Begin with a recent disclosure: FBI agents interrogated Osama's Flight #253 XMAS bomber for all of fifty--yes, 50--minutes before Mirandizing him. Here are the incredible details:
The news came in an Associated Press reconstruction of Abdulmutallab's first hours in custody. The AP reported that Abdulmutallab "repeatedly made incriminating statements" to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who originally took him into custody. Then Abdulmutallab made more statements to doctors who were treating him for burns and other injuries. Only later did FBI agents interview him -- a session that lasted, according to the Associated Press, for "about 50 minutes." Before beginning the questioning, the AP continues, "the FBI agents decided not to give him his Miranda warnings informing him of his right to remain silent" -- apparently relying on an exception to Miranda that allows questioning about imminent threats.
After that, Abdulmutallab went into surgery. It was four hours before he was available for more questioning. By that time, the Justice Department in Washington had intervened. A new set of agents read Abdulmutallab the Miranda warning, telling him he had the right to remain silent -- and thereafter, Abdulmutallab remained silent.
50 MINUTES? THAT IS LESS THAN ONE HOUR. And we are supposed to believe that there was no prospect of getting more actionable intel from him, had we interrogated him for a few days, a week, holding him in military custody as an unlawful combatant?
The Washington Post reported that a Justice Department task force has divided detainees into three categories:
The task force has recommended that Guantanamo Bay detainees be divided into three main groups: about 35 who should be prosecuted in federal or military courts; at least 110 who can be released, either immediately or eventually; and the nearly 50 who must be detained without trial.
The WP explains the reasons why some will be held indefinitely:
The task force's findings represent the first time that the administration has clarified how many detainees it considers too dangerous to release but unprosecutable because officials fear trials could compromise intelligence-gathering and because detainees could challenge evidence obtained through coercion.
WP also offers the detainee release scorecard to date:
Since Obama took office, 44 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been repatriated or resettled in third countries, including 11 in Europe.
The administration anticipates that about 20 detainees can be repatriated by this summer, and it has received firm commitments from countries willing to settle an additional 25 detainees who have been cleared for release, officials said.
Within a few days, sources said, four other detainees are slated to be transferred out.
Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports that NYPD chief Ray Kelly says he was not consulted on Team Obama's KSM 9/11 NYC trial location decision. Kelly added that not just Lower Manhattan, but the entire city, will be a target if the trial goes forward in NYC.
Bottom Line. Team Obama's confusion on detention & trial is nearly total. Put simply, it has the option of holding all detainees without trials, as unlawful enemy combatants, with the exception of US citizens. Why 9/11 mastermind KSM and his senior terror cohorts are not regarded as too dangerous to ever release defies elementary common sense. Presumably the trial reflects the administration's belief that (a) conviction will be obtained and (b) benefit will derive in terms of international standing, including in the Muslim world. This, however, is a leap of faith, not calculus of reason.
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