There is absolutely no doubt that there is a viable threat of terrorist action by any number of extremist groups, but the direction Western governments have gone in combating the problem even has the House of Lords questioning just how much personal freedom exists anymore..
In the US, the Homeland Security Act has given security services powers which one doubts was the goal of the Founding Fathers when they signed the Constitution..
One might say, these days, the Constitutional Rights of the man on the street have been bent and twisted into something utterly unrecognisable.. perhaps the same words on that old parchment, but certainly not the same intent..
The Lords are concerned. There are more than 4 million cameras watching us 24/7.. the UK's DNA database is the largest in the world on a relative per capita basis, with 7% of the population on file, compared with 0.5% in the States..
Taking liberties with Civil Liberties is not the purpose of a democracy, but more reminiscent of that which we we told took place in Stalinist Communist regimes, and should perhaps be of more concern to us than the protection we're blanketed with offers any sense of security..
Watch..look around you when next you stroll down the High Street..
Even in a small town such as Ayr, in relatively quiet Scotland, you picture will be recorded more than 250 times over a half-hour stroll..
It is now a case of 'quis custodes custodiets'..
It is a disturbing trend.. and one which the Lords is serving us well in examining..
More on this..
But in the meantime.. think on Gitmo, and the Gulags..
Perhaps it's time our security services follow the general rules of transparency which we demand of other departments within our government.. in spite of the certain cries of 'National Security'..