ADC Commends DOJ for Releasing Bush Administration Memos

posted on: Mar 9, 2009

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) commends the Department of Justice (DOJ) for releasing two previously undisclosed Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memoranda and seven previously undisclosed opinions. These documents revealed the propositions taken and advanced by the former Administration, most particularly the troubling propositions that Constitutional rights can be set aside.

ADC welcomes Attorney General Eric Holder’s comments a few hours before the release of these documents, where he stated, “Too often over the past decade, the fight against terrorism has been viewed as zero-sum battle with civil liberties. […] Not only is that school of thought misguided, I fear that in actuality it does more harm than good.” ADC Executive Director Kareem Shora stated, “This is yet another positive step by the Obama administration to echo Benjamin Franklin’s sentiments that liberty and security are not mutually exclusive.”

With the erosion of civil liberties and civil rights within the Arab-American community over the past eight years, ADC has advocated against this very same misguided school of thought, and has repeatedly stressed that national security should not, and must not undermine our fundamental guaranteed Constitutional rights.

The opinions and memoranda can be viewed at www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/olc-memos.htm.