Law Professor and Author David Cole writes in a New York Times op-ed today called Fight Terrorism Fairly:

"Because of an overly broad statute, the government wins this case no matter which version of the story is true. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, passed in 1996, makes it a crime to provide "material support" to any group designated as "terrorist" -- without regard to whether the support was actually intended to further terrorist activity."

"This law, rarely invoked before Sept. 11, is now the cornerstone of the Justice Department's domestic war on terrorism. In addition to the Lackawanna case, the government has relied on the law in its prosecutions of Lynne Stewart, the lawyer charged with passing messages from her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, to an Egyptian terrorist group; James Ujaama, who is accused of conspiring to help Al Qaeda set up a training camp in southern Oregon; and John Walker Lindh, who pleaded guilty to aiding the Taliban."

"...It is always tempting, when faced with a serious threat, to make it easier for the government to prosecute suspects for who they are rather than what they do. But as we have learned, doing so inevitably sweeps in the innocent and chills legitimate political activity."