Third Time No Charm

There are few clearer examples of the Keystone Cop nature of George Bush's war on terror than that of the Liberty City Seven. Actually, there are only six, since one was acquitted at trial last December. You may remember these guys. They were accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago, and trying to join Al Qaeda as well. When first busted, the Justice Dept. tried to say they were Islamic militants complete with a plan to buy weapons. Turns out most of them were haitian immigrants.

Quiet as it's kept, the government's case began to fall apart at the first trial. Testimony revealed an FBI search of the group's headquarters in Miami's Liberty City found no weapons, and no evidence of any kind of preparations for an attack. The first trial ended with one acquittal and the jury unable to decide unanimously about the other six. 

No matter. A second trial was undertaken. That one ended last week with the same result as the first. The jury was unable to decide. This could be a tribute to the government's lack of evidence that these defendants were anything other than entrapped by informants. So, what does Uncle Sam do? Go back to the well one more time.

You may notice that the results of these two cases hardly got the publicity the initial arrests did back in June of '06. Back then, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez presented wiretaps and informant reports in a headline grabbing manner. These men were, according to Gonzalez, one big reason why America had to remain vigilant against the dangers of terror at home.

Maybe not so much now, huh?