What’s your (talking) point?

I’m not sure what to make of this latest talking point from the wingnut right — that the Supreme Court’s ruling that Gitmo detainees have the right to challenge their detentions in court (you know, instead of allowing the government to lock up people indefintely and without charges) makes the United States less safe.

Of course the GOP wants to keep people scared, so Antonin “Fucking Douchebag” Scalia writes a dissenting opinion with the baseless claim that this decision “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed,” John McCain ramps up the fear factor of his original reaction to the ruling [from “It obviously concerns me . . . but it is a decision the Supreme Court has made. Now we need to move forward. As you know, I always favored closing of Guantanamo Bay and I still think that we ought to do that,” to “Our first obligation is the safety and security of this nation and the men and women who defend it. This decision will harm our ability to do that,” in 24 hours. (Clearly on Thursday he hadn’t been told what to think or say about the ruling yet)], and now out trots Newt Gingrich with his “this decision will cost us a city” shit.

But in addition to putting The Fear out there, aren’t all three of these idiots expressing very little faith in the Bush administration? Because the only way that this decision makes the country less safe is if detainees’ legal challenges lead to terrorists being released from custody. And the only way that would happen is if the administration has insufficient evidence to prove they are terrorists (and if the administration has insufficient evidence against these people, how do we know they are terrorists?)

Could it be that Scalia, McCain and Gingrich all are saying that the administration is incapable of proving that actual terrorists are actual terrorists? Are they saying the administration is incapable of doing its job of protecting the American people from terror attacks?

Could it be that the Justice Department has been so busy purging itself of non-Bushies and concocting questionable and politically motivated prosecutions of Democrats that it has been unable to find enough evidence against people the administration claims TO KNOW to be terrorists that it can’t even produce enough evidence to warrant charges and a trial?

UPDATE: To answer my own question, yes.

An eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents has found that Akhtiar was one of dozens of men — and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds — whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments.