Triumph of Our Values

Turns out we don't have to torture and beat terror suspects to get them to cooperate. Umar Farouq Abdulmuttalab, aka the failed Underpants Bomber, has been cooperating with authorities and sharing intelligence since last Thursday. The information he is providing has been described as "fresh and actionable."

This news is further evidence that standard law enforcement techniques (even with Miranda Rights!) are much more reliable and productive than torture which can actually impair a person's ability to tell the truth.

Furthermore, when our justice system is respected, we're more likely to get cooperation, like in Abdulmuttalab's case where his family has been answering questions from the FBI:

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Of course, Republicans think this is a sign of weakness -- a dangerous new direction even -- despite the glaring fact that the Bush Administration handled the Shoe Bomber the exact same way. In fact, since September 11, 2001, there have been 593 indictments on terrorism resolved in civilian courts. Of those cases, 88% resulted in convictions.

But when the Obama Adminstration recognizes that the justice system is a security tool, they're a bunch of pussies... according to Republicans who want to put a halt to everything... especially all that "lawyering up." By the way, I'm so sick of the dismissive phrase "lawyering up." It's dumbing us down.

I'm hoping that we're smart enough to realize that victory means defeating terrorists without damaging our fundamental principles. Republicans just want to play politics.