As the weeks pass, the ripple effects from September 11 and the war on terrorism continue to widen, reminding us that our world will never be the same.

“Truth is the first casualty of war” – or so we’ve heard. So, too, may be the public’s right to know what is happening behind the battle lines in Afghanistan and inside the Washington meeting rooms – and, still more importantly, our right to say what we think about what we see.

Recent events suggest an emerging pattern:

• Americans “need to watch what they say, watch what they do,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer in response to comments made by Bill Maher on his television show.
  
  
• The Defense Department has bought all rights to photos of Afghanistan taken by the world’s best private imaging satellite thereby keeping them from public view.
  
  
• Government agencies are removing previously accessible information from agency websites.
  
  
• President Bush and his aides have repeatedly indicated that the new war will be waged in secrecy.
  
  
• The New York Times reports that the media’s access to American military operations now is “far more limited than in any recent conflict…”

As an open society, we enjoy exceptional freedoms yet we accept certain risks. Now some of those most precious rights are themselves at risk. Which of our freedoms are we prepared to surrender for the promise – but maybe not the reality – of increased safety? How much information do we have a right to expect from our media about the war in Afghanistan and what can justifiably be withheld from us? Do we have a right to know what is being done in our country’s name and with our tax dollars? Does democracy depend on open access to information and robust policy debates?