Unfortunately, this story got drowned out by last week’s convention noise. It is supremely important, as it goes right to the heart of our leaders’ claims we are winning our “war on terror.”

“Today’s convictions send a clear message: The Department of Justice will work diligently to detect, disrupt and dismantle the activities of terrorist cells in the United States and abroad.”

SO SAID ATTORNEY General John D. Ashcroft on June 3, 2003, the day Karim Koubriti, Ahmed Hannan and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi were convicted in Detroit in the first major terrorism prosecution to follow the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Barely a year later, the department’s work on the case looks far from diligent, and it is by no means clear that the government disrupted a terrorist cell. The lead prosecutor is facing a criminal investigation, and the evidence he presented in court has been so discredited that the Justice Department asked the court last week to overturn the convictions and dismiss the terrorism charges. U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen agreed that the government had “materially misled the Court, the jury and the defense [about] critical evidence that provided important foundations for the prosecution’s case.” Mr. Ashcroft, so quick to crow about a victory in court, now owes a candid, public explanation of what has happened.

Don’t hold your breath. Ashcroft’s initial quote got reams of publicity, but the collapse of the case amid unprecedented bungling has been largely overshadowed by important stuff, like Zell Miller’s ravings.