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Former Attorney General Discusses Patriot Act

Should individual rights be set aside in times of war? Has the Patriot Act gone too far in the name of national security? We'll talk with former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese about his thoughts on

Former Attorney General Discusses Patriot Act
(Photo: Edwin Meese III at Reagan Stamp Dedication, 2005)

Tom Fudge:

One of the most controversial parts of the War in Iraq is the way it's affected the rights of residents and citizens of the United States. The Patriot Act is considered, by some, to be a device to give federal investigators much more power at the expense of individual rights. And some of the Act's investigative tools have been ruled unconstitutional.

Meanwhile, Bush administration officials have called warrantless wiretaps a valuable device in the War on Terror, while critics have them a violation of rights. In fact, some critics call the expression "War on Terror" a misleading statement that's been used to justify more power and secrecy on the part of investigators. Are we really at war? And even if we are, does that give the government the ability to curtail individual rights?

You can hear former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese's keynote address "The Constitution in Peace and War" tonight (Tues., Nov. 27) at 5:30 p.m. at the Institute for Peace and Justice at University of San Diego . For more information, call (619) 260-6848.

Guest

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  • Edwin Meese III , former U.S. Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan. Meese is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institute , a think tank at Stanford University that researches domestic policy and international affairs. Meese was also a law professor at USD in the late 1970s and an executive for Rohr Industries in Chula Vista.