The Jose Padilla case

was back in the news yesterday, as the Justice department in the US released supposedly damning information about Padilla and his supposed dirty-bomb intentions. Here’s the wire story: Suspect Sought to Blow Up Buildings.

Something has been bothering me about the whole thing though. Well, lots has been bothering me, in particular holding someone indefinitely without charges and only grudging and very limited access to counsel. But that’s not what’s bothering me since yesterday. I think the “evidence” that is supposed to show that Padilla is a Very Bad Guy is a joke. Not that it’s weak, or figuratively a joke – I think it’s really a joke. I think someone is playing Ashcroft for a fool on this whole thing.

Read this description from the wire story. Padilla et al were, “to locate as many as three high-rise buildings that had natural gas. They were to rent two apartments in each building, seal all the openings, turn on the gas, and set timers to detonate the buildings simultaneously at a later time.”

That’s not a terrorist plot, that’s Fight Club (the book and in particular the movie)! Go take a look at the screenplay and do an in-page search for “HISS” to find the relevent passage.