02:46 PM | Comment (0)

W once again demonstrated his frightening naivety during his European trip this week. When confronted with questions about the recent poll that shows Europeans see the U.S. as a greater threat to world stability than Iran or North Korea, Bush lashed out with his typically simplistic analysis, "That's absurd."

Unfortunately quips can't diffuse the facts that the rest of the world sees clearly. We invade other nations and topple regimes based on trumped up charges and outright lies. We flout international law in order to torture and brutalize citizens of other countries. We trample the civil rights of our own citizens then hypocritically justify the abuses by claiming to protect freedom by fighting terrorism.

LIttle wonder that today's arrests of seven in Miami leave me queasy. The US government is making it sound as if they nipped some big, bad terrorists in the bud. But what crimes were committed? These men talked about doing things. As I understand it, the constitution makes it clear that talking isn't a crime; one has to take action. They conspired with Al Quaeda. Well not really; the person they thought was an Al Quaeda operative was in fact an acting U.S. agent, which might raise the specter of entrapment. They sought aid from this Al Quaeda imposter, including $50,000 in cash, surveillance equipment and combat gear. All they actually got was a video camera and some boots, both of which are perfectly legal to posses as far as I can tell.

Like so much the Bush-Cheney regime does, this Miami case seems little more than a flashy PR stand backed up by little substance. These are tactics that seem natural for a third-world despot but simply make me sad when they come from Washington. More and more I can't shake the feeling that we're in the midst new McCarthy-style era where trumped up charges, half truths and paranoid fantasies run amok. Whose lives are going to wind up in tatters? More importantly, what's it going to take before the public wakes up and demands a stop?