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The Rascals Endorse Judge Mukasey for AG
Honorary Rascal Dan Henninger explains why we endorse Mukasey for Attorney General: because he gets the War on Terror!
In 1995–before the Patriot Act–Judge Mukasey sat for nine months on the bench of a courtroom in Manhattan while the U.S. tried Omar Abdel Rahman, the “blind sheikh,” and 11 other men for a conspiracy to blow up the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, the New York building housing the FBI and other landmarks. At sentencing, Judge Mukasey explained Sheikh Rahman’s guilt:
“You were convicted of directing others to perform acts which, if they had been accomplished, would have resulted in the murder of hundreds if not thousands of people, and brought about devastation on a scale that beggars the imagination, certainly on a scale unknown in this country since the Civil War, if not ever, and would have made the [1993] World Trade Center outrage seem almost insignificant by comparison.”
Judge Mukasey’s statement reflects an understanding of what some of us argue is this threat’s unique nature. Omar Abdel Rahman and other Islamic terrorists do not represent a threat like Ted Bundy, the serial killer in the 1970s who murdered at least 30 women; instead this threat more resembles, as Judge Mukasey also said that day, “militant fascism that failed and militant communism that failed.”
Alberto Gonzales did not understand the threat we face. After John Ashcroft had done a yeoman’s job focusing the Justice Department like a laser on the war on terrror, Alberto took over and in his first meeting with his new underlings actually said, “I think we need a theme.”
Hello? Alberto, have you heard of the “War on Terror?” Have you heard of “Keeping America Safe?”
Adios, Alberto. Welcome, Judge Mukasey.