Washington: Amidst increasing call from Congressmen that the Nigerian terror suspect be tried in a military tribunal, the Obama administration on Wednesday defended its decision to try Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab in a civilian court by arguing that there is nothing wrong in it.
US Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday dispatched a series of identical letters to Senators and Congressmen, arguing that trying Abdulmutallab in a civilian court will not compromise America`s ability to obtain information needed to detect and prevent future attacks.
Abdulmutallab is charged with attempt to blow up a North West Airlines plane with about 300 people on board on December 25 by igniting a highly inflammable explosive which he sneaked inside the plane hidden inside his underwear.
"The decision to charge Abdulmutallab in federal court, and the methods used to interrogate him, are fully consistent with the long-established and publicly known policies and practices of the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the United States Government as a whole, as implemented for many years by administrations of both parties," Holder said in a five-page letter.
"Those policies and practices, which were not criticised when employed by previous administrations, have been and remain extremely effective in protecting national security. They are among the many powerful weapons this country can and should use to win the war against al Qaeda," he said.
"I am confident that, as a result of the hard work of the FBI and our career federal prosecutors, we will be able to successfully prosecute Mr Abdulmutallab under the federal criminal law.”
"I am equally confident that the decision to address Abdulmutallab`s actions through our criminal justice system has not, and will not, compromise our ability to obtain information needed to detect and prevent future attacks," Holder said.
"There are many examples of successful terrorism investigations and prosecutions, both before and after September 11, 2001, in which both of these important objectives have been achieved -- all in a manner consistent with our law and our national security interests," he said.
The White House too came out in defence of Holder`s decision.
"We feel like we pursued the correct course in interrogating Abdulmutallab. And through that course, we`ve gotten quite a bit of information that`s been helpful, both to the US and some of our foreign partners, in keeping the American people safe," said Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton.
"So there`s no regret on that," he added.
"You`ve got people who are criticising things that we`re doing, in this administration that never criticised things that happened, in the administration prior that are exactly the same. And without anything changing in the interim, the only thing that I can surmise is maybe that there are some politics at play," he said.
PTI
