BEST OF THE WEB
BY JAMES TARANTO
Thursday, December 18, 2003 4:31 p.m.
Taking Our Leave
We're taking a little time off for the holidays; barring earthshaking news, this will be our last column until Dec. 29. Between tomorrow and next Friday, Best of the Web e-mail subscribers will receive a selection of other OpinionJournal offerings, including a sneak preview of our terrific subscription-only Political Diary.
Court Backs Dirty Bomb Plotter
A pair of judges on the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ordered the Pentagon to release enemy combatant Abdullah Al-Muhajir, né Jose Padilla, from military custody. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, was picked up in May 2002 at O'Hare International Airport after flying back from Pakistan; the following month, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced and explained the arrest:
On several occasions in 2001, he met with senior al Qaeda officials. While in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Al Muhajir trained with the enemy, including studying how to wire explosive devices and researching radiological dispersion devices. Al Qaeda officials knew that . . . as a citizen of the United States holding a valid U.S. passport, Al Muhajir would be able to travel freely in the U.S. without drawing attention to himself. . . .
In apprehending Al Muhajir as he sought entry into the United States, we have disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive "dirty bomb."
In today's decision, Padilla v. Rumsfeld (link in PDF form), a split three-judge panel holds that "clear congressional authorization is required for detentions of American citizens on American soil," and that the September 2001 declaration of war does not constitute such authorization.
Under the court's order, the Defense Department must release Al-Muhajir from military custody within 30 days. The court leaves open the possibility that he can be held in the criminal-justice system--either as a suspect or as a material witness--but he "will be entitled to the constitutional protections extended to other citizens."
One can expect the government to appeal the ruling, either to the full Second Circuit or to the Supreme Court. But perhaps it's also worth asking Congress to take up this issue. Some lawmakers, notably Sen. John Edwards, a presidential candidate, have been championing the civil liberties of would-be terrorists, as if setting off a dirty bomb in an American city were a matter of no more gravity than an ordinary mugging or embezzlement. Why not force all members of Congress to go on record for or against this proposition?
Meanwhile, the notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit, in Gheredi v. Bush, holds that noncitizen terrorists at Guantanamo Bay also are entitled to lawyers. Given the Ninth Circuit's batting average in the Supreme Court, this preposterous ruling seems highly unlikely to stand.
The Heart Bleeds--I
"Lawyer for Taliban Detainee Says His Client Is Depressed"--headline, New York Times, Dec. 18
Liberals for Fascism
In last Sunday's London Observer, Nick Cohen made this incisive observation in the course of reviewing a book by an obscure left-wing author:
Whatever other crimes it committed or covered up in the twentieth century, the Left could be relied upon to fight fascism. A regime that launched genocidal extermination campaigns against impure minorities would be recognised for what it was and denounced. Not the least of the casualties of the Iraq war is the death of anti-fascism.
Here's an illustration: Derrick Z. Jackson, a columnist for the Boston Globe, is barking mad over the capture of Saddam Hussein:
With no weapons, no ties, and no truth, the capture of Saddam was merely the most massive and irresponsible police raid in modern times. We broke in without a search warrant. Civilian deaths constituted justifiable homicide. America was again above the law. We have taught the next generation that many wrongs equal a right. In arrogance, we boasted, "We got him!" The shame is that we feel none for how we got him. The capture of this dictator, driven by the poison of lies, turned America itself into a dictator.
Meanwhile, Ellen Ratner--who describes herself as "liberal and proud"--gushes over a visit to Syria, "a county that--while "not perfect" . . .--is beginning a new era." Christmas is a holiday there! Women wear miniskirts! You can get a job without belonging to the Baath Party! Oh sure, there are a few warts, which Ratner "pointed out to the gracious Syrians":
When I brought up the subject of torture, the editor in chief of the Baath Party newspaper said, yes, this is a problem, but it is not our biggest problem. Just like you have Guantanamo Bay and that is a problem for you, but it is not your biggest problem.
The left once apologized for communism in strikingly similar terms. But communism, evil though it was, at least was premised on a universalist vision of a better world. Why does the left now defend fascist regimes? Because they're no longer for anything; what's important is what they're against: America, Israel, "Eurocentric" civilization. The motto of today's reactionary left ought to be "The enemy of my country is my friend."
Dean's Reckless Disregard
Two weeks ago, we were the first to note that Howard Dean was trafficking in wacko conspiracy theories, telling talk-show hostess Diane Rehm that the Saudis tipped President Bush off in advance of the Sept. 11 attacks. In today's Washington Post, Dean offers what he seems to regard as a defense: "I acknowledged that I did not believe the theory I was putting out."
Bush would seem to have an open-and-shut case if he wanted to sue Dean for defamation. Under the rigorous standard the U.S. Supreme Court set forth in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964), a plaintiff who is a public official cannot win a defamation lawsuit without showing that the defendant acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Dean's "defense"--that "I did not believe the theory I was putting out"--would seem to be the very essence of reckless disregard.
Then again, maybe a suit against Dean isn't worth the president's effort. After all, in order to collect damages, he'd have to show that Dean's defamation actually harmed Bush's reputation.
Clark: Kill Saddam, Spare Osama
Wesley Clark thinks the death penalty is too harsh for Osama bin Laden; as we noted last week, he told MSNBC's Chris Matthews incarceration in a Dutch prison would suit the al Qaeda leader just fine. But he takes a tougher line on Saddam Hussein: "I think that you cannot take the death penalty off the table," he tells CNN. "It has to be there, to be applied to war criminals who've used chemical weapons, to those responsible for genocide."
Clark, however, wishes Saddam were still in power. The same CNN article quotes him risibly claiming, "If I'd been president, I would have had Osama bin Laden by this time," and then blasting President Bush: "He took the priority off Osama bin Laden. He shifted the spotlight onto Saddam Hussein."
Clark seems resigned to the hopelessness of his presidential bid. "We've got a president who will go halfway around the world for a photo opportunity but won't go halfway across town for a funeral for an American serviceman," he grouses. "I've been to those funerals. I've comforted families."
Going to funerals, of course, is a vice presidential duty, so clearly Clark is angling for a spot as Howard Dean's No. 2.
A Stopped Clock Is Right Twice a Day
"Clark: It's Time to Find bin Laden"--headline, FoxNews.com, Dec. 17
Real Men Vote Republican
In today's Washington Post Tina Brown has a shallow but delightful skewering of the Democratic presidential candidates:
Live-action heroism and a sinking sense that nice guys finish last have reduced the Democratic candidates to little more than the mannerisms that annoyed us in the first place. Lieberman, he of the censorious smile and jungle-book voice. Kerry, the talking tree with the '70s hair. Edwards, hopelessly puppyish at 50. Clark, cyborg hero of places no one can spell. Dean, no longer the exciting insurgent riding to glory on the Internet but a pisher with no past and no neck, poised to lead his party to angry defeat. Only Gephardt retained a certain Great Plains steadfastness; but the nation wants swords, not plowshares--"Top Gun," not "It's a Wonderful Life." . . .
Howard Dean's choleric outbursts look like Elmer Fudd spluttering, and the aristocratic let-us-reason-together authority of John Kerry comes across as lack of muscle tone.
Jay Nordlinger made the point months ago, but Brown adds the interesting insight that there's at least one possibly hairy-chested Democrat: Hillary Clinton.
Great Orators of the Democratic Party
"One man with courage makes a majority."--Andrew Jackson
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."--Franklin Roosevelt
"The buck stops here."--Harry Truman
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."--John Kennedy
''There was no question that we would find Saddam Hussein. We have not caught Saddam Been Forgotten."--Bob Graham
Toys That Should Carry a Warning Label
" 'Captured Saddam' Action Figure, Just in Time for the Holidays"--healdine, Agence France-Presse, Dec. 16
"Saddam Figures May Be Planning Iraqi Resistance"--headline, MSNBC.com, Dec. 18
Death for Stickers, Not for Genocide
Here's the first paragraph of a Reuters dispatch from Tehran:
An Iranian man faces a possible lengthy prison term or even the death penalty for attaching a sticker to the rear window of his car proclaiming "The era of arrogant rulers is over."
Now here's the last paragraph of the same dispatch:
When asked on Wednesday whether Saddam Hussein ought to receive the death penalty, Iran's President Mohammad Khatami said: "If anyone is to be executed, the most appropriate person would be Saddam. But it [sic] don't want any human being, even a criminal, to be killed if there is an alternative."
The mad mullahs have performed a neat trick of being even more incoherent than Wesley Clark.
We Report, You Decide
We heard from Pam Bergren, whose post from the Democratic National Committee's "Kicking Ass" blog was among those we quoted in a Sunday item about Democratic reaction to the capture of Saddam Hussein. She argues that we quoted her out of context, so here is her post in its entirety:
Well--Morning news says they caught Saddam Hussein.
Now I wonder if they'll go back and get the REAL terrorist leader--Bin Laden, who was a threat to the entire world?
I personally don't care too much that Hussein was caught--he never did anything to me, but a friend of mine died in 9/11 attack.
