Why we need secret prisons

Amnesty International is fighting the conviction of a terrorist convicted of trying to kill President Bush because they claim his videotaped confession was induced by torture while in Saudi Arabia. The defendant wasn't allowed to use the torture claim to refute his confession.


When are people going to wake up and realize the Islamofascists are still at war with us?

Now, just imagine for a moment KSM, Zawahiri, Zarqawi or even Bin Laden standing trial here for terrorism. Is there any doubt the same type of legal stunts wouldn't be pulled? Keep in mind there are many people who believe 9/11 was an inside job and all sorts of other things, including certain noted polticians.

In principle the thought of clandestine terror rendition programs and secret prisons is rather nauseating. It goes against our American tradition. The problem lies in the insane level of danger presented by the modern day jackals in combination with the insane level of moonbattery displayed by leftists worldwide.

Read about Islamic super-terrorists such as Yousef or KSM and you can't miss their absolutely chilling lack of regard for innocent life. Terrorists have always had this mindset, the difference today being their enhanced capability for generating mass casualties. Thus, leaving their fate to fickled juries and high priced pro-bono lawyers seems almost comical, yet sad at the same time.

Of course there is a concern for abuse of the rendition program, and it might be prudent to have a blue ribbon panel take a look at this whole thing. In the meantime, we have no choice but to press on.

ANOTHER TWIST 12/15

The New York Times has a feature about the Bush Adminstration's green light to allow NSA eavesdropping on U.S. citizens communicating between America and foreign countries. The NSA is generally not authorized to eavesdrop on Americans, certainly not domestically, but after 9/11 Bush made an exception for the foreign part.

The battlefields of this war are non-classical. Nowadays the stakes are incredibly high if we miss intelligence about impending attacks. Just recall the grief heaped on Bush (and even Clinton) for missing 9/11. Nobody likes blame, especially politicians.

That said, turning the NSA loose should not be done lightly. For a deeper insight check out "The Puzzle Palace" by James Bamford. The book highlights abuses in the agency, which are bound to happen in any agency. So while eavesdropping is definitely necessary, so is careful oversight. Is Franklin spinning in his grave right now?

Maybe, but in the end the only way to relax such measures will be a draining of the terror swamps coupled with a change in the collective mindset in the countries who've long supported and produced the most terrorists. That's the current Bush doctrine.