by James Glaser
June 19, 2002

You know it wasn't all that long ago that the federal government wasn't on the front page constantly. Oh Social Security and medical costs have been in the fore front of our national debate for years now and then there is always crime. That was domestic crime verses international crime like the terrorism that makes headlines every day.

There really isn't terrorism every day, but there is the warnings by our Federal Government every day about some new threat of terrorism. That is where the trust issue comes in to play. Are these real threats that we are warned about and now with the new color code or are these threats manufactured threats to keep the fear factor of Americans and the poll numbers for the President, way up there?

People in the years past would have never wondered about the honesty of our government, but so many things don't add up any more. Just this week I read that the CIA and the FBI were declaring a truce. I didn't know that they were at war. I find that if the FBI knows something that might help the CIA they won't tell them and the same is true in reverse. These two agencies are run by adults and get this "professionals." Trust

The Attorney General while in Russia holds a news conference. No don't ask me why the Attorney General of the United States was in Russia, I have no idea. He does have a press conference and tells the world that America has captured this know terrorist that was going to explode this dirty nuclear device, maybe in Washington or someplace else, but it would kill thousands of people.

A few hours after this news conference we find that the guy was captured five weeks ago, he had no bomb, he had no bomb parts, no plan, and he might not of had the smarts to do anything. Trust

A while later we find that this terrorist is an American born citizen that the courts have already ruled can't be held as a material witness so the President declares this American citizen as a Enemy Combatant and this same President has this same American Citizen thrown into a Military Prison. None of this innocent until proven guilty nor any of this having a lawyer. Also none of this having proof of wrong doing. Now we have lack of trust and now add fear to that.

I know this is old news, but it does bear repeating. The hundreds of men we have put in chains in Cuba have been told if they ever have a Court Date or a hearing by Military Tribunal and they are found innocent, we still won't set them free. America has come out on the record telling the world that even innocent people will be kept in prison on the wishes of our government. Trust

President Bush has now told the world that America reserves the right to attack whoever it wants with out warning. This is our new "First Strike" policy. Trust, with the rest of the world. Even countries that have been traditionally neutral and nonviolent have no choice as President Bush has told them "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists" no choice here. Which do you trust, the terrorist that might strike you after they have hit everyone that they hate or America, that might strike you because you are not with them? Trust

In the past I have had overwhelming trust in my country, even to the point of going to war for it. Maybe it was that service that made me question what our Government was saying. Maybe it was the repeated lies that our government told to our citizens about that war, that put me a on edge and lowered the amount of trust I had.

America has been constantly, over the last 35 years, shading the truth and I can't figure out why. The only thing I can believe now is that our own Government in Washington no longer thinks that the average America citizen can be trusted. A perfect example of that is the critique that was sent to the head of the FBI by a Minneapolis Agent. That report was immediately stamped as SECRET by the director of the FBI. No way could the average Joe American citizen be trusted to know what was going on in the FBI.

In that same vain I have yet to hear what the President of the United States was warned about before the attacks of September 11. The Attacks are over and those reports are old news, but they are still SECRET.

If Washington has any desire to be trusted be the Citizens of America, then they have to start remembering that we are all Americans and if Washington loses we all lose. At one time America and all Americans were a team working together for the future of our children. Now it seems that Washington is working for Washington.