Protecting nation impacts liberties

One overriding issue under heated debate in these hectic times is the question of civil liberties vs. national security. Newspapers are traditionally leading defenders of civil liberties and we shall always remain on that path. Yet in these times, some liberties must be sacrificed for the greater good. That's not an erosion of freedoms - it's simply a common sense approach to a real problem.

I was amazed to learn this week that through the Internet you can learn far more about our national security than I think appropriate to know. For example, there are Web sites offering detailed diagrams and photos of our intelligence facilities. There are extremely detailed maps available of every American military installation. So how do you balance the public's right to know with the real threat against national security? The answer is you forgo some public rights to insure and assure national safety. It's an uneasy and difficult balance indeed.

I'm not sure why someone would need access to intricate details of our intelligence facilities across the globe. If there is a burning public need for this information, I'm unaware. Yet the information is readily available and free on the Internet.

Granted there are other avenues for terrorists to access this information. But why make it so easy that any renegade with a bent mind and a cheap computer can have information that perhaps should be classified. Ironically we have now been told that some of the terrorists used public library computers to communicate prior to Sept. 11.

Want to know where all of the national gas and oil pipelines are located? Go to the Internet. Want to know specific information on military housing units? Go to the Internet. Want to know not just the location of military facilities here but the specific building layouts? Go to the Internet.

The times have changed hopefully only temporarily. But in the meantime, common sense and logic must prevail. If that entails some loss of civil liberties, it's a small sacrifice in these times.

sen