pynchon-l-digest V2 #2550

[Michael Kenny]

--- Doug Millison <millison at online-journalist.com> wrote:
> Perhaps.  But should  paranoid fantasy  constitute
> grounds to arrest
> somebody, lock him up, and throw away the key?

No.  But we don't know if Ashcroft is operating under
paranoid fantasies.  US intelligence gathered that Abdullah
Al Muhajir might have been looking into building a dirty
bomb in Pakistan.  Ashcroft characterized the dirty bomb
scenario as a plot.  Wolfowitz characterized it more
loosely.

The US is treating the man as an illegal combatant who does
not have the rights of a US citizen.  Citizenship can be
lost when someone joins a foreign army.  I assume foreign
terrorist cells are construed as foreign armies.  As I
understand, the man is being interrogated and will
eventually have his day before a military tribunal. 
They'll determine whether Ashcroft was operating under a
paranoid scheme.  If this is true, the alleged terrorist
can probably sue the state.  I don't know what consequences
Ashcroft would suffer.

I agree there should be openness about how long an alleged
terrorist is being held and why.  Also, criteria should be
set down for determining probable cause for believing a US
citizen became a terrorist and renounced his citizenship. 
If Abdullah Al Muhajir is found innocent before a military
tribunal, then he can go back to being an American citizen.
 If not, the military judges will determine the punishment.

> It's not a stretch of the imagination for a President to
> try to deflect
> attention from his shortcomings, either.

It's a possibility.

--Mike

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