To which we'd only point out: There's no reason we can't get both Saddam and bin Laden.
Terrorist Terrorizes; Chocolate Makers Shocked
Remember those Palestinian terrorists who occupied and trashed the Church of the Nativity last year? A bunch of them were exiled to Europe, but now one, Khalil Mohammed Abdullah al-Nawara, has gotten himself into hot water in Belgium, Ha'aretz reports:
The Belgian daily, Le Soir, reported that large security forces had conducted searches in 44 locations in the Brussels area, arresting seven individuals, including al-Nawara, on suspicion of using explosives to rob post offices of more than 215,000 euro [$265,000].
The paper notes that al-Nawara, who was "involved in the past in incidents of shooting at Israeli cars on the Tunnel Road, as well as the murder of Israeli citizens." Upon his arrival "he was initially under guard by Belgian security forces, but this was later lifted after he was deemed not to be a threat to public security."
His arrest "has stirred unrest and embarrassment in Belgium," the paper adds. Enlightened European opinion, after all, can understand why Arabs would be eager to murder Jews, but blowing up a European post office is another matter entirely. How embarrassing for the Belgians that al-Nawara apparently doesn't share their finely tuned sense of moral nuance.
The Heart Bleeds--II
"Palestinians Expelled to Gaza Hotel Bored"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 18
Weasel Watch
France has finally found an enemy it has the courage to stand up against: schoolgirls who wear headscarves. President Jacques Chirac is proposing a nationwide ban on the Muslim headwear in order "to reaffirm France's secular foundations," the Associated Press reports. Reuters notes that the ban would also cover yarmulkes and "large" crucifixes.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is setting its sights on cuddly infidel toys. Riyadh "has banned the importation of female dolls and teddy bears," the Associated Press reports. "The order also prohibited the importation of crucifixes and models of Buddha."
Fun and Games at Turtle Bay
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe is getting into the videogame business, according to a U.N. press release:
The computer programmes feature a "bug" which represents all the problems the UN struggles to resolve. Beating it in a frenetic race in the games, being released on CD-ROM this week, requires providing the right answers to questions that are accompanied by colourful images and sounds.
"How long is the term of the Secretary-General of the United Nations?" is one. "How many regional commissions does the United Nations have?" ask another. "When does World Environment Day take place?" a third poses.
If your kid is demanding a videogame for Christmas, this seems like the perfect way to appease him.
Brothers Under the Skin
"Malaysia is to consider using mass circumcision ceremonies to promote racial harmony," the BBC reports:
Dr Abdul Hamid Othman said that with the growing popularity of circumcision among the country's non-Muslim minorities--who see it as good hygienic practice--they too could be invited to join in the celebrations with their Muslim friends.
He believes the idea could promote better race relations and he wants to see a nationwide circumcision ceremony organised.
Remember President Clinton's affirmative-action slogan, "Mend it, don't end it"? Maybe Malaysia should adopt the motto "Cut it, don't gut it."
The Press Blames Him for Everything
"Report: Bush Crash in Ukraine Kills 15"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 18
Zero-Tolerance Watch
Steven Sherry, a seventh-grader at Port Jervis Middle School northwest of New York City, was hit with a 10-week suspension because he accidentally brought a pocketknife to school. "At school, Steven was doing sit-ups in the weight room," reports the Times Herald-Record of Middletown, N.Y. "The knife--equipped with two stubby blades and a plastic toothpick--slipped out of his pants. Steven saw his utility tool. A teacher saw a weapon."
"When I make a decision, it's not about one student. It's about 3,500 students," says superintendent Joseph DiLorenzo. "A weapon on school grounds is about as serious as it comes."
De Gustibus Non Disputandum Est
"Manure Is Good, but Not Essential"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 13
What Would We Do Without Police?
"Massage Parlor Front for Sex, Police Say"--headline, Express-Times (Easton, Pa.), Dec. 18
What Would Kids Do Without Experts?
"Experts Recommend Cribs for Kids"--headline, WXYZ-TV Web site (Detroit), Dec. 17
Who Knew?
"Nearly All Parents Yell at Their Kids -Survey"--headline, Reuters, Dec. 18
Burning Toddlers
"Tulane Professor Uses Kids to Create Energy"--headline, Tulane University press release, Dec. 18
Most of Us Just Get Wings
"Cincinnati Cops Get Stun Guns After Death"--headline, Associated Press, Dec. 17
Why Experts Like Chihuahuas
"Expert: Labs Are Biggest SARS Threat"--headline, United Press International, Dec. 17
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