Fear, Propaganda and Disaster in Contemporary America and Nazi Germany

The above is the title of a play I saw last year at Orange Tree Theatre. It is the title of the lead character's thesis - a thesis that gets him 'disappeared'.
Well, it's almost happened in real life...
http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW.html
http://www.rtmark.com/CAEdefense/news-WKBW-2.html
Basically, when Steve Kurtz wife died (of cardiac arrest) he called up emergency to deal with her. Upon arriving the police decided that the analysis equipment he had (used for analysing the genome of foods, as part of his art persuits about GI food) was part of a bio-terrorist plot with him as the ring leader.
So they (illegally) took him into custody and confiscated his stuff, barring anyone from entering the house. After many months of wrangling he has managed to be allowed back into his house and get his wife's body back, but they still won't allow him to have his equipment back, equipment that has been demonstrated to be impossible 'to use in the production or weaponization of dangerous germs'.
Is this the liberty US soldiers are dying for in Iraq?