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Well, the cartoon pretty much explains the dilemma that we are in. The enemy uses our freedoms and laws against us and, of course, refuses to abide by any standard of decency. This is the central aspect of the current conflict and the reason that so many Americans who ought to know better just cannot get beyond the libertarian theorizing and get behind the WOT in any practicable way.

I have, of late, debated with a few fellow citizens the actions of Abraham Lincoln to suspend habeas corpus during the Civil War. Some of my Libertarian acquaintances express horror at my defense of Honest Abe in this matter. I, nevertheless, maintain that survival trumps legal haggling over rights that certainly must apply in times of safety but not necessarily while we are situated in a time of great danger.

Some believe that you are no better than your enemy if one freedom is interfered with while pursuing victory in a fight to the death. I, however, cannot believe that my destruction at the hands of terrorists would be made less bitter by the knowledge that all civil liberties were in place and had in fact facilitated the butchers at the time of my demise.

Realistically, protestations of legal integrity notwithstanding, the fact that a JAG officer does his/her duty in one manner or another means one thing in peace and another in time of war. But, in fairness, it is not this LCDR's fault that a confused SCOTUS majority shared a belief that has mesmerized much of the nation. IMHO, the peril we face is felt to varying degrees by our population. I expect the terrorists to rectify this in the future; the question is simply how much stateside destruction will it take for the country to finally unite and win the WOT?

As for the passed-over LCDR, a failure to impress superiors in a manner that set him above his competition is surely the cause of his being ordered home.