Underpants Bomber Talking Despite Miranda Rights

The American right has been having kittens over the fact that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged underpants bomber, was read his Miranda rights and got a lawyer. They claim that this treatment prevents American counter-intelligence from gathering actionable information and therefore, it undermines American Security. Yesterday in a congressional hearing, FBI Director Robert Mueller III and US National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said that just isn't true.

In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Blair said, "We got good intelligence. We're getting more." When asked by Senator Feinstein (D-CA) if Mr. Abdulmutallab had provided "valuable information" to the FBI, Mr. Mueller said unequivocally, "yes." The accused is talking under an "open-ended proffer," meaning that the US justice system will extend a degree of mercy in sentencing in exchange for his cooperation.

The Republican Party has decided that these intelligence experts don't know what they are doing. "This was not a bank robber. He was not a car hijacker," said Senator Christopher Bond of Missouri, the senior Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He added, "This person was an enemy combatant." Never mind that the Bush administration sent over 200 terror cases to civilian court and got a conviction rate of 100%. Ideology rules.

However, Senator Bond is wrong about his facts. Mr. Abdulmutallab is a criminal, not a combatant. America is not fighting a country, but an organized crime family called Al-Qaeda. And as every viewer of "The Sopranos" knows, the best way to get the capo is to take down the smaller members of his crew with offers of leniency. Indeed, the FBI and others would be remiss if they weren't trying to penetrate Al Qaeda with double agents.

There is also a moral dimension to this issue. If Al Qaeda murderers are considered enemy combatants, the US cedes to Al Qaeda a certain moral standing. They are morally the same as US troops, fighting for a cause in which they believe passionately. This journal is not prepared to allow that equivalence. Morally, they are the equivalent of John Gotti, Santo Trafficante and Al Capone. Could it be that the struggle against Al Qaeda has made the GOP soft on crime?

© Copyright 2010 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.

Kensington Review Home