Author and citizen journalist Michael Yon has been through many of the worst places on earth and come out with a smile and a story. He spent years self-embedded with the US military, reporting on events in Iraq and Afghanistan, providing first-hand stories which the mainstream media failed to cover. As a former soldier and a voice of truth Yon is a real American hero. But he didn't get a hero's welcome when he returned to the United States on Sunday. Instead, he found himself in the Seattle airport, detained, interrogated, and ultimately handcuffed by customs agents.
What was Yon's crime? He stood up for his rights as a US citizen. In an incident similar to one which happened last year to a Ron Paul staffer, Yon was taken aside by customs agents and asked a series of questions, many of which seemed to have no bearing on national security. Finally when asked what his personal income was, he refused to answer because he felt it was none of their business. At this point they handcuffed and detained him until he was eventually released by Port Authority police because the TSA had no legitimate grounds to hold him.
On his Facebook page, Yon observed that:
No country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.
This incident is a reminder that the problems in our safety and security system go beyond just being ineffective in preventing terrorism. They also include a pattern of abusing the rights of travelers.