For years now, the racist FBI has been the target of public outrage for its violations of privacy and civil liberties in the name of combating terrorism.
|
The proposed plan had not been released at the time of publication, but is expected to be accepted by the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Democrats say they are going to closely question FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to ensure the new powers would not be abused, but these hearings are a farce. The FBI admitted in March to illegally wiretapping phone lines, monitoring Internet use and accessing credit reports in 2006—the fourth straight year of violations—yet Congress is now considering granting the agency additional powers.
Some civil rights advocates and journalists were shown the report on Sept. 12 and were deeply concerned about racial profiling. Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, expressed worry that the new guidelines enable the FBI to use racial and ethnic factors to focus their efforts on Arab and Muslim communities. The report is expected to be released to the public on Oct. 1.
The FBI has sanctioned and conducted criminal activity to suppress liberation movements in the United States. In the 1960s, the FBI had first-hand information of plans of violence against the Black community by the Ku Klux Klan, yet did nothing to prevent them from being carried out. In addition, as part of its COINTELPRO activities, the FBI infiltrated and helped destroy the Black Panthers, the Young Lords and other radical and progressive organizations within oppressed communities.
In theory, the FBI is currently not permitted to invade the privacy of a person without having some evidence suggesting the individual is connected to criminal activity. The proposed changes would upend the few remaining rights to privacy left at the close of the Bush administration.
Of course, the FBI will play a fundamentally reactionary role no matter what boundaries are imposed upon it, whether it chooses to respect them or not. Regardless of the legal powers it is accorded or denied, the FBI will remain an instrument of repression. But building a struggle against these brazen attacks on civil liberties exposes the state’s offensive against the working class and hampers its ability to carry out its functions free of repercussions or consequences.
The extension of the FBI’s power and the allowance for racial profiling in the guidelines serve as a stark reminder that the wars abroad and at home will not end when the Bush regime leaves the White House. It will take a mass people’s movement to end systemic racism and bring about the emergence of a society where people—not profits—are the true priority.
