Word: palestinians
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...After all, the U.S. government seemed to enjoy every advantage in the prosecution of al-Arian - who was accused in 2003 of conspiring with the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It had thousands of hours of taped phone calls, intercepted throughout a dozen years of surveillance; emotionally wrenching testimony from witnesses, including the father of an American girl murdered in Israel by a PIJ suicide bomber; and a jittery public anxious for convictions in the war on terror...
...Because it couldn't prove al-Arian was "the most powerful man" in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as one prosecutor characterized him during the trial, or link him directly with any of the brutal killings perpetrated by PIJ, "this [was] a failed prosecution, period," al-Arian attorney Linda Moreno tells TIME. "[Former Attorney General] John Ashcroft announced the indictment three years ago on the steps of the Justice Department. Three years later, we have the Department of Justice recommending that Dr. al-Arian be sentenced to the lowest term possible and agreeing that this is not a crime of violence...
...really, however, a victory for al-Arian either. For decades, he'd insisted that he rejected the PIJ. But both his plea and wiretap evidence brought out in his indictment and trial severely undercut his image as nothing more than an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights, a First Amendment victim who had been made a handy political target for a government hungry for terrorism convictions...
...State Department spokesman Sean McCormack responded to the bombing by saying Hamas's response showed its "true nature," while White House spokesman Scott McClellan castigated Hamas for defending terrorism: "Defense or sponsorship of terrorist acts by officials of the Palestinian cabinet will have the gravest effects on relations between the Palestinian Authority and all states seeking peace in the Middle East," McClellan said. All very well, but the U.S. and Israel have already cut off all relations with the Palestinian Authority since Hamas is now in charge, so it's not exactly clear what he's threatening. Indeed...
...held Hamas responsible for attack, but declined to order a military response. This might be a canny "give-'em-enough-rope" move on Israel's part - Israeli restraint may give Hamas's own reaction time to harden the support of wavering Europeans for a strategy of isolating the new Palestinian government. But Israel's reluctance to take direct action against the Hamas-led government also reflects a certain realpolitik: As much as Israel would like to see Hamas fail, its security chiefs are also aware that there is no credible alternative - President Abbas is a spent force, and taking down...