Look Who's Talking
wesmorgan1From CNN:
Senior Obama administration officials revealed late Tuesday they've secretly gained the cooperation of family members of Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab to help get the Christmas Day airline bomb suspect talking.
The cooperation effort has led to actionable intelligence that could help prevent terror attempts on U.S. soil, the senior officials said. [...]
The U.S. officials later traveled to Nigeria's capital city, Abuja, and eventually gained the trust of two unidentified relatives of the suspect. On January 17, the FBI agents secretly flew back to the U.S. with the two relatives in order to work with the suspect.
One senior Obama administration official said the family members privately conveyed to the suspect they "had complete trust in the U.S. system" and they believed he "would be treated fairly" by the Obama administration.
The senior administration officials said that since AbdulMutallab began talking to investigation again last week, he has been cooperating on a daily basis.
Wow...gaining trust...no torture...and the suspect is cooperating.
So, was it really worth all the "weak on terror" nonsense coming from the likes of Susan Collins? If the guy is cooperating, and if the intelligence provided is accurate and "actionable," then where's the harm? It isn't as if the guy is going to win an acquital; the evidence is as airtight as it gets.
I'm anxiously awaiting someone to tell me how tossing him in isolation and throwing away the key would have been a better approach. At worst, I think this sort of thing is a case-by-case judgment call; they aren't all going to fit the same mold, and it's ridiculous to suggest that they will.
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Reader Comments (10)
What benefit was there for the WH to tell everyone he was 'talking" other than to cover their ass? I agree with Senator Bond, this was overtly political ploy by the WH to "try" and curtail the soft on terror label they so justly deserve. Also, after five weeks it’s a little late to honk your horn over the rich vein of information you’re getting. After shutting down the original interrogation after a mere 50-minutes to the protests of the FBI, CIA and NIS; the real time intelligence he could have provided has gone cold.
Quite the triumph Barack Obama. We can all sleep sounder tonight CIC.
Actually, you're once again working from wrong information, TM. Here's the info you're missing.
Are you suggesting, then, that Collins should be permitted to simply lie like this?
As Gibbs noted at the link above, all the players were fully involved in the decision to indict him in civilian court. Collins was simply using fear to take a cheap shot that didn't even match the facts.For comparison purposes, here's a description of the nearly-identical treatment afforded Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. Of course, now Republicans say that was a mistake:
BS
Right, Tijuana, anything that contradicts your presuppositions is "BS." Got it.
Wes;
The investigation was shut down after 50 minutes. That's a fact NO ONE who isn’t left of the Truthers refutes. Now he talks five weeks after the fact and the libs scream "see the process worked." Fortunately Americans see dems as weak on terror as always. President One-Term can create all the straw men he wants but his bs is running cold with Americans
I meant interrogation, not investigation.
What's your alternative, TM - waterboarding every suspect?
Really, Wes? Is waterboarding our only alternative?
I wonder what kind of deal we had to give this terrorist in exchange for cooperation?