Only peace protects freedoms in post-9/11 world

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Only peace protects freedoms in post-9/11 world

Published on 22 October 2008

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It is not economic prosperity but peace that guarantees press freedom. That is the main lesson to be drawn from the world press freedom index that Reporters Without Borders compiles every year and from the 2008 edition, released today. Another conclusion from the index - in which the bottom three rungs are again occupied by the “infernal trio” of Turkmenistan (171st), North Korea (172nd) and Eritrea (173rd) - is that the international community’s conduct towards authoritarian regimes such as Cuba (169th) and China (167th) is not effective enough to yield results.

“The post-9/11 world is now clearly drawn,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Destabilised and on the defensive, the leading democracies are gradually eroding the space for freedoms. The economically most powerful dictatorships arrogantly proclaim their authoritarianism, exploiting the international community’s divisions and the ravages of the wars carried out in the name of the fight against terrorism. Religious and political taboos are taking greater hold by the year in countries that used to be advancing down the road of freedom.”

I am glad we have a leader in office who is very familiar with our Constitution. I trust the President to weigh privacy and the safety of the citizens. If another terrorist attack happened during our President's watch due to lack of tools to fight them, the Right would be in a frenzy. This President understands the love of liberty enjoyed by Americans. He also understands it is his job to keep us safe from those who want to kill us because of our freedom.