Counterterrorism has a new Poster Child!!

[Perky]

NEW YORK (AP) -- When the American-born al-Qaida recruit Bryant Neal Vinas was captured in Pakistan late last year, he wasn't whisked off to a military prison or a secret CIA facility in another country to be interrogated. Instead, the itinerant terrorist landed in the hands of the FBI and was flown back to New York to face justice.

Months before President Barack Obama took office with a pledge to change U.S. counterterrorism policies, the Bush administration gave Vinas all the rights of American criminal suspects.

And he talked.

While an American citizen captured in Pakistan certainly presents a unique case, the circumstances of Vinas' treatment may point to a new emphasis in the fight against terror, one that relies more on FBI crimefighters and the civilian justice system than on CIA interrogators and military detention. ''This was by the numbers. It was a law enforcement operation and it worked,'' said a senior law enforcement official, one of several authorities who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The official said Vinas provided ''an intelligence gold mine'' to U.S. officials, including possible information about a suspected militant who was killed in a Predator drone strike last November. Another law enforcement official said that under questioning, the 26-year-old Vinas gradually provided a ''treasure trove'' of information, allowing U.S. counterterrorism officials to peer deep inside the inner workings of al-Qaida.

The FBI first learned about Vinas after Pakistani police arrested him in November 2008 in Peshawar, a city teeming with Taliban militants and al-Qaida operatives along Pakistan's northwest border with Afghanistan. At first after his capture, Vinas appeared scared and dejected. When he was brought back to the United States, an official said, he ''started to turn the corner'' and trust them, little by little.

One of the first leads he gave investigators was admitting to his own role in helping al-Qaida plan an attack on U.S. soil.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/26/us/politics/AP-US-American-Al-Qaida.html?_r=1

[rucky]

1. I remember John Kerry making the distinction - right after 9/11...

between fighting terrorism with a law enforcement approach versus the military approach we adopted without question. I think Wes Clark discussed this as well. Good to see we're finally trying it - though I don't think it'll be as effective after all the damage we've done. it really depends on the cooperation of the governments. I'm actually surprised to see Pakistan turning anyone over to our authority.

[Perky]

2. kick

[Perky]

3. kiick the dead dog of a post for the last time.

[grantcart]

4. Interesting article