2/3/10

Yesterday, America's top intelligence officials testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.  At the hearing FBI Director Robert Mueller revealed that that the underpants bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been providing FBI interrogators with useful intelligence about his training and contacts since last week.  This important revelation comes after weeks of criticism from conservatives who have been on the political attack, saying that once Abdulmutallab was read his Miranda Rights he stopped talking, insisting that he should instead have been "interrogated" by the military or the FBI.  They were proven incorrect and the use of the criminal justice system is what made cooperation -particularly with his family -possible.

Also in the news is an announcement by John Brennan, homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to the president, that in fact none of the 48 Guantanamo Bay detainees that have been released by the Obama administration have participated in recidivism, while  20% of those released by the Bush administration have.  These revelations are a vindication that the Obama administration's broader counterterrorism strategy is working.  This strategy rests on striking at terrorists where they plot, building regional partnerships to prevent extremism from spreading, bringing terrorists to justice in order to deter would-be perpetrators while reinforcing our values, and refusing to fall into the trap of overreaction that al Qaeda seeks to instill.  This is the best comprehensive approach for keeping America safe from terrorism.

Mirandized Underwear Bomber cooperates with investigators, Bush administration read Shoe Bomber Miranda Rights, yet conservatives continue to attack Administration efforts.  News today that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been providing useful intelligence to authorities deals a severe blow to conservatives seeking to attack the Administration for the handling of his interrogation.  The Washington Post reports today that: "Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to blow up a jet airplane on Christmas Day, has been providing FBI interrogators with useful intelligence about his training and contacts since last week, Obama administration sources said Tuesday. Separately, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told senators at an intelligence committee hearing that Abdulmutallab was giving information to investigators."

Furthermore,  Politico reports, "Republicans may have a hard time keeping up their talking point about how reading Miranda rights to the Christmas Day bomber represented a dangerous new direction under President Barack Obama. It turns out that that back in December 2001, Richard Reid - the ‘shoe bomber' - was read or reminded of his Miranda rights four times in two days, beginning five minutes after being taken into custody. Furthermore, the Bush administration specifically rejected the idea of a military tribunal - another step that Republicans have argued should have been taken in the case of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab." Nor are Reid and Abdulmutallab the only terrorists to cooperate with authorities through the criminal justice system.  Ahmed Ressam, Earnest James Ujaama, Mohammed Mansour Jabarah, and others all provided information to the government after being identified as criminal defendants.

These revelations delegitimize the deluge of GOP hysteria directed at the administration for its handling of the Abdulmutallab case. 

The Hill reported that Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) hammered the Justice Department for treating Flight 253 terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as a "common criminal" --  a move she described in her party's weekly address as a "failure" of the entire justice system. The decision to read Miranda rights to Abdulmutallab -- better known as the Christmas Day bomber -- is symptomatic of the White House's general "blindness" in its handling of the larger War on Terrorism, Collins stressed.

The same Hill story also noted that Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, "We remain deeply troubled that this paramount requirement of national security was ignored - or worse yet, not recognized - due to the administration's preoccupation with reading the Christmas Day bomber his Miranda rights." "The letter was also signed by GOP Sens. Kit Bond of Missouri, the ranking member on the Intelligence Committee; Susan Collins of  Maine, the ranking member on Homeland Security; Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee; and John McCain of Arizona, ranking member of the Armed Services Committee," reported the story.

Former CIA Director, Michael Hayden: "We got it wrong in Detroit on Christmas Day. We allowed an enemy combatant the protections of our Constitution before we had adequately interrogated him," an untrue claim, since as the Los Angeles Times reported, the FBI decided to mirandize Adulmutallab after he had stopped proving useful intelligence.

David Frum wrote incorrectly on Monday that, "As soon as the underwear bomber got his Miranda warning, he stopped talking."

A senior administration official interviewed by ABC had this to say about such partisan attacks: "There were a lot of politicians who were speaking out who had not one lick of counterterrorism experience who were second-guessing the professionals who have engaged in these issues, very successfully and in a very dedicated fashion over the years. And to have a how-many-mile screwdriver from here to Detroit try to micromanage the process, I find it quite frankly appalling."  [Washington Post, 2/3/10. Politico, 2/2/10. Susan Collins and Mitch McConnel, The Hill,1/30/10. Michael Hayden, 1/31/10. LA Times, 2/01/10. ABC News, 2/02/10. David Frum, CNN, 2/1/10]

Abdulmutallab case shows why criminal justice system operating in accordance with the rule of law is one of the best counterterrorism instruments.  The latest news concerning underpants bomber Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab illustrates why respect for the rule of law, and use of established criminal justice mechanisms are critical for dealing with terrorist threats. 

