Patriotism, these days, comes in many different varieties, not all of them consistent with basic American values. Last week a Web site devoted to conservative politics revealed its doubts about the American system of justice.

Keep America Safe, founded by Liz Cheney, the daughter of former vice president Dick Cheney, recently tried to whip up an anti-terrorist fervor against the administration. The site demanded the names of Justice Department lawyers who had once performed legal work on behalf of Guantanamo detainees.

The online advertisement impugned the integrity of these lawyers, calling them “the al-Qaida Seven.”

This attack exceeds even the broad limits of partisanship that Republicans usually allow themselves. The online video asks “whose values do they share?” and flashes the headline, “Department of Jihad.” The message is that the Justice Department lawyers share the illicit goals attributed to their former clients.

This un-American message was quickly repudiated by such well-known conservative lawyers as Theodore Olsen and Kenneth Starr. A bipartisan letter of reproach argued that “the American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at least as old as John Adams’ representation of the British soldiers charged in the Boston massacre.”

But bipartisanship concerning the prosecution of accused terrorists only extends so far. The Justice Department has not been able to win support for the idea that American courts are well-suited for passing judgment on terrorists. The department now seems ready to abandon its plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other accused terrorists in federal court.

There is no reason to doubt that American judges can impose justice on terrorists. U.S. courts have effectively dealt with such criminals, including Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, who was successfully prosecuted by the Bush Justice Department.

In passing sentence in that case, Judge William Young rejected the idea that Reid’s attempt to blow up an airliner was a military act. “You’re no warrior,” he said. “You are a terrorist, a species of criminal guilty of multiple attempted murders.”

Even though the courts have so far convicted far more terrorists, many in Congress prefer the symbolism of military tribunals. Their antipathy to public trials shows that the Bush administration’s pretense of administering rough justice lives on.

Politics has an important place in American life, but it should not play a prominent role in the administration of justice. Forcing the suspects in the 9/11 case into a military courtroom will make the trials no more effective, while undermining respect for the verdict.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven by calling 282-1535, Ext. 327, or via e-mail at nickc@journaltribune.com.