ABSTRACT
Terrorism is the central issue of our time. The topic dominates public policy discussions and decisions about counterterrorism policies highlight significant ethical issues. Terrorism has been defined in many different ways but the one that will be used in this chapter is found in the U.S. Code (see Box 21.1) and used by the FBI. According to the definition, terrorism involves the unlawful threat or use of violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, or civilians to achieve political/social objectives. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, raised a number of ethical issues associated with combating terrorism and have triggered a national discussion on how to respond. In this chapter, we will examine some of the more compelling issues that arose. These include such issues as the use of torture, targeted killing, the use of indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay, and renditions to third countries. Probably, the most salient issue has to do with balancing public safety, i.e., the protection of the American
people, with a continuing respect for their civil liberties. A case in point was the iPhone encryption debate between Apple and the FBI. The dispute arose when the FBI received a court order to gain access to Syed Farook’s iPhone. Farook was one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of 14 people in San Bernardino, California, in December 2015, and was shot and killed in a shootout with police. In the subsequent investigation his cell phone was discovered but it was passwordprotected. The FBI wanted to check the cell phone to see if the terrorist had any co-conspirators, so they went to the federal court requesting a court order directing Apple to assist them. A court order was subsequently issued by a federal magistrate. Apple declined the judicial request to assist the FBI and planned to appeal the order. Apple’s concern was over the precedent that complying with this judicial order would cause greater harm in terms of violating the privacy concerns of its customers. This issue was rendered moot when the FBI found a third party that was able to access the phone (see www.cnbc.com/2016/03/29/apple-vs-fbi-allyou-need-to-know.html).
