Darren Margolis writes…
Mark, it seems that the Nation article (and you probably should have disclosed for the benefit of most people who don't know that The Nation is a very far left viewpoint magazine) is misleading in saying that Ashcroft is 0 for 5000. That implies that all 5000 have actually been tried and out of 5000, there have been no convictions. I don't know at this point how many have been tried. A more accurate statistic would have been to state the zero convictions figure as a function of how many have actually been tried.
But the vast majority have never been tried and will never be tried. They get detained, perhaps kept in a cell for an extended period without benefit of counsel, cited as an example of the superb job the Justice Department is doing, rounding up dangerous evildoers. And then, at some point, they're quietly released — because the authorities know they don't have enough evidence to make any sort of case. In most cases, they probably didn't have enough to warrant arresting these people in the first place.
I don't know why this doesn't bother people, including those who believe in an aggressive policy towards domestic terrorist suspects. But then I'm also amazed at how many people who favor the Death Penalty are unbothered by the number of folks who are apparently convicted in error. It's like the goal here is to make sure the government pursues the "right" course of action, and it doesn't really matter if they do it with a great deal of competence.