The K.S.M. Files

[groovedaddy]

Watching Attorney General Eric Holder struggle on Wednesday to answer senators’ questions about the detention and trial of terrorism suspects made us nostalgic for the old days — back in 2009 — when the United States was making progress toward cleaning up the mess President George W. Bush made with his detention policies.

The Pentagon was working on closing the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The flawed military tribunals were improved, at least a little. And the Justice Department announced that the accused mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, would be tried in federal court.

All of that has stopped — because of Republican fear-mongering, administration blundering and Democratic not-in-my-backyardism. And unless President Obama grabs hold, things could get far worse.

Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman have a bill that would require the military detention and trial of anyone accused of any terrorism-related crime, including American citizens. That is the stuff of police states.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/opinion/15thu1.html?th&emc=th