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Fighting Terrorism With Cooler Heads: The Zazi Case

By: Jim Arkedis / 10.06.2009

Perhaps you’ve heard something about the case of Najibullah Zazi, the 24-year-old Afghan immigrant arrested in Colorado under suspicion of nearing the “execution phase” of a terrorist plot, purportedly against a target in New York City.

Then again, maybe you haven’t.

And that, my friends, isn’t a terrible thing. Zazi’s case illustrates the Obama administration’s shifting approach to protecting the country in a relatively discreet manner that doesn’t score political points with every arrest:

 

“The Zazi case was the first test of this administration being able to successfully uncover and deal with this type of threat in the United States,” a senior administration official said. “It demonstrated that we were able to successfully neutralize this threat, and to have insight into it, with existing statutory authorities, with the system as it currently operates.”

It’s also an approach that stands a better chance securing convictions of the arrested suspects. Ever heard this old joke: What does F.B.I. stand for? Famous But Incompetent.

That’s starting to change. It looks like the Bureau is a little less Famous And More Competent: Instead of preemptively arresting Zazi before getting the (court admissible) goods, the FBI has shown a more patient, discerning attitude in tracking him. They didn’t just jump in and arrest him the first day he popped on the radar, as they would have years hence. Rather, they watched him for several weeks, and as a result, the Bureau has better evidence of his movements, contacts, and terrorist activities.

And best of all:

 

With Zazi’s arrest, administration officials said they had a renewed sense of confidence that they could approach security threats in a new way. “The system probably worked the way it did before, but we made a conscious decision not to have a big press conference” about Zazi’s arrest, a senior official said. [emphasis mine]

We’re all safer and less paranoid because of it.

This looks like a trend. Back in May, the FBI arrested an unrelated cell of anti-Semities in Queens that looked to be on the verge of conducting attacks against Jewish targets in New York. Here too, the Bureau patiently waited to collect mounds of evidence, and as a result had better information to build a real court case.

Why the shift? Well, I’d like to take all the credit for this paper I wrote last year called “Getting Intelligence Reform Right”, but I’m not sure ALL the kudos go to lil’ ol’ me:

 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — the agency charged with collecting intelligence on al Qaeda (and similar groups) within U.S. borders — remains mired in an organizational culture focused mainly on throwing bad guys in jail rather than preventing terrorist attacks in the first place. To a layman, the difference may seem inconsequential, but it drastically impedes the FBI from completing its counterterrorism mission.

As an aside, I’d like to make a final note in the wake of the Guantanamo debate. Congress just passed a non-binding resolution saying they didn’t want to dangerous inmates of Guantanamo to be transferred to detention facilities within the US. But Najibullah Zazi is as dangerous – if not moreso – than just about anyone housed in GTMO. Arrested in Colorado, Zazi will be tried and imprisoned on American soil.

So why can’t we do that with the GTMO detainees again? Paging Dr. Backbone … Dr. Backbone… you’re wanted on the House floor.