Justice Dept. Supports Economic Development in Egypt

When you read tomorrow's Times you'll see this story. I've settled lots of cases in my years of practicing law, and it's rare to enter into a settlement in which one party actually admits they did something wrong. Still, when the defendant is the federal government, and they agree to pay $300,000 to settle a case brought by an "Egyptian who was among dozens of Muslim men swept up in the New York area after 9/11, held for months in a federal detention center in Brooklyn and deported after being cleared of links to terrorism," what else can we infer?

That's right: John Ashcroft's Justice Department scooped up a bunch of innocent Muslims, and they even did their own special report that concluded, in language as careful as it is telling, that "While recognizing the difficult circumstances confronting the Department in responding to the terrorist attacks, we found significant problems in the way the September 11 detainees were treated." Still, when the report concludes that detainees were held incommunicado, prevented from contact with their lawyers or families, in conditions that were unduly harsh, and that they were subjected to a pattern of verbal and physical abuse--yes, these are the words of the Justice Department guys--it's hard to mistake.

And now we're paying for it.

Unfortunately, seeing what's happened around the world, I'm afraid the $300,000 cash payment will be the cheapest part of the price.