Congratulations — for now. Last week, a federal prosecutor in Des Moines obtained a subpoena demanding that Drake University turn over records from an antiwar conference that the school’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild hosted on Nov. 15 of last year. Among the information the government sought was the names of the leaders of the Drake University Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, its records and the names of everyone who attended the conference. Four antiwar activists also received subpoenas in the investigation — to appear without legal representation before a grand jury.

Following public outcry and coverage in local media and the world over through the New York Times and The Associated Press, the subpoenas were withdrawn Tuesday.

Congratulations, right? Certainly for the time being. The larger question, as raised this week by the Des Moines Register, is that the investigation and its motives must now be held to the light of public scrutiny.

The investigation, when first released, shocked the Iowa peace community. It started Thursday night via e-mail. The e-mail, from Brian Terrell, director of the Catholic Peace Ministry in Des Moines and one of those subpoenaed, left activists incredulous as it spread through the networks. Was it true? In Iowa?

Fears were confirmed by the next morning’s paper. The degree of press coverage was impressive. The press, for obvious reasons, has historically been one of the most militant guardians of the First Amendment, and it pays to have them helping out.

The story was a front-page headline in Saturday’s Des Moines Register and earned a long story in the New York Times by Monday. On Wednesday the Register ran a second editorial and three news stories on the subject.

The facts were as incredible as they were frightening. A usually tight-lipped U.S. attorney eventually said the subpoenas were not based on a terrorism investigation but a criminal one. Federal officials still will not comment whether the investigation is over, just that the subpoenas have been dismissed. Of course — that must be why records of the National Lawyer’s Guild chapter at Drake University through 1992 were subpoenaed.

According to the Register, Robert O’Neill, former president and law professor at the University of Virginia, said that he hadn’t seen such demands made of a university (Drake) since the 1950s.

The ACLU Web site’s front page had the press release declaring victory and calling for an investigation into “serious questions” raised by the subpoenas. They promised, “The national and state affiliate of the ACLU, concerned at the implications of this fiasco in light of the broadened executive branch powers under the USA Patriot Act and other post-9/11 security measures, will continue to pursue the matter.”

Not only is the ACLU pledging to pursue the matter, but the editorial board of the Register makes similar demands.

They opined, “Not so fast. If the point of the investigation was about trespassing at a military post, as the feds now say, why the sweeping demand for records from Drake and the National Lawyers Guild going back to 2002? If this was a legitimate exercise of police powers, why did the feds retreat so quickly? Bad press, or a bad idea?”

The Register continued, “The public has a right to be assured that the federal government is not unleashing its vast new Patriot Act powers on common anti-war protestors.”

It was all over for this round when Iowans stood up for their rights, the press covered it, and the New York Times spread it.

It is fair to say this case makes clear that Americans of all political stripes must work constantly to protect their First Amendment rights in the face of intimidation. Peace activists last fall exercised their constitutionally protected right to dissent, and now their work.

The struggle does not end. The ACLU reported Wednesday that the University of Texas Law School at Austin has been contacted by U.S. Army Intelligence. Those contacted are the organizers of a seminar on sexism and Islam.

This and the events of the past week in Des Moines are a likely part of a larger effort to stifle debate and criticism of the disastrous occupation of Iraq.

Maybe it was a test. Maybe it was a scare tactic. Whatever the case, it didn’t work and Iowa should be proud — and vigilant.