The Jihadi Next Door?

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Americans have become experts at civic calculus since Sept. 11. Four years ago, about 60% of those polled said that a small abrogation of rights is an acceptable price for feeling--and perhaps being--a little safer, but recent polls put the number at 34%. While they may not want their own rights restricted, the real question is whether Americans care if the rights of their fellows--specifically the young American Muslims most likely to get caught in an aggressive prosecutorial dragnet--are abridged. Says Suskind, "The downside of overreaching is that it's not a judicious exercise of power. It's inefficient." It's also possible that in treating kooks like radicals, you radicalize some otherwise reasonable people. The predicament for law enforcement, though, is that it's not enough to fix broken windows. You have to shout it out to the whole neighborhood.