To Prevent the Next Bombing

Via The Corner:

LIEBERMAN, COLLINS URGE ADMINISTRATION TO MOVE ABDULMUTALLAB INTO MILITARY CUSTODY

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., urged the Administration Monday to move Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from civilian to military custody because he is an enemy combatant and should be detained, interrogated and ultimately charged as such. Abdulmutallab, who is charged with attempting to blow up a jetliner with over 250 people heading to Detroit on Christmas Day, was interrogated, charged, and is being held by civilian legal authorities, despite having been trained and directed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula.

A copy of the letter follows:

January 25, 2010

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Attorney General of the United States

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20530-0001

Mr. John O. Brennan

Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Attorney General Holder and Mr. Brennan:

We write to urge the Administration to immediately transfer Umar Farouk Abdulmuttalab, a foreign terrorist, to the Department of Defense to be held as an unprivileged enemy belligerent (UEB) and questioned and charged accordingly.

The President has affirmed repeatedly that we are at war with al-Qaeda and, as you well know, Abdulmuttalab, a Nigerian national, was trained and sent by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to ruthlessly and mercilessly kill hundreds of innocent civilians, including the Americans on Flight 253 and many more on the ground. Osama Bin Laden also claimed yesterday that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack.

Nevertheless, once Abdulmuttalab was in custody, federal law enforcement officials on the ground in Detroit read the terrorist his Miranda rights. According to press reports, by the time the Miranda rights were read and Abdulmuttalab went silent, he had been questioned for just under an hour, during which time he had been speaking openly about the attack and AQAP’s role. The decision to treat Abdulmuttalab as a criminal rather than an UEB almost certainly prevented the military and the intelligence community from obtaining information that would have been critical to learning more about how our enemy operates and to preventing future attacks against our homeland and Americans and our allies throughout the world.

During a hearing before our Committee last week titled "Intelligence Reform: The Lessons and Implications of the Christmas Day Attack," we were told that the Department of Justice did not consult with leadership in the intelligence community and the Department of Defense for their input on whether or not to treat Abdulmuttalab as a criminal and read him his Miranda rights. In addition, in the aftermath of the hearing, we learned that the so-called High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, which the Department of Justice announced to much fanfare last August - more than four months ago – is not yet operational.

Though the President has said repeatedly that we are at war, it does not appear to us that the President's words are reflected in the actions of some in the Executive branch, including some at the Department of Justice, responsible for fighting that war. The unilateral decision by the Department of Justice to treat Abdulmuttalab - a belligerent fighting for and trained by an al-Qaeda franchised organization - as a criminal rather than an UEB and to forego information that may have been extremely helpful to winning this war demonstrates that very point.

The Administration can reverse this error, at least to some degree, by immediately transferring Abdulmuttalab to the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense has the authority and capability to hold and interrogate Abdulmuttalab and try him before a military commission. We urge you to take that course of action immediately and to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to avoid repeating such mistakes in the future.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman Susan M. Collins

Chairman Ranking Member

More. WSJ: Abdulmutallab in 50 Minutes. The more we learn about his 'interrogation,' the worse White House policy looks. More. Byron York:

That was bad enough, but what really made lawmakers angry was when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," insisted the 50-minute interrogation had been entirely sufficient for investigators to learn everything they needed to know about the al Qaeda plot to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

"You really don't think that if you'd interrogated him longer that you might have gotten more information?" asked Fox's Chris Wallace.

"Well, FBI interrogators believe they got valuable intelligence and were able to get all that they could out of him," Gibbs said.

"All they could?" Wallace asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs said.

That was it for some lawmakers. "It is now clear beyond doubt that the administration squandered an invaluable opportunity to gather intelligence from a captured terrorist fresh from al Qaeda's operation in Yemen," Sessions said. "But this weekend, the president's spokesman actually argued that the right call was made and that fifty minutes of interrogation was sufficient."

Transfer this terrorist to the Dept. of Defense.

Mr. President, you're the commander in chief of the war on terror. You're the President of the United States of America. This terrorist tried to murder hundreds of Americans mid-air on Christmas day. We expect you to go all out to prevent this from happening again, by learning all you can from this failed bomber. Before it's too late.

Americans at home should not be dismissed as collateral damage.

Related. Obama Gets 'F' on Bio-Threat

And this:

NJ Authorities Arrest Man With Keffiyeh, Grenade Launcher, Maps, More

h/t Paul in email. Stories I've checked have either dropped the keffiyeh reference, or placed it at the bottom of the article.