The Foreign Service Journal, October 2006

humiliated them in front of their wives and children, and sometimes in- formed them that “our embassy in Panama told us to cancel your visa” or “our embassy in Panama told us that you are a terrorist.” Some were chained and shackled hand and foot and sent to overnight lockups, sometimes in dreadful condi- tions, sometimes deprived of food and drink for more than a day. Then, given the choice between voluntary deporta- tion and having their visas canceled, or appearing before an immigration judge, they chose deportation. One Panamanian told us that throughout his ordeal he kept expect- ing someone to jump out and say, “It’s all a joke. You’re on ‘Candid Camera’!” Alas, that did not happen. Granted, the al-Qaida attackers were brutal killers, and we have a right — a duty — to protect ourselves. But why turn friends into enemies in the process? The cases I came to know about convinced me that we were on the wrong track. We must be clear and avoid doing exactly what will prof- it al-Qaida. Unfortunately, solving the problem involves confronting some unsettling attitudes and practices that we have adopted. For example, an emphasis on risk avoidance above all else may be making us less secure. We have filled sensitive positions with untrained per- sonnel who often act as if our security O C T O B E R 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 15 S P E A K I N G O U T Avoiding missteps in the war on terror is crucial, lest our mistakes become valuable recruiting tools for the enemy. * 564''6 09 ¶ 9#5*+0)610 &% ¶ -14/#0%1//70+6+'5 %1/ 0; 0, 2# &% 0% MJWF CFUUFS B CSBOE OFX DVTUPN EFTJHOFE FYUFOEFE TUBZ IJHI SJTF KVTU UXP CMPDLT GSPN UIF 9IJUF *PVTF XF BDDFQU HPWFSONFOU QFS EJFN #-# SFJOWFOUT UIF FYUFOEFE TUBZ FYQFSJFODF GVMMZ BQQPJOUFE POF BOE UXP CFESPPN GVSOJTIFE BQBSUNFOUT XJUI DVTUPN NBIPHBOZ GVSOJUVSF ¶ GVMMZ FRVJQQFE LJUDIFOT XJUI TUBJOMFTT TUFFM BQQMJBODFT BOE MJNFTUPOF DPVOUFSUPQT ¶ QMVTI UPXFMT BOE MJOFOT ¶ LJOH TJ[FE CFET ¶ EJHJUBM QSFNJVN DBCMF BOE IJHI TQFFE JOUFSOFU ¶ TPOZ XFHB UW EWE DE TUFSFP ¶ TQB TFSWJDFT ¶ GJUOFTT DFOUFS ¶ CVTJOFTT DFOUFS XJUI XPSL TUBUJPOT BOE DPOGFSFODF GBDJMJUZ ¶ XFFLEBZ DMVC CSFBLGBTU XJUI TUBSCVDLT DPGGFF ¶ BGUFSOPPO UB[P UFB ¶ XFFLMZ IPVTFLFFQJOH ¶ GSPOU EFTL BOE DPODJFSHF TFSWJDFT ¶ PO TJUF QSJWBUF QBSLJOH ,6, MVYVSZ GVSOJTIFE BQBSUNFOUT CZ LPSNBO DPNNVOJUJFT