Posted by Tina
Dennis Blair, the Director of National Intelligence, was not even consulted about whether accused airline bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, should be interrogated. Blair told a Senate Panel that he believed the suspect should have been questioned immediately. But he wasn’t the only one left outside as important security decisions were made:
Under questioning by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Blair and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said they were not consulted before the decision was made to not use the high-value detainee interrogation group. Also, Michael Leiter, chief of the National Counter Terrorism Center, said he was not consulted.
The appropriate way to handle suspected terrorists was appropriately created as a result of Executive Order 13491 issued by President Obama on January 27, 2009 right after taking office. As a result of that order the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), was created explicitly for the purpose of interrogating men like Abdulmutallab for information that would prevent future attacks and defend the nation:
Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies, which was created pursuant to Executive Order 13491 on Jan. 22, 2009, has proposed that the Obama Administration establish a specialized interrogation group to bring together officials from law enforcement, the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense to conduct interrogations in a manner that will strengthen national security consistent with the rule of law.
Apparently this administration has chosen to ignore even it’s own policies when dealing with terrorists…or is it that the stated policies only act as window dressing?