LONDON -- The real threat from terrorists is being used as a pretext for growing authoritarian tendencies in democratic countries. On the grounds that every possible step must be taken to prevent terrorist attacks, suspects are being imprisoned without trial or access to lawyers, and Draconian controls are being put into place to control and monitor travelers. Public safety must be a priority, but proper safeguards to protect our societies from abuse of power by the executive are also needed.

It is not adequate to argue that U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, for instance, are "honorable men" who can be trusted. (Those readers who have seen or read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" remember the reference to an "honorable man").

Even if our present leaders can be trusted, it is by no means certain that their successors or their aides can be relied on. Too frequently the public is told that secret intelligence suggests a serious threat exists but that, to protect valuable sources, the intelligence cannot be published and that the public should trust their leaders to evaluate the intelligence.