THREE OHIO MEN ARRESTED on charges of conspiring to kill U.S. troops in Iraq ... And here is the most important part of this story:

The indictment said the men used code words to communicate with colleagues in the Middle East who requested materials, including computers and explosives. Mr. Gonzales was asked whether the investigation was aided by the electronic eavesdropping program that Mr. Bush authorized. Mr. Gonzales answered at length but did not address that. [In other words, he refused to answer.]

"We are very, very much concerned about ensuring that we've done everything we can do to not jeopardize any prosecution, to not jeopardize any investigation," he said. "And I'll just leave it at that."

But Gregory A. White, the chief federal prosecutor in the northern district of Ohio, standing alongside Mr. Gonzales, suggested strongly that such clandestine wiretaps were not at the heart of the case.

Asked whether he had all the tools he needed under existing criminal law to bring the case, Mr. White replied, "The allegations in this indictment are based upon traditional law enforcement kinds of efforts."

If illegal wiretapping had been what led the government to these men, don't you think Gonzales would have been blasting the news from the rooftops, on loudspeakers?