What's the point?

In the name of security, we're asked to accept a surveillance society that recognizes few, if any rights to privacy. Seems like the government already had plenty of information about these two, but it has yet to be put to any good use:

Before the day ended, Arlington police had negotiated a six-hour standoff, their robot had been shot at with a paintball gun, and they had called in a bomb squad over four potentially explosive devices...

The terrorism angle stems from Feb. 25, when the two women were spotted at Love Field acting in a way authorities found suspicious. Surveillance video showed one of them walking back and forth, apparently pacing off distances.

When confronted, the women told officials they were looking for the Frontiers of Flight museum.

Two days later, the pair was spotted at the airport again. This time Ms. Al-Homsi, 42, was sitting on the hood of a car looking through binoculars at airplanes. Dallas officers stopped the car nearby, but the women refused to let police search it, authorities say.

The women also came under scrutiny after they were reported driving near the runways at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on July 4.

Dallas police and federal terrorism officials have acknowledged investigating the pair, but police officials have said they had no direct evidence the women have ties to terrorism. The women have accused authorities of violating their rights and of religious and racial profiling.

In 2005, Ms. Al-Homsi was accused of waving a fake grenade at a motorist on Central Expressway during a spasm of road rage. Officials charged her with a bomb hoax, and she was placed on probation. She is said to have long-range assault rifle and explosives training, according to a Dallas police intelligence bulletin issued March 5.

They may not be alone, either...

The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

An FBI intelligence report distributed by the Washington, D.C. Joint Terrorism Task Force, obtained by the Blotter on ABCNews.com, says the illegal ring has been bringing Iraqis across the border illegally for more than a year.

Border Patrol officials in the area said they were unaware of the specifics of the FBI's report... ((that would require the right hand knowing what the left is doing... not a strong suit of our sclerotic government... -- Jemison))

So... we have all this information, but I don't see where it's making us any safer. I suppose it'll make the investigations easier, though, when our enemies manage to pull off another 9/11. That's mostly what law enforcement and the government are good at: picking up the pieces, not deterring or preventing the problems.

The erosion of our civil liberties isn't about security. It's about eroding our civil liberties...