Chapter 23 At Issue Questions

1. Ashmawy is critical of the U.S. government’s approach to capturing, detaining, and interrogating suspects after 9/11: “It was fuel on a fire set by a legal process that initially conflated the mutually exclusive missions of intelligence-gathering and the rendering of justice” (para. 7). What specific distinction is Ashmawy making? Why is this distinction important to his argument? Do you agree that these two “missions” are (or should be) “mutually exclusive”? Why or why not?

2. After documenting the general decline in “malevolent violence against Americans” (para. 4), Rauch asks: “And how do Americans celebrate this extraordinary success? By denying it” (8). What factors do you think contribute to this “denial”? Do you think this denial is harmful, or might it have some benefits?

1. Brandus writes, “As for the tradeoff we have made between civil liberty and national security . . . I suspect that’s one reason why the death toll from terrorism is so low” (para. 8). Do you agree with his judgment that the tradeoff of privacy and civil liberties has been worth it because of the safety it may have brought Americans? Why or why not? Write an essay that takes a position on this question.

2. After reading these four selections, do you think America is safer now than before 9/11? Write an argumentative essay that presents your position on this issue.