Jumping the Gun?
Did the Bush administration, in their zeal to milk the UK terror plot for political gain, screw the British out of evidence they may have needed to prosecute the suspects in the case?
From NBC News:
Now it's understandable that the US government would be of the mindset "sooner rather then later" when it comes to thwarting potential acts of terrorism. But this just begs the question: how soon is too soon? We still live in a society where evidence must be obtained (or at least we use to). One of the problems I saw with the Miami Seven and the NY Tunnel plot was that neither had seemed to move into the operational phase in which hard evidence could be obtained. Really these men were arrested and charged with thinking about committing acts of terrorism, with very little evidence to show they were well on their way to pulling them off.
So did the Bush administration compromise an anti-terrorism investigate for political gain? It wouldn't be the first time.
More from BuzzFlash, Tattered Coat, Steve Soto, Jill, and Emptywheel.
From NBC News:
NBC News has learned that U.S. and British authorities had a significant disagreement over when to move in on the suspects in the alleged plot to bring down trans-Atlantic airliners bound for the United States.
A senior British official knowledgeable about the case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case. (emphasis added)
In contrast to previous reports, the official suggested an attack was not imminent, saying the suspects had not yet purchased any airline tickets. In fact, some did not even have passports.
Now it's understandable that the US government would be of the mindset "sooner rather then later" when it comes to thwarting potential acts of terrorism. But this just begs the question: how soon is too soon? We still live in a society where evidence must be obtained (or at least we use to). One of the problems I saw with the Miami Seven and the NY Tunnel plot was that neither had seemed to move into the operational phase in which hard evidence could be obtained. Really these men were arrested and charged with thinking about committing acts of terrorism, with very little evidence to show they were well on their way to pulling them off.
So did the Bush administration compromise an anti-terrorism investigate for political gain? It wouldn't be the first time.
More from BuzzFlash, Tattered Coat, Steve Soto, Jill, and Emptywheel.
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