In March, the Common Dreams News Center—"Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community"—published an article titled When Democracy Failed: The Warnings of History by Thom Hartmann. It describes a pivotal period in a nation's history.

Terrorists had initiated feeble attacks against a few symbolic targets. There were warnings of an imminent attack that might well succeed. The nation's leader, whose legitimacy was questioned by many--a Southerner elected by a minority vote and ridiculed for his inability to understand the nuances of running a nation in a complex and increasingly internationalist world--ignored the warnings. When the attack came, it was against one of the nation's most prestigious buildings. He went to the site of the attack, called it "a sign from God" and declared an all-out war on terrorism and its sponsors in the Middle East, citing in particular the religious basis they had for their evil acts. Within four weeks, the newly popular leader had pushed through legislation reducing constitutional protections, in part by agreeing to a four-year sunset provision. Legislators would later say they hadn't even had time to read the bill. The legislation permitted police to intercept mail and wiretap phones; imprison suspected terrorists without charges and without access to lawyers; and sneak into people's homes without warrants. He proposed a new agency to protect the security of the homeland, consolidating dozens of previously independent police, border, and investigative agencies under a single leader. He then appointed a trusted associate to lead of this new agency and made it the equal of the other major departments. This agency started a program encouraging people to phone in tips about suspicious neighbors. The leader began to try to convince the people that a small, limited war was needed. Some students began protesting, and leaders of other nations spoke out against his bellicose rhetoric. A second nation harbored many of the suspicious people of Middle Eastern descent and, even though the connection was tenuous to the terrorist who had set one of the nation's most important building ablaze, it held resources the nation badly needed. He delivered an ultimatum to the leader of that nation, provoking an international uproar, and claimed the right to strike preemptively in self-defense. In less than two years, his military had overcome two independent nations with surprising ease. By then he had become enormously popular and was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year."

This leader was not, of course, George Bush. The events I've described are only highlights of many more parallels cited in the article. The publication of the Common Dreams article followed shortly after the 70th anniversary of the successful terrorist attack.