Democracy Detained: Secret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S. War on Terror

by Barbara Olshansky, Nat Hentoff (Introduction)

Overview

Democracy Detained exposes the deplorable secret crimes committed by the Bush administration in their war on terror. Prominent legal activist Barbara Olshansky documents the assault on our constitutional democracy since 9/11, meticulously analyzing the unlawful justifications made by the U.S. government for covert actions at home and abroad. She reports on current shocking practices, from the outsourcing of torture through extraordinary rendition, to first-person testimony from innocent men imprisoned without charge at Guantánamo Bay, to revelations of a surveillance network tapped into the homes of average citizens. Democracy Detained is an essential resource for Americans concerned about their civil rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583229606
Publisher:	Seven Stories Press
Publication date:	01/04/2011
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	495 KB

About the Author

BARBARA OLSHANSKY is the Leah Kaplan Distinguished Professor in Human Rights at Stanford University. Previously, she was deputy legal director for the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and director counsel of the Guantánamo Global Justice Initiative there. She was one of the lead attorneys who brought the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that resulted in a decision allowing the nearly 600 detainees held at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba to challenge their unlawful indefinite detentions.

Editorial Reviews

In measured, lucid detail, Barbara Olshansky presents a wide-ranging account of the Bush administration's malfeasance.This important book portrays an administration dedicated to turning the U.S. into a feared and despised 'outlaw state,' substantially increasing threats to Americans and the world, and dismantling the rights that were partially instituted by the Constitution and have been deepened and enriched through dedicated struggle ever since. The grim record exposed in Democracy Detained should shame people who care for their country and its future, and encourage them to use the legacy of freedom they enjoy to put an end to these disgraceful crimes.” –Noam Chomsky


“Be afraid, be deeply afraid: government secrecy, prisoners held without counsels, charges or trials; torture—both legalized and outsourced, unabashed racial profiling, disappearances, indefinite detentions, wire taps, government surveillance. This is the stuff of despotic regimes. Welcome to George W. Bush's America. In this meticulously-cited work, Barbara Olshansky does a brilliant and relentless job unraveling how the Bush administration is violating the U.S. Constitution, international human rights, and the civic integrity of this country. Everyone must read this book now, then get out there and get angry and fight with your life to save our freedom and democracy.” –Eve Ensler

From the Publisher