Misidentifying the enemy

Vigorous opposition to how the Obama administration wants to handle enemy combatants is warranted. Branding Justice Department appointees who once provided legal defense for terror suspects as "the al-Qaida 7" is not. That's why some conservatives who have been rightly challenging the White House on this critical national security issue also rightly reject a current smear campaign that uses that outrageous label.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is among the prominent Republicans speaking out against a TV commercial from Keep Americans Safe, an organization co-chaired by Liz Cheney, one of former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughters. That ad not only refers to the "al-Qaida 7," it dubs Justice as "the department of Jihad" and asks: "Whose values do they share?"

As politico.com reported, Sen. Graham has responded with this reminder of a fundamental American value: "A defense attorney who is making the government do their job regardless of the nature of the case is making this whole country a better place. I represented people as a defense attorney in the military that were charged with some pretty horrific acts and I gave them my all."

Certainly Sen. Graham has given his all in urging the White House to drop its dangerous notion of trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 conspirators in civilian court. He's been making a strong case that the proper venue for such legal cases is a military tribunal.

Now he's making a strong case against unfairly attacking attorneys who dare to represent unpopular defendants. He pointed out that Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito were subjected to the same type of misplaced criticism during their Senate confirmation hearings when detractors blasted them for some of their prior clientele.

Among the other prominent conservatives denouncing that ad are a group of Republican lawyers, including former Independent Counsel Ken Starr and several former high-ranking Justice officials under President George W. Bush. An apt point from a letter they signed: "To suggest that the Justice Department should not employ talented lawyers who have advocated on behalf of detainees maligns the patriotism of people who have taken honorable positions on contested questions."

And to call those people the "al-Qaida 7" distracts from, and ultimately undermines, the vital task of altering the Obama administration's misguided policies on enemy combatants.