Sen. Collins Obama Wouldn't Recognize A Terrorist If He Was Blowing Up A Plane Right In Front Of Him

[democracy1st]

Run time: 05:17 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC4P0DS8-N4   Posted on YouTube: January 30, 2010 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: January 31, 2010 By DU Member: democracy1st Views on DU: 3269

 
Sen. Collins Obama Wouldn't Recognize A Terrorist If He Was Blowing Up A Plane Right In Front Of Him

Collins: Obama has terror 'blind spot'


WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama has a "blind spot" when it comes to the "war on terrorism," a Republican Party spokeswoman said Saturday.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, speaking during the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, criticized the Obama administration for treating terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as "an ordinary criminal" rather than as an enemy combatant, thus showing "a blind spot when it comes to the war on terrorism."

Collins, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, blasted what she had was a decision by Abdulmutallab's interrogators to read him his Miranda rights shortly after being arrested for allegedly trying to ignite a bomb aboard a Christmas Day Northwest Airlines flight. She said Abdulmutallab, who had been talking to investigators for 50 minutes up until that point, wouldn't talk afterward.

"Because of that blindness, this administration cannot see a foreign terrorist even when he stands right in front of them, fresh from an attempt to blow a plane out of the sky on Christmas Day," she said.

"There's no other way to explain the irresponsible, indeed dangerous, decision on Abdulmutallab's interrogation. There's no other way to explain the inconceivable treatment of him as if he were a common criminal."

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/30/Collins-Obama-has-terror-blind-spot/UPI-97211264876006/


I'll definitely be fact checking this!

[daleanime]

1. OMFG...

:puke:

[niyad]

2. I hope to hell this is wrong, because if true, she is about as disgusting as beckkk, palin and the

rest of the lying, fear-mongering cretins of the reichwing.

[NWHarkness]

12. She always has been

When will people stop being fooled by this creep?

[niyad]

14. I didn't think she was a moderate, but I didn't realize she was completely nuts.

[hobbit709]

3. She wouldn't recognize her brain if it was bouncing in front of her.

[NewJeffCT]

4. And this is one of the two so-called "moderate" Republicans?

ya know, somebody reasonable? I guess "they" were wrong on that.

[last_texas_dem]

37. I was thinking the same thing...

I've always heard that Snowe and Collins are the two "moderates" from Maine, but it's funny... it's hard for me to think of any time they've stood on the side of common sense when it mattered. All I can think of is that they're supposedly pro-choice (of course, even my Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison is pro-choice in a half-ass kinda way, so what does that say?!) and Snowe didn't support the second round of tax cuts * pushed back in '03. Otherwise, I come up blank. After viewing this video, Collins will always be a rabid wingnut in my eyes.

[perdita9]

49. Insanity spreads through the GOP ranks

Apparently they've decided that being crazy and un-American as possible is the way to get re-elected. The GOP spends half their time complaining that reforming health care is unconstitutional and the other half arguing that we should ignore constitutional protects when arresting brown people.

Collins is a disgrace to New England.

[tularetom]

5. There's something not quite right about this woman

Like all the synpases are not firing in the proper sequence.

I can't quite put my finger on it but it's definitely there.

[CLANG]

13. Spasmodic Dysphonia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spasmodic_dysphonia

[TheDebbieDee]

36. She's also in desperate need of a makeover, too!

I admit it, I'm shallow.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[niyad]

7. enjoy your brief stay

[Confusious]

8. So what you would like

Is for them to be treated as the "Holy Warriors" that they believe they are, instead of the pathetic criminals they actually are?

[seattle_blue]

9. Senator

The prop picture of books behind you is there to make you look smart. Why did you let your words tell otherwise?

[jaxx]

10. Interesting she waited until after PBO ripped them a new one yesterday

to do her version of I'm stupid too.

[w4rma]

11. Can we stop calling her a "moderate", now? She's never been a "moderate". (nt)

[Hulk]

15. Does this woman have an illness, other than "republicanism"?

First time I've listened to her talk...and she scares me. WTF is going on up there in Maine?

[rgbecker]

17. I heard they have a lot of Radon Gas poisoning problems up there!

People are stuck in close quarters six months of the year...the gas builds up in the basements.

[BrklynLiberal]

16. Whoooa.... That is a weird and outrageous speech. Is that really her, or a robot?

Sounds like a Stepford Senator to me.

[elleng]

18. Bad News Senator

:thumbsdown:

[eecumings]

19. Collins

dead from the neck up. One active brain cell would cause a complete melt-down in her head filled with gingerbread.
Not all people in Maine are this stupid.

[ProgressOnTheMove]

20. Ok, Ok I guess she's not going to do an Arlen just a thought. I mentioned a few days back. Wow, a..

moderate huh. Yow.

[rgbecker