The relentless, vindictive war being waged by the ACLU against the Boy Scouts of America took a turn recently when the Defense Department agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit they have been defending for five years.

* The relentless, vindictive war being waged by the ACLU against the Boy Scouts of America took a turn recently when the Defense Department agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit they have been defending for five years. Under the terms of the settlement, the Pentagon will warn military bases to stop sponsoring Boy Scout troops. Serving members of the military may still lead Scout troops on their own time, and the Boy Scouts are still permitted to meet on areas of military bases used by other civilian organizations. In a letter to President Bush protesting the settlement, North Carolina representative Walter Jones notes correctly that the ACLU has "continuously attacked the Boy Scouts for one simple reason: it is an organization founded in a commitment to God and morality." He wonders whether chaplains on military bases will be the next targets. So do we. We wonder, too, how it is that an organization dedicated to the preservation of our liberties works so busily to destroy the social foundations on which those liberties rest.