FBI Director Mueller: Mirandizing Abdulmutallab did not prevent obtainment of useful intelligence. Yesterday, FBI Director Robert Mueller confirmed that federal agents have been successful in obtaining intelligence from Abdulmutallab: "It is a continuum in which over a period of time, we have been successful in obtaining intelligence, not just on day 1, but on day 2, day 3 day 4 and day 5 down the road." [Robert Mueller, via Adam Serwer, 2/03/10]

Commitment to rule of law critical for gaining cooperation of Abdulmutallab's family. According to a senior administration official interview by ABC, a key reason why the FBI was able to win Abdulmutallab's family's cooperation in getting useful intelligence was that "they had complete trust in the US system of justice and believed that Umar Farouq would be treated fairly and appropriately. And that they would be as well."  [ABC News, 2/02/10]

Officials with access to Abdulmutallab: Putting bomber in front of military would have foreclosed further cooperation.  The same administration official told ABC that "Those who had access to Abdulmuttalab concluded that ‘putting him in front of somebody with a military uniform would have made him even more opposed to any type of cooperation.'" [ABC News, 2/02/10]

On Abdulmutallab case, FBI and Justice Department officials "did what the nation expects them to do."  The administration official interviewed by ABC said that "the men and women in the FBI, the Department of Justice, did precisely what they were trained to do, what their policies require then to do and what the nation expects them to do," adding later, "there has been a fair process that has been followed, and in the past five weeks or so every day we have  had the opportunity to evaluate and revaluate the case and to determine whether or not the course we were on were on one was the right one. And we determined that that was the case." [ABC News, 2/02/10]

Breakthroughs are a vindication of the broader Obama administration counter terrorism strategy.  In addition to the news that Abdulmuttalab is now cooperating with investigators -despite the fact that he was read his Miranda rights -it was also revealed yesterday by the President's homeland security and counterterrorism advisor John Brennan that "None of about 48 Guantanamo Bay detainees released or transferred elsewhere by the Obama administration has participated or been suspected of participating in subsequent ‘recidivist' activity, compared with 20 percent of about 540 detainees released by the George W. Bush administration." These recent revelations are evidence that the Obama administration's broader counterterrorism strategy is working.  This strategy rests on striking at terrorists where they plot, building regional partnerships to prevent extremism from spreading, bringing terrorists to justice in order to deter would-be perpetrators while reinforcing our values, and refusing to fall into the trap of overreaction that al Qaeda seeks to instill. 

Taking the fight to the extremists.  In 2009, the Obama administration executed key military operations that either disabled or disrupted extremist organizations in Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen, including killing Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, and his successor Hakimullah Mehsud. According to the  President's State of the Union address, "hundreds of al Qaeda's fighters and affiliates, including many senior leaders, have been captured or killed -- far more than in 2008." [NSN,1/25/10. President Obama, 1/27/10]

Building partnerships and working with allies to thwart terrorism.  A recent report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee states the importance of working with partners around the world: "U.S. government cooperation with foreign partners must be redoubled across the counterterrorism spectrum: Information-sharing, counterterrorism and law enforcement training, and border control are all areas where allies will benefit from cooperation. Foreign partners are often the first line of defense."  Andrea Prasow explains how this fits into the Obama administration's policies at home: "Treating terrorism suspects as criminal suspects is not only about the individual, it is also about the government that detains them. A government that treats suspects fairly, questions them lawfully and prosecutes them vigorously and justly, is a government that can rely on allies and partners around the world in the fight against terrorism. If the US maintains its renewed commitment to using the time-tested federal courts for prosecuting terrorism suspects, along with addressing weaknesses in intelligence-sharing systems, the next Abdulmuttallab will be much less likely to ever make it onto a plane." [Andrea Prasow, 2/2/10. SFRC, 1/20/10. NSN, 1/25/10]

Bringing terrorists to justice in a manner that deters future extremism, rebuilds global support for the US, and complies with our values.  Experts in the counterterrorism field concur: our constitutional principles are the best guide for bringing terrorists to justice.  A coalition of national security experts, former members of Congress, diplomats, federal judges, prosecutors, high-level military officers recently signed a letter saying: "As it moves to close Guantanamo and develop policies for handling terrorism suspects going forward, the government should rely upon our established, traditional system of justice. We are confident that the government can preserve national security without resorting to sweeping and radical departures from an American constitutional tradition that has served us effectively for over two centuries." [The Constitution Project,11/04/09]

Refusing to give in to Al Qaeda's politics of fear. Marc Lynch, senior fellow at CNAS and professor at George Washington University writes that: "It is just wrong to suggest that Obama has not taken al Qaeda seriously just because he doesn't use the magic words so beloved of his critics. His administration has continued or expanded a wide range of effective measures to degrade and dismantle its networks across the region and world. Its escalation in Afghanistan was, for better or for worse, largely justified in terms of degrading and destroying al Qaeda's South Asian base." Rather than cave to conservative hysteria, the public has largely been reassured by the president's cool-headed approach with 57% of Americans placing their trust in his response. [Marc Lynch, 1/02/10. CNN, 1/11/10]

What We're Reading

American Marines and the Afghan army plan a massive assault on Taliban fighters in Marja, Helmand province, the last community under Taliban control in a sprawling, lawless region once dominated by the insurgency. Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Saudi Arabia in a bid to jumpstart talks with the Taliban's leadership, despite doubts in the U.S., Europe and even among the militants themselves. Italian police trainers are molding raw recruits into Afghan police officers, but a myriad of obstacles remain. A military investigation into an ambush that left nine Americans dead at Wanat, Afghanistan, recommends that the Army consider taking disciplinary action against three U.S. commanders who oversaw the 2008 mission to send troops to the remote Afghan outpost, defense officials said.

Missiles from U.S. drones ripped into an area of northwest Pakistan where the Taliban and al Qaeda seek refuge, killing at least 10 people.

A new food distribution program from the United Nations aims to repair a faltering aid effort, including paper coupons that can be redeemed for 55 pounds of rice have become more valuable than Haitian money. The more efficient relief process, however, still needs to spread out to reach a wider population.

A long-dormant proposal to remove the bulk of Iran's enriched uranium from the Islamic republic appeared to be revived as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran had "no problem" with a deal initially brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran's opposition leader, Mir Hussein Moussavi, spoke up more publicly and forcefully than usual against the regime, calling its behavior dictatorial and terrifying.

After a brutal massacre and crackdown on opposition protesters, the African nation of Guinea has seen its military ruler peacefully transfer power to a civilian-led government, raising hopes for the future.

A gang leader for the Juárez Cartel who was killed in a shootout with soldiers Monday planned and helped carry out the massacre of 15 high school students Sunday night, Mexican police officials said in Ciudad Juárez.

A recent move by North Korean officials to re-jigger the nation's economic system has introduced a new level of misery to everyday life, with currency reevaluation wiping out life savings.

U.S. and Russian arms-control negotiators have reached an "agreement in principle" on the first nuclear-arms-reduction treaty in nearly two decades, administration and arms-control officials said. Ukraine has detained a Russian intelligence officer and expelled four others, breaking up what it said was a spy ring that intended to steal military and state secrets and causing more political turmoil before a presidential runoff election in Ukraine.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke at the Herzliya Conference, an annual gathering that has become a discussion of Israeli security and economic issues. Israel closed a stretch of beaches north of the Gaza Strip after two explosive-laden barrels washed ashore and Palestinian militants promised more, in revenge for what some in Hamas said was Israeli's assassination of a top Hamas leader last month.

Commentary of the Day

Mackubin Thomas Owens argues to keep "Don't ask, Don't tell". The New York Times and Nathaniel Frank explain why Mr. Owen's arguments are incomplete.

David Ignatius believes that the recent uptick in drone strike against Taliban and Al Qaeda targets in western Pakistan is a sign of greater American-Pakistani cooperation.

Henry Kissinger reminds the Obama administration to couch the military withdrawal from Iraq in a more explicit strategic policy for the region.