Crimes of Terror: An Interview with Wadie Said

Muftah interviews Wadie Said, a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School, on the legal and political implications of federal terrorism prosecutions.

Since the U.S. "War on Terror" began in 2001, the battle has progressively moved from the war room to the court room. While the number of terrorism-related court cases over the last fifteen years has been relatively low, the U.S. judicial system is playing an increasingly prominent role in dealing with the terrorist "threat." For many - including human and civil rights activists - the shift from military detention, symbolized by Guantanamo Bay, to the U.S. court system has been a particularly positive development. But, Wadie Said, a professor at the University of South Carolina Law School, sees some troubling aspects to this shift.

In his recent book, Crimes of Terror: the Legal and Political Implications of Federal Terrorism Prosecutions, Prof. Said charts the presumptively illegitimate and dubious strategies used by the U.S. government to prosecute terrorism case - from criminalizing protected activities, like speech, to using informants with troubling criminal histories. Son of renowned Palestinian activist and professor, Edward Said, Wadie Said has been involved in defending some of the "terrorist suspects," like Prof. Sami Al-Arian, who have been swept up by the U.S. government's prosecutorial malfeasance.

In this interview, Muftah speaks with Prof. Said about U.S. terrorism prosecutions, how they are reshaping what it means to be a "terrorist," and their role in undermining the rule of law for all Americans.