Schwartz appears to have approached the subject with extreme ignorance, a 
blantant bias, misstated facts, convoluted logic, minimalizing transgressions
to the extreme, a sophomoric style, and engaged in terribly inappropriate and 
personal slights.

The Schwartz article comes first, then the response of Dr. Nicholas A. Sceusa.
========================================================
The Right Way 
New York Post, Opinion Section
Saturday, December 8, 2001 

Nevertheless, it was probably predictable that a group of Italian-American 
complainants would come forward demanding redress.  The instigators of 
P. L.106-451-enterprising Bay area historical revisionists led by an 
undistinguished scribbler, Lawrence DiStasi and an elderly woman, Rose 
Scherini- have said they don't want money, just "recognition" of unfair 
treatment.

With luck they will have a long wait.  It's hard to imagine a more dubious 
cause these days than a public apology to those accused of sympathy for the 
Italian fascists in World II.

The Wartime Violation of Italian-American Civil Liberties Act also directed 
the Attorney General "to review wartime restrictions on Italian-Americans to 
determine how Civil Liberties can better be protected during national 
emergencies"- a request that turned out to more timely than it's sponsors 
could ever have imagined.

The reviews conclusions, adopted as findings of Congress and released in 
executive summary form in November, (the full report has yet to be released 
to the public), shed little light on this challenging directive however.

History's bottom line as identified by Congress; "The freedom of 600,000 
Italian -born immigrants in the United States and their families was restricted 
during World War II by Government measures that branded them "enemy 
aliens" and included carrying identification cards, travel restrictions and seizure of 
personal property."

But was this the wrong thing to do?  After all what American's freedom was 
not restricted during World War II? A draft was instituted, and evaders of it 
were imprisoned; consumer goods were rationed; wages, prices, rents and other 
transactions were controlled; the right of labor to strike with abrogated; travel 
was limited and ordinary people were regularly stopped interrogated; whole 
chunks of the economy were requisitioned for military use.  Wars are by 
definition unfair and uncomfortable. Loyalty test may be especially 
uncomfortable to some, but should not trouble those who loyalties are clear.

The official investigation of Italian-American victimization has produced at 
least one ridiculously exaggerated conclusion; We are told that the "the impact of 
the wartime experience was devastating to Italian-American communities in 
United States, and its effects are still being felt."  But the document also 
exposes the extent to which those who drummed up this folderol made 
exaggerated and ambiguous claims. 

It turns out that when Italian Aliens were "taken into custody," many were 
merely directed to report to the office of the U.S.Attorney for questioning, and 
were not actually detained. The Justice Department today seems wisely to be 
following the same course with Arab aliens in Michigan.

Further, the charge that Italian-American fishermen were unfairly prohibited 
from fishing in prohibited zones falls flat. Venturing into restricted waters 
was forbidden to all vessels of every kind, whether commercial or pleasure boats, 
without regard for their owners citizenship.  Allegations that Italian-American 
fishing boats were confiscated also turn out to be a hoax.

Boats were requisition by the federal authorities through charter or purchase, and 
the only craft that were confiscated belonged to owners who had repeatedly 
made incursions into prohibited waters. 

The lesson to be learned from this legislation to folly is that in the realm 
of Civil Liberties, our government is seldom malicious, even when sorely 
tried, and has usually acted practically and sensibly.  Quite a few of us 
already knew that, and more are learning it every day.

Stephen Schwartz is the author of the forthcoming book "The Two Faces of 
Islam". From the Weekly Standard. 
=======================================================
From:Nicholas A. Sceusa, Pharm. D.  

The Editor 
The New York Post
1211 The Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York, 10036                   

RE: The Right Way, in The New York Post Opinion, 
The New York Post, Dec. 8th, 2001, pg21.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Do we blame every German, or German American for Adolph Hitler? Do we hold
every Jew responsible for the monopolistic practices of the few that lead
to the massive inflation of the 1930's, the rise of Adolph Hitler, and the
catastrophic consequences of WWII? Why isn't anybody looking at Henry Ford,
or J.D., Rockefeller, or Charles Lindbergh?  Is every Italian or
Italian-American in the Mafia?  Is every person of Japanese ancestry
another Tojo?  Some folks think so. As Mr. Stephen Schwartz points out, in
his article The Right Way, there were many who participated both here and
abroad.  

It is regrettable that Mr. Schwartz' article negatively mirrors the work of
Mr. Lawrence DiStasi, in Una Storia Segretta: The Secret History of
Italian-American Evacuation and Internment during World War II.  I resent
Mr. DiStasi being called a scribbler. Who ever heard of Schwartz? Were it
not for Mr. DiStasi, I doubt Mr. Schwartz would know much of the subject
about which he is writing. While it is not exactly plagiarism, all of the
Italian-American material in The Right Way is obviously taken from Mr.
DiStasi, along with a major dose of professional jealousy, on the part of
Mr. Schwartz. Should we then consider Mr. Schwartz, "the scribbler's
scribbler?"

To compare our present situation with WWII is reasonable, but to repeat our
mistakes is not.

I personally knew many of the people whose lives were affected by the WWII
internments. I can tell you it is not revisionist history; it happened as
described. I am a witness to the suffering it caused. The point of having
the rule of law, the Constitution, and representation in Congress is the
protection of the individual from the abuses of government. It is the very
crux of the American jurisprudence. Denying due process and the equal
protection of the law to an individual or group, as a general practice,
without regard to the nature of individual evidence is fascism itself. If
Mr. Schwartz advocates such a course, he plants himself squarely in the
fascist camp. Joe McCarthy did too.
 
The Right Way is not the right way because Mr. Schwartz, or anyone else,
says so, anymore than the Taliban's interpretation of Islam is "True
Islam." We are as much at risk from Jihad, as from Hagar's fig, or the
troubles in Ireland. So far, Hagar's fig is the longest running of the
three arguments, and I for one, am tired of it. The mentality surrounding
Hagar's fig is what makes it necessary to plumb the terrorist threat to the
very bottom. However, should it become necessary, to deny someone his civil
rights, in the interests of National security, we must do so on the basis
of evidence, on the basis of law and not on the basis of guilt by
association, or personal appearance. We should have learned this much from
our experience with the Italian-American and Japanese-American internments,
and from the Holocaust. It is all too easy to paint everyone with the same
brush, and we should expect to apologize for and make good our mistakes.
That's the American way, and not because I say so. 

Lastly, I congratulate Mr. Schwartz on the forthcoming publication of his
book: The Two Faces of Islam.  Now, may I ask you a question? Would you buy
a book on Islam from a guy named Schwartz? Think about it.

Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Nicholas A. Sceusa

Author: My Uncle Augusto, in Lawrence diStasi, Una Storia Segreta: 
The Secret History of Italian - American Evacuation and Internment during 
WWII,
Heyday Books, Berkeley, California.

Gelsus Research and Consulting, Inc. 
Nicholas A. Sceusa, Pharm. D. 
Director / Clinical Pharmacist

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