Thursday, August 07, 2008

Robbed of Closure

I'm still trying to process the dump of information on the sole suspect in the Amerithrax investigation. While there would have, no doubt, been security concerns in bringing Bruce Ivins to justice in open court, I cannot help but feel there should have been a trial.

I have pointed out to many, many people just how remarkable it is that no further terrorist attacks have claimed mass casualties on American soil over the past eight years, and I appreciate the efforts of the agencies, from the most local to the federal and international, that have helped assure our safety. Yet I still cannot help but think that the American people would have been better served if they'd been more assured that whatever corrective measures needed by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies in the wake of the anthrax attacks have been or will be put into place. I cannot shake the feeling that a conviction in absentia (for that is what this is) is hollow at best, frightening at worst from the standpoint of both human liberty and national security.

Having said that, I will add that it is easier to be a citizen than it is to be a lawman: I do not envy the job of those who must keep us safe.

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