Letter: Political rush may allow terrorists to go free

Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006 | 7:14 a.m.

What if there was no plot to blow up airliners with some sort of liquid bombs? I'd like to believe that police work has saved us all this time and maybe it's true. I expect police work will be a more effective deterrent to terrorism than invading countries that are no threat to us.

The problem is that I keep waiting for evidence against the alleged bombers that will stand up in court. So far there has been none, and one wonders why the police did not wait until airline tickets were purchased, passports attained and bomb materials gathered before making arrests.

It is interesting that Pakistan's terror law permits holding suspects for at least three months before making formal charges. That would take us well past our November elections. British law may permit only another 28 days. By then the subject may fade away. Perhaps we will soon see what prosecutors call "a mountain of evidence" which is obtained without the use of torture. I hope so. I would hate to think the whole issue was just another scare tactic like duct tape and plastic, small pox vaccinations and red alerts.

If there was a rush to make timely arrests for political purposes, the results could be terrorists going free or innocent people suffering arrest and confinement. That is not to mention the loss of what little credibility Tony Blair and the Bush administration still have.

Jerry Bitts, Las Vegas