Security expert Bruce Schneier — author of the excellent Beyond Fear, which everyone ought to read — discusses the increased police powers and governmental surveillance since 9/11, a trend that continues more or less unabated. An excerpt:

We need to weigh each security countermeasure. Is the additional security against the risks worth the costs? Are there smarter things we can be spending our money on? How does the risk of terrorism compare with the risks in other aspects of our lives: automobile accidents, domestic violence, industrial pollution, and so on? Are there costs that are just too expensive for us to bear? Rarely do we discuss how little identification has to do with security, and how broad surveillance of everyone doesn’t really prevent terrorism. Unfortunately, it’s rare to hear this level of informed debate. Few people remind us how minor the terrorist threat really is. Rarely do we discuss how little identification has to do with security, and how broad surveillance of everyone doesn’t really prevent terrorism. And where’s the debate about what’s more important: the freedoms and liberties that have made America great or some temporary security? Instead, the Department of Justice, fueled by a strong police mentality inside the administration, is directing our nation’s political changes in response to Sept. 11. And it’s making trade-offs from its own subjective perspective–trade-offs that benefit it even if they are to the detriment of others.

Agree or not, it’s definitely worth thought. This administration is making these tradeoffs with no regard for long-term repercussions, and that’s scary as hell. This week, Bush threatened to veto a bipartisan bill that would scale back the powers granted under the USA PATRIOT Act. They’re not interested in giving back powers; governments never are, and ours is no exception. Or, at least, this Adminstration isn’t.