From: Faisal Jawdat Date: Sun Oct 21, 2001 07:12:56 PM US/Pacific To: letters@washpost.com Subject: Regarding "Silence of 4 Terror Probe Suspects Poses Dilemma" To the Editor, Your article, "Silence of 4 Terror Probe Suspects Poses Dilemma" (Sunday, October 21, 2001), states "some are beginning to that say that traditional civil liberties may have to be cast aside". This is misleading. The restrictions against torture, extortion and coerced confessions are not 'traditional', they are fundamental to the Bill of Rights. Despite the enormity of the alleged crimes of these suspects, their right to keep their mouth shut (and to not get tortured for exercising that right) is guaranteed by the fifth amendment to the Constitution: the document upon which this country is based, the document that makes America America. Anyone who wants to float a trial balloon for discarding the constitutional rights of prisoners in the name of expediency should be ashamed of themselves. In the meantime, I suggest that we ought to have the bravery to guard our freedoms if we with to remain "the land of the free and the home of the brave". Regards, Faisal Jawdat Redwood City, CA