http://digbig.com/4mbnw
Dahlia Lithwick:
"Feds lack nuance in thwarting potential terrorist attacks. The government claims to have foiled two major terrorism plots in the past month – both in early planning stages that had not crossed the line from talk to action. In late June, seven men were arrested in Miami on suspicion of concocting a plan to blow up, among other places, the Sears Tower in Chicago. Then, several men were arrested in the Middle East in connection with plotting suicide bombings of transit tunnels between New Jersey and Manhattan. This shift – toward disrupting attacks long before explosives are stockpiled or targets scoped out – makes some sense, given what we know about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and last year's mass-transit bombings in London. The difference between grandiose gym talk and a lethal terrorist strike can be bridged in a nanosecond, with a box cutter and a phone call. But it's also a shift from prosecuting tangible terrorism conspiracies to prosecuting bad thoughts. And we need to think carefully before we go further down that road. "
