So why bother?

Brian Michael Jenkins has been thinking and writing about terrorism since the 1970s, back before anyone else gave the phenomenon the attention it deserves.  He has a better sense of perspective on the "war on terror" and the homeland security state than anyone I know.  So when he takes on Senator Carl Levin on the anti-liberty provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act, he not only deserves to be taken seriously, he should be applauded for the calm and reasoned way he mops the floor with the Senator and his claims.  Foreign Affairs (subscription required) has been printing their ongoing debate.  If you can get to it (students, check the library), it's worth a look, or you can get a sense of where it has gone through the selections available to the public.  My favorite quote, from Jenkins:

Senator Carl Levin argued in these pages that the NDAA changes nothing. If that were true, there would have been no reason to pass the bill.

The Senator, on the other hand, comes off looking like something of a cross between a fool and a cynic.  I don't suppose there's any surprise there.

A Final Word on the NDAA | Foreign Affairs