“A terrible, terrible mistake”?

So all of the federal cops went to Congress yesterday to report how well they did on the Detroit Christmas bomber case. The Washington Times reports on the caper;

[Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair] said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should have been questioned by the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group, or HIG, a special panel established by President Obama.

“We did not invoke the HIG in this case. We should have. Frankly, we were thinking more of overseas people. And, you know … that’s what we will do now. And so we need to make those decisions more carefully,” Mr. Blair told Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican and ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee.

Yeah, so the HIG, which the Obama made som much noise about last summer, wasn’t used in favor of domestic law enforcement. And, now, maybe they’ll use the HIG next time.

At the Senate hearing Wednesday, Ms. Napolitano, Mr. Blair and Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), all testified that they were not consulted when an FBI special agent and the Justice Department decided to try Mr. Abdulmutallab in a civilian court.

Sure, why not? If you ask an FBI special agent and a Justice Department lawyer and no one else how a case should be handled, is there any doubt what the answer will be.

Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said the decision to try Mr. Abdulmutallab in federal court was a “terrible, terrible mistake.”

Thanks for standing up, McCain, but we probably need to use stronger words. Something like “What are you guys? Incurable fuckups? The Three Stooges? Keystone Kops? Give me one reason I shouldn’t call for your immediate execution.”

When asked why the NCTC failed to put Mr. Abdulmutallab on the proper no-fly lists, Mr. Blair said security analysts had been pressured in the past to reduce the no-fly lists and not to add new names.

“As you read through the guidance given to analysts that they were expected to cast a very fishy eye on the inclusion of lots more — lots more names,” Mr. Blair said. “And the pressure was in the other direction. Shame on us for giving into that pressure.”

Shame? That’s all? Shame? Thankfully the terrorist was only marginally more of a buffoon than our own government. I’m sure our luck will hold.

Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Terror War