answer 2

Britain does not have a bill of rights. While Britain used to be a free country, anyone who has watched the transformation from 1972 through the late 1990s knows that Britain was transformed by the Troubles into a police state--and police state is what the Neocons intend to make the USA into.

I am sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. That means I oppose the Neocons in every possible way consistent with the law. It is regrettable that the Neocons have such disregard for the law that they flaunt it, but that reflects the difference between my side and your side. What's the point of preserving America if we turn into a goosestepping band of Neosheep like the Hitlerites and Stalinists did?

Answer 3

Good idea...let's start with wire tapping your house, putting a camera on your corner, and they can investigate YOU first. I mean, you aren't doing anything wrong, are you? Then why would you object to a complete invasion of your privacy? What if they wanted to take you away for awhile while they were completing their investigation? They could take you away without telling anyone where you are going or where you are. If they decide that because you get your pepsi and cigs at a convenience store that is suspect and they are going to hold you because they think you are supporting suspected terrorists, then you are gone, my friend. If, after all that, you still think it's OK, then maybe I will too....NOT.

Answer 4

You said it right there and one thing that I found disturbing when I saw the footage in Britain....CCTV ALL around London!

Big Brother is watching rings a bell there. I bet that was run by the government? Creepy if you ask me but convenient when something like that happens.

Answer 5

I agree with America First! You people scare the hell out of me! Do you really want to live in a police state? Don't you understand that it is our government that is the real enemy? The war on terror is a made up farce! I don't know what else to say, except that attitudes like yours are dangerous! *sm*

Answer 6

The security in Britain is better. The average Londoner is photographed by secret cameras every time they walk down the street. The MI5 can arrest anyone suspicious without a warrant, so they can catch suspects fact.

Answer 7

As a conservative, I blast the Patriot Act. Have you taken the time to read it? Sorry, but anything that takes away my constitutional rights, WILL be blasted.

Answer 8

The answers here scare the **** out of me. America will cease to exist in the near future because of attitudes like several of the posts above this one (and most likely below this one).

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Benjamin Franklin

I suggest you watch the movie "The Lives of Others" to find out what it was like to live in a police state where the government can see and hear everything.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/thelivesofothers/

I am a paleoconservative not that it matters. America First means FOLLOWING THE BILL OF RIGHTS and living in a FREE, NOT A FASCIST STATE.

Answer 9

We still have guns in our hands. And I wish even more
people were armed. With guns, knives, and courage. We'll
get our dose of terrorist violence, but I hope they get the
worst of it. Wire taps on a small scale is okay, but it's just a
way to inhibit insurrection. Which stops the government from
abusing us.

Answer 10

Jeez, Britain has been watching me and you since the Thatcher years, just because it's not reported in newspapers or on the TV, don't think it's not happening.