The Enemy Within: Intelligence Gathering, Law Enforcement, and Civil Liberties in the Wake of September 11

The federal government, in the name of fighting a war on terrorism, has acquired comprehensive and wide-ranging new surveillance and law enforcement powers. While many of the new measures reflect legitimate concerns and the elusive nature of the terrorist threat, Stephen J. Schulhofer argues that others needlessly sacrifice important freedoms and might end up hampering, rather than advancing, the government's anti-terrorist efforts. He points out that many of these new powers are not limited to terrorism cases, are not at all relevant to international terror cases, or do not require suspicion of any kind that the person being investigated is involved in criminal activity. And often, he notes, the executive branch can exercise these new powers unilaterally, without the supervisory control and judicial oversight that were taken for granted until September 11.