Obama Priorities

Confessed al Qaeda terrorist al Marri, on trial in Peoria, may be given credit for time served and released. Powerline. Andrew McCarthy, NRO quotes the evidence:

Al-Marri was instructed by [KSM] to enter the United States no later than Sept. 10, 2001[.] . . . [KSM] also directed al-Marri to meet with Mustafa al-Hawsawi . . . in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where al-Hawsawi provided him with $10,000. . . . Al-Hawsawi was a primary financier of the September 11th attacks. . . .

Al-Marri and his family arrived in the United States on Sept. 10, 2001. . . . Al-Marri used . . . e-mail accounts to inform [KSM] that he had arrived safely in the United States. . . . From Sept. 23, 2001 through Nov. 4, 2001, al-Marri made several unsuccessful attempts to call al-Hawsawi and others he knew were al-Qaeda operatives. . . . Although the initial calls were made from payphones in the Peoria area, after al-Marri was interviewed by the FBI on Oct. 2, 2001, he expanded the calling area, sometimes traveling more 160 miles away to place calls. Al-Marri also conducted online research of various cyanide compounds, including hydrogen cyanide, potassium cyanide, and sodium cyanide. He reviewed toxicity levels, locations where these items could be purchased, and specific pricing of the compounds. He also explored obtaining sulfuric acid, a well-known binary agent used in a hydrogen cyanide binary device to create cyanide gas. Al-Marri agrees that the government would prove at trial this is the method taught by al Qaeda for manufacturing cyanide gas.

Al-Marri agrees that the government would prove at trial that his research into cyanide compounds is consistent with research conducted by persons trained in camps teaching advanced poisons courses to terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda. He also agrees that the government would prove at trial that an almanac recovered in his residence was bookmarked at pages showing dams, waterways and tunnels in the United States, consistent with al Qaeda attack planning regarding the use of cyanide gases.

Why worry? The administration apparently thinks this kind of thing could never happen again. But it did. At the WTC. The first time only 6 people died--McCarthy prosecuted that case and disrupted a second wave of attacks then too. But again, we get a sense of this administration's priorities. TWS on the Obama administration's refusal to release photos of his plane over NYC:

Don Surber notes that the administration will release photos that could be used by terrorists as propaganda against the United States but not photos that could be used in campaign commercials against Obama:

Because people in NY and elsewhere might be reminded of what happened on Sept. 11th. As they were when that plane flew over the city. And that it could happen again.

P.S. You know, release of those photos could topple Pakistan. Even Sen. Kerry said it would be damaging to us. At the very least, make a dangerous situation worse--and endanger the lives of our troops. We've been through all this before, the bad actors have been punished--why rake it all up again, one incident not characteristic of our humane treatment of prisoners. The answer is politics comes first--and that's scary coming from a president whose primary responsibility is to protect and defend the United States of America.