Words matter [updated]

Dick Cheney on Kerry and al-Qaeda: (Apparently they can be that crass.) “It’s absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on Nov. 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice then the danger is that we’ll get hit again and we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States” Al-Qaeda on Bush: A statement from al-Qaeda following the Madrid bombings clarified this intent [to organize Muslims worldwide]. It said the organization hoped George Bush would win reelection, “because he acts with force rather than wisdom or shrewdness,…

Nick Kristof brings the obvious to light. I’m glad he’s doing it, because it’s only when something is in the non-blogging media is taken seriously. I just wish he’d done it sooner. It’s not only about protecting Muslims, it’s about protecting America. [update] So the killing of the judge was not the work of terrorists, just a crazy guy. However, Kristof’s article is still important; not because I don’t think the government is doing enough, the fact that they stopped some attacks says they are doing something, but that they could be doing it better. Part of that is publicizing…

A soldier who deserted from the US Army in Iraq because he found the war morally objectionable – partly because of the treatment of prisoners – faces the same punishment as those who abused the prisoners at Abu Ghuraib. I turn to those more knowledgeable: Can he plead that he deserted because the orders were illegal?