From Lincoln suspending habeas corpus to Japanese internment to indefinite detention in the war on terror, we tend to restrict civil liberties in the time of war. With the hindsight of history, can we judge whether those were good decisions? That is, would the outcome of the war have been different had liberties not been suspended?
If some of them were bad decisions, how can we avoid making the same mistakes in the future? It seems we can't even rely on the Constitution to protect our rights. What do we do when the Constitution is not enough?
Insidiously, do we go to war to suspend liberty (the main goal, not just a side effect), to control the masses?
Cicero: Silent enim leges inter arma. (Pro Milone IV.11)
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