Crimes of Power & States of Impunity: The U.S. Response to Terror

Preface and Acknowledgments

ix Preface and Acknowledgments Several years into a post–9/11 world, conflict, domination, and wars persist but what is new is that many of those human rights abuses are carried out in the name of preserving national security. The war on terror—the United State’s prevailing response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon—has gained considerable momentum. In many ways, it appears that we are witnessing a new configuration of power. Certainly, that unchecked authority situated at the core of the executive branch of the U.S. government has produced a long list of policies and practices that run roughshod over the rule of law.Those crimes of power as this work describes are particularly troubling since they occur within a zone of immunity that protects government officials from grave breaches of domestic and international law. Continuing from my previous writings on the subject, most notably Scapegoats of September 11th: Hate Crimes and State Crimes in the War on Terror (Rutgers University Press, 2006), this project examines in detail the underlying political, economic , and cultural forces shaping both power and impunity. I depart from the domestic concerns addressed in Scapegoats of September 11th, however, by focusing primarily upon manifestations of U.S. power that inflict harm on people beyond its borders. The transnational element of this undertaking benefits from my residence outside the United States. Living in London during the research phase of the project enabled me to view the U.S.—and the U.K.—government with a sharper perspective. Particularly since 9/11, government officials in both nations have adopted controversial measures in confronting political violence, even though the British experience is informed by a lengthy campaign against the Irish Republican Army. As a sociologist, I attempt to decipher the world around us, and even in the face of tragic events it is important to maintain a cool analytical stance. On September 11th, I was living less than two miles from what would come to be called Ground Zero. Being at such close range let me see the devastating impact of political violence while keeping a critical eye on how the U.S. government reacted, especially as it abandoned its commitment to the rule of law (e.g., the unlawful enemy combatant designation , abuse and of torture of terror suspects). Correspondingly, in 2005, I was residing in London during the July 7 bombings; in fact, that morning an e-mail was circulated by Nikolas Rose at the London School of Economics informing us that the farewell retirement event for Stan Cohen was canceled as a result of the disruption. For days, weeks, and months after the attacks, Londoners—hearing my North American accent—would offer their personal insights.Without dismissing the tragedies, many local people seem to shrug off the threat of “new” terrorism (i.e., Islamic radicals), citing years of enduring the “old” version of political violence (i.e., the IRA). Still, I was alarmed by some other comments. On the evening of the July 7 explosions, I was walking across the Waterloo Bridge (as the Underground was shut down). As I approached the half-way point, a police officer instructed me and fellow pedestrians to retreat because there was concern over an unidentified package resting on the footpath. Overhearing my accent as I spoke briefly to the police, a well-dressed man looked at me sternly and griped,“Your country has the proper answer to terrorists, you lock’em up and throw away the key”—an obvious reference to the U.S. detention center at Guantánamo Bay. My trans-Atlantic comparisons, to be sure, go beyond informal encounters with Londoners.This study is designed to offer an in-depth examination of the United States’ response to terror from an international standpoint while drawing on important theoretical influences.The critique of power unpacked in the pages to follow trail in the footsteps of Michel Foucault, David Garland , and Stanley Cohen—to whom this book is dedicated. In addition, the project benefits from recent work by Giorgio Agamben, Richard V. Ericson, Conor Gearty, Derek Gregory, and Jonathan Simon.This work is essentially the end-product of a sabbatical that I was awarded at Rutgers University in tandem with a visiting fellowship at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics. Individual expressions of appreciation are extended to my colleagues at Rutgers: Arnold Hyndman, Holly Smith, Ed Rhodes,Allan Horwitz, Ellen Idler, Lennox Hinds,Al...