In Cheney At West Point, AS writes all that is true.
Cheney won the early disagreements within the Administration, post 9/11, not to collect evidence and attempt trials, but to just use ... torture and proverbial firing squads.
Now, the truth is that we don't need extraordinary authorities to fight terrorism.
What we need are extraordinary expertise, finesses, and a comprehensive program to diffuse and combat the appeal of the jihadi message, with a view toward containing it and causing it to attenuate over the long term.
Sure, the jihadi manuals talk about taking advantage of Western sensitivities, but that doesn't mean we have to let them or that we have to throw away the whole system of justice, just to "show them we are tough, too!".
Truth is that we could have gotten by with a few changes to our surveillance laws, some improved administrative abilities to unwind terrorist networks, and maybe some tribunals, in circumstances where the court-review suggested that was appropriate.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Cheney Thinks "War" is "Realistic" ... or was that Ideal?
