Attorney General Eric Holder continued his aggressive defense of the administration's counterterrorism policies in his testimony today before the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. He asserted that the alleged Times Square Bomber, Faisal Shahzad, has provided "useful information" since his arrest, and noted terrorist Najibullah Zazi's recent guilty plea in civilian court:
During ongoing questioning by federal agents, Shahzad has provided useful information, and we will continue to pursue a number of leads as we gather intelligence relating to this attempted attack. Although this car bomb failed to properly detonate, this plot was yet another reminder that terrorists are still plotting to kill Americans. In February, Najibullah Zazi, a key participant in the plot to bomb New York City's subway system, pleaded guilty to terrorism violations. Less than two weeks ago, we secured another guilty plea from one of Zazi's co-conspirators and revealed the role of senior al-Qaeda leaders in ordering the plot. Three others also have been charged as a result of our investigation.
Via Sam Stein, Holder also attacked administration critics who want to avoid trying any terrorism cases in civilian court as trying to deny the government necessary tools to fight terrorism:
"We want to make sure that we use all the tools that we have available to us in trying to prosecute this war," the Attorney General said, in defense of criminal proceedings. "If you were to take from us the ability to use the federal courts, you will weaken our ability to win this war. You will weaken the strength of this nation. We have to have the ability to use the Article 3 courts, the reformed military commissions, our military power, our diplomatic power. We need to have all these tools so that we are successful in this fight against al Qaeda and others who would do this nation harm."
This is probably the most aggressive tack Holder has taken against his critics, asserting that to deny the use of the civilian justice system actively harms the government's ability to protect its citizens. I think it may be the first time I've ever seen an administration official cast the use of civilian courts as a benefit to national security rather than just an issue of the rule of law in such straightforward terms.
-- A. Serwer
