jafar00
08-15-2012, 08:18 PM
(Reuters) - A Muslim rights group criticized a federal judge on Wednesday, complaining he had compared the civil liberties of Muslim Americans to a "hideous sea monster" while tossing out a lawsuit over the infiltration of California mosques by an FBI informant.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed the lawsuit on Tuesday, which charged that the undercover FBI informant had violated civil liberties of U.S. Muslims by spying on them, ruling that allowing the case to proceed could risk disclosure of government secrets.
In his 36-page order, Carney invoked the fictional Greek hero Odysseus, who was forced to sail his ship between a six-headed sea monster and a dangerous whirlpool during an epic voyage home from the Trojan War.
"Odysseus opted to pass by the monster and risk a few of his individual sailors, rather than hazard the loss of his entire ship to the sucking whirlpool," Carney wrote. "Similarly, the proper application of the state secrets privilege may unfortunately mean the sacrifice of individual liberties for the sake of national security."
Carney allowed the case to go forward only against five current or former agents named as individual defendants, who the plaintiffs claim violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Plaintiffs attorneys have said they will appeal.
"Our civil liberties are not a hideous sea monster, but they are instead the most stalwart defense against the real threats of tyranny and oppression," Ameena Mirza Qazi, deputy executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a written statement.
The lawsuit, jointly filed by CAIR and the American Civil Liberties Union last year in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, said the FBI sent undercover informant Craig Monteilh into Orange County mosques to collect personal information on hundreds, or possibly thousands, of Muslims.
According to the suit, Monteilh took hundreds of hours of surreptitious video and audio recordings of religious lectures, classes, cultural events and other meetings in 2006 and 2007 as part of a counterterrorism investigation, known as "Operation Flex," that did not produce a single conviction.
"It is deeply troubling that the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have more access to judicial review than U.S. citizens," plaintiffs attorney Reem Salahi said. "Where plaintiffs and the informant himself describe act after act of illegal government surveillance, the government should not be allowed to skirt liability by using its wild card -- state secrets."
The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on Wednesday. The FBI has acknowledged in court documents that Monteilh was used as a confidential informant during the operation but denies any wrongdoing, saying it took reasonable measures to investigate credible evidence of possible terrorist activity.
Carney wrote in his ruling that he did not reach the decision lightly and conducted a careful review of classified government filings with "a skeptical eye" before ruling.
There is a very good point raised here. What good are civil liberties if they are denied? When Tyranny replaces freedom, the only conclusion you can come to is that Al Qaeda won the war on terror even if their ranks are decimated by bombs.
Since 9/11 we have lost the right to many freedoms we took for granted.
You can't get on a flight with a bottle of water, too much perfume, or even a bottle of breast milk for your baby.
US citizens have been spied on, had their property searched without a warrant and even when they are not present.
No fly lists.
TSA strip search body scanners that don't even detect explosives which was one reason for their introduction.
US citizens can be targeted for assassination.
Almost all of the Bill of Rights has been affected basically making the document merely a historical oddity.
The Patriot act, which was supposed to be a temporary measure to fight the immediate threat of terrorism has become a permanent shadow hanging over everyone.
So "they" hate you for your freedom? What freedom?
Perhaps some good came out of this. The FBI mission to spy on Mosques didn't come up with anything to convict anyone of wrong doing. This is pretty good for us Muslims. It's ammunition we can use against the far right attacks and insults against us. The lie that Mosques are places that teach hate and terrorism can be well and truly discredited.
U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney dismissed the lawsuit on Tuesday, which charged that the undercover FBI informant had violated civil liberties of U.S. Muslims by spying on them, ruling that allowing the case to proceed could risk disclosure of government secrets.
In his 36-page order, Carney invoked the fictional Greek hero Odysseus, who was forced to sail his ship between a six-headed sea monster and a dangerous whirlpool during an epic voyage home from the Trojan War.
"Odysseus opted to pass by the monster and risk a few of his individual sailors, rather than hazard the loss of his entire ship to the sucking whirlpool," Carney wrote. "Similarly, the proper application of the state secrets privilege may unfortunately mean the sacrifice of individual liberties for the sake of national security."
Carney allowed the case to go forward only against five current or former agents named as individual defendants, who the plaintiffs claim violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Plaintiffs attorneys have said they will appeal.
"Our civil liberties are not a hideous sea monster, but they are instead the most stalwart defense against the real threats of tyranny and oppression," Ameena Mirza Qazi, deputy executive director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a written statement.
The lawsuit, jointly filed by CAIR and the American Civil Liberties Union last year in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, said the FBI sent undercover informant Craig Monteilh into Orange County mosques to collect personal information on hundreds, or possibly thousands, of Muslims.
According to the suit, Monteilh took hundreds of hours of surreptitious video and audio recordings of religious lectures, classes, cultural events and other meetings in 2006 and 2007 as part of a counterterrorism investigation, known as "Operation Flex," that did not produce a single conviction.
"It is deeply troubling that the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have more access to judicial review than U.S. citizens," plaintiffs attorney Reem Salahi said. "Where plaintiffs and the informant himself describe act after act of illegal government surveillance, the government should not be allowed to skirt liability by using its wild card -- state secrets."
The FBI and U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on Wednesday. The FBI has acknowledged in court documents that Monteilh was used as a confidential informant during the operation but denies any wrongdoing, saying it took reasonable measures to investigate credible evidence of possible terrorist activity.
Carney wrote in his ruling that he did not reach the decision lightly and conducted a careful review of classified government filings with "a skeptical eye" before ruling.
There is a very good point raised here. What good are civil liberties if they are denied? When Tyranny replaces freedom, the only conclusion you can come to is that Al Qaeda won the war on terror even if their ranks are decimated by bombs.
Since 9/11 we have lost the right to many freedoms we took for granted.
You can't get on a flight with a bottle of water, too much perfume, or even a bottle of breast milk for your baby.
US citizens have been spied on, had their property searched without a warrant and even when they are not present.
No fly lists.
TSA strip search body scanners that don't even detect explosives which was one reason for their introduction.
US citizens can be targeted for assassination.
Almost all of the Bill of Rights has been affected basically making the document merely a historical oddity.
The Patriot act, which was supposed to be a temporary measure to fight the immediate threat of terrorism has become a permanent shadow hanging over everyone.
So "they" hate you for your freedom? What freedom?
Perhaps some good came out of this. The FBI mission to spy on Mosques didn't come up with anything to convict anyone of wrong doing. This is pretty good for us Muslims. It's ammunition we can use against the far right attacks and insults against us. The lie that Mosques are places that teach hate and terrorism can be well and truly discredited.