ACLU: Terrorist Liberties Union?

As Anil Adyanthaya of the Boston Globe points out in an article this morning, the ACLU is again operating outside its stated mission and instead is simply a critic of the Bush administration. The case brought against Donald Rumseld proves his point.

On its website, the ACLU says its ''job" is to ''defend the rights of every man, woman and child in this country" and ''defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." Yet, none of the eight plaintiffs for whom the ACLU is providing pro bono representation is either an American citizen or a legal (or illegal) resident of this country. The plaintiffs are all citizens of either Iraq or Afghanistan who were captured by US military forces during the wars being fought in those two countries. How then does this lawsuit advance the cause of American civil liberties?

Adyanthaya suggests that the ACLU has decided its mission is to be a public relations arm of America. In filing suit against Rumsfeld, ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero declared,

"The effects of Rumsfeld's policies have been devastating both to America's international reputation as a beacon of freedom and democracy, and to the hundreds, even thousands of individuals who have suffered at the hands of US forces."

Yet, as Adyanthaya points out, the ACLU has not been able to find a single plaintiff outside of Iraq or Afghanistan - despite this widespread "suffering at the hands of US forces." Like many ACLU cases, this one is ridiculous and outside its stated mission...even though it provides great fodder for the Bush-Rumsfeld bashers like Andrew Sullivan.

The maligning of the U.S. military only makes it harder for thousands of U.S. soldiers to prosecute the war on terrorists. I think we all know who are the real protectors of American civil liberties.