ew York-Washington Terror Attacks Aggravate Xenophobia and Could Erode Civil Liberties

Interview by Between The Lines' Scott Harris.

The coordinated terrorist strikes against New York City's World Trade Center and Pentagon in Washington, D.C., resulted in a catastrophic loss of life, with the number of dead and injured difficult to calculate in the days immediately following the attack. As the world learned Sept. 11th, two hijacked airliners struck each of the World Trade Center twin towers, causing the 110-story buildings to collapse. About an hour later, another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon causing one side of the building to fall. A fourth hijacked plane later crashed in Pennsylvania.

Speculation as to which organizations or nations may have been responsible for the assault reverberated in the nation's media. President Bush, speaking to the nation, said that "the United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts."

In this special report, Between The Lines presents three interviews examining the repercussions of the terrorist attacks.

In our first interview, Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Sarah Wunsch, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild, who considers the shocking terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. and their likely impact on civil liberties for U.S. citizens and immigrants (A RealAudio Version of this interview may be found At  http://www.btlonline.org) .

Contact the National Lawyers Guild by calling (212) 627-2656 or visit their Web site at www.nlg.org

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