The Follies of Sensitivity

“It seems to me that one sign this war is over is when Muslims are grown-up enough not to go to full-blown baklava nuts over other folks touching their Qurans. Of course, for the likes of Sen. [Pat] Leahy, not only is the war far from over, it hasn’t even begun. Almost every argument in this area isn’t ‘about’ the war so much as whether there even is a war. As the Washington Post reported, ‘The Senate joined the House in embracing President Bush’s view that the battle against terrorism justifies the imposition of extraordinary limits on defendants’ traditional rights in the courtroom.’ Well, they’re only ‘extraordinary’ if you regard these men as traditional ‘defendants.’ If you regard them as traditional wartime detainees—rather than OJs in turbans—the only ‘extraordinary’ aspect of this is the kid gloves with which not just their Qurans but the jihadists themselves are handled. This is the only war in American history in which enemy detainees have been freed before the end of hostilities. Of those released, at least 22 are known to have returned to the battlefield in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. The ones who remain are dangerous men, no matter how ‘sensitive’ you are. They unscrewed the foot pads from those Asian-style toilets and used them as bludgeons to attack the guards. After listening to Pat Leahy’s contribution to the debate, I wonder if the Gitmo medical facility’s lavish team of mental health experts might not be more usefully deployed to the U.S. Senate.”

—Mark Steyn