After reading Glenn Greenwald's comments regarding Susan Collins' statements about the underwear bomber, I sent her a letter.
Dear Senator:
Are you politicizing the war on terror and endorsing race-based special punishment for potential terror suspects?
It appears that you are, singling out a black terror suspect for harsher treatment than Republicans have previously and publicly sought for white, Asian or hispanic terror suspects.
We all watched as Scott Brown won his election in Massachusetts by making a politically correct lynching proposal: stripping the black, African underwear bomber of his rights and interrogating him without end.
A man permanently without rights can of course be killed without consequence, and you already know that prisoners in American custody have been secretly tortured, many to death, in the war on terror. It's a secret so horrific it's been impossible to keep truly quiet, despite Republican and Democratic collusion.
Officially, however, Americans in government have not previously endorsed such practices. Now, you've joined Scott Brown in publicly singling out a black, African terror suspect for punishment and dehumanization that you never proposed for Richard Reid, Scott Roeder, Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols or dozens of other terrorists who have attacked Americans on our own soil or in our airspace.
And look at the sickening political benefit you accrue as well: Embarrassing a black American president whose African roots are every bit as obvious as those of the underwear bomber -- forcing the president to defend a proper constitutional handling of this terror suspect in your attempt to make the president look weak, cleverly playing the same game as the politically deranged who've questioned the president's birth certificate, nationality and loyalty to America.
A large political subculture in America longs to reignite racial tensions, and you're playing along. It's not inevitable that following the high-water mark of a black president's election we'll see a low tide of racial tolerance America, but you're certainly contributing to such an event.
Truly, you need to adopt a political stance that you can be proud of, not a stance that appears racist, irresponsible, fear-mongering and unconstitutional.
Besides, the unsuccessful, hapless, punk terror suspect has been cooperating with intelligence officials. We don't need to strip him of his rights to interrogate him.