This was What I Was Trying to Say - Update I, II

Again, from Adam Serwer, on the "al Qaeda Seven" ad
and the backlash from the left and the right:

"The reason for the backlash is that the attack on the so-called Gitmo Nine or al-Qaeda Seven wasn't just an attack on a handful of liberal lawyers -- it was an attack on the American system of justice, suggesting that certain classes of people aren't entitled to robust legal representation and that those who chose to represent them in order to ensure due process are America's enemies. If anyone can be denied due process, than all of us can be denied due process. The people at KAS for whatever reason, are incapable of looking beyond their political self-interest and are willing to cannibalize the very institutions of American democracy in order to gain political ground against their political targets."

That is exactly correct. "Destroy America to save America" has been the underlying premise of much of our political activity since 9/11. That horrific event gave the political Right a ready made weapon - fear. Fortunately, the effectiveness of fear is starting to erode. Reactionary fear is precisely what the al Qaeda terrorists hoped for, and got. But the panic is abating. Finally, someone on the right went far enough to awaken patriots on the right. As Serwer put it:

"One of the most frightening developments in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks was the shattering of a certain baseline national consensus on certain issues between liberals and conservatives. Prior to September 11, for example, I doubt a substantial number of Americans would have supported the use of torture techniques adapted from methods used by Chinese Communists. The letter gives me hope because it reminds us, whatever our differences, we can agree there are certain things, like the integrity of the American legal system, that are more important than our political rivalries. It is still possible to go too far, to cross a line that makes even those on your side recoil."

Hope springs eternal.

Joe H.

Update I: This piece is worth reading as well.

Update II: "The America that I know and signed up to defend does not stand exclusively for security. It also stands for freedom, justice, and liberty. It stands for universal rights afforded to every human being (even unlawful combatants or "detained persons")."

Matthew Alexander - his article is well worth your time.