Gates Defends the Administration on Abdulmutallab

[...] highlights some of Sec Def Gates’ testimony as John McCain tries to get him to admit the blindingly obvious point that the way Holder’s [...]

The fact remains that under the previous administration the “shoe bomber” got the same treatment as the “underwear bomber”. They both failed in their plans to detonate bombs on their person in a civilian airplane. They were both overpowered and detained by passengers and crew and both taken into custody by civilian law enforcement when the planes landed. Since that is a federal offense to do anything to interfere with an airplane they were taken into custody by those who commonly take such people into custody. Richard Reed has been tried and convicted and will not be seeing daylight outside a prison for the rest of his life. I have no doubt the “underwear bomber” will meet the same fate. By all accounts, the dude was singing like a canary about everything he knew for hours. He surely only knew a limited amount of info as he was very low on the totem pole. He was not very good terrorist material from reports of how he handled his “mission”. I can't imagine they entrusted him with very much more than he already spilled. The fact that his father came to the US Embassy to turn his son in demonstrates the father is not unfriendly to the US. To suddenly change course on the trial and resulting imprisonment could very well make an enemy of the father and others who might be compelled to come forward as this father did.

The torture devotees are angry because they were proven WRONG. In actual fact, Abmutallab is still singing, even with council, to escape the death penalty. What constitutes “actionable” intel is the question, but whatever that may be, he didn't have to be tortured to get it, and that goes to the whole question of why the Bush administration even entertained the idea in the first place.

The Republicans are wrong on this one, just like everything else. The reasons for the protestations are moot. It's the protestations themselves that are important.

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by TWI_news: Gates Defends the Administration on Abdulmutallab http://bit.ly/aHgWUL...

[...] know some were worried about AbdulMutallab being mirandized and like John McCain, were trying to attack for Eric Holder for his decision and I guess prosecute for treason(ok, not the treason part-or are they) but it [...]

I know. They jump up and down and swear that torture worked when in truth they learned less that way than the regular interrogation process. People like Cheney and his mini me daughter that keep insisting that water-boarding isn't' torture yet I don't see them offering to be water-boarded to prove it. They just announced that the underwear bomber guy is talking up a storm again. He had already done a whole lot of talking after he was arrested.

The thing that makes me angry about this is that we are what we are in this country because we are a nation of laws and human rights. We have ideals we are supposed to live up to all the time, not just when it is convenient to do so. How can we hold ourselves up as the nation to emulate if we lower our self to the level of those who try to hurt us? We must continue to be what we are supposed to be and that means trying people arrested here are tried here like anyone else. We have standards to uphold that we must always uphold or we are no better than they are. The shoe bomber was tried in the civilian courts and is in prison for life. He will pay the price for attempting to injure and kill his fellow passengers on that plane. I am confident this young man will be tried and convicted as well.

I know. They jump up and down and swear that torture worked when in truth they learned less that way than the regular interrogation process. People like Cheney and his mini me daughter that keep insisting that water-boarding isn't' torture yet I don't see them offering to be water-boarded to prove it. They just announced that the underwear bomber guy is talking up a storm again. He had already done a whole lot of talking after he was arrested.

The thing that makes me angry about this is that we are what we are in this country because we are a nation of laws and human rights. We have ideals we are supposed to live up to all the time, not just when it is convenient to do so. How can we hold ourselves up as the nation to emulate if we lower our self to the level of those who try to hurt us? We must continue to be what we are supposed to be and that means trying people arrested here are tried here like anyone else. We have standards to uphold that we must always uphold or we are no better than they are. The shoe bomber was tried in the civilian courts and is in prison for life. He will pay the price for attempting to injure and kill his fellow passengers on that plane. I am confident this young man will be tried and convicted as well.