Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the Bush administration and Congress acted forcefully to deter future incidents. A new law was passed giving the government more authority to conduct surveillance and track Internet communications. The administration also detained more than 600 possible suspects and announced it might use military tribunals to try alleged foreign terrorists. But civil libertarians say the tough, new procedures abridge fundamental constitutional rights like due process and the attorney-client privilege. Some media-watchers, meanwhile, contend that journalists are not aggressively reporting about the war in Afghanistan and the crackdown on terrorism out of fear of seeming unpatriotic during wartime.

David Masci specializes in social policy, religion and foreign affairs. Before joining CQ Researcher as a staff writer in 1996, he was a reporter at CQ's Daily Monitor and CQ Weekly. He holds a BA in medieval history from Syracuse University and a law degree from The George Washington University.