>>We are still pikers compared to the Chinese when it comes to human rights violations. But I agree with Walter's point that a few years ago it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for many to imagine the U.S. doing what we have at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. Including many Americans. Yes, we have every reason to go after Al Qaeda hard, and up to a point we should. But we shouldn't sell our own souls in the process. We can't just chuck the Constitution out the window and still be the country we want to be.
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>But if your goal was to get rid of those pesky constitutional restrains and finally take power for real, without being limited by the other two branches, who are either corrupt or activist anyway, wouldn't Al Qaeda be exactly what the doctor would order?

The problem with that scenario is that the power is short-lived. It would only last until the next election...