The full picture of the Bush administration’s response to 9/11 attacks is becoming clear. Over and over again, the same pattern emerges: Given a choice between following the rules or carving out some unprecedented executive power, the White House always shrugged off the legal constraints. The methods used by this administration to fight terrorism have been shaped by a perverse determination: never to consult, never to ask and always to fight against any constraint on it. This has resulted in a frayed democratic fabric in the country and a less effective war on terror.

This sorry story has been on vivid display since the Supreme Court ruled that the Geneva Conventions and US law both applied to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp. Bush has made it clear that he wants the Congress to legalise his illegal actions — to amend the law to negate the court’s ruling. As for the Geneva Conventions, he wants to scrap the international consensus that no prisoner may be robbed of basic human dignity. Undoing the Geneva Conventions would endanger the life of American soldier who might ever be taken captive in the future. The recent disbanding of the CIA unit charged with finding Osama bin Laden is also a reminder that the Americans may never see anyone brought to trial for the terrible crimes of 9/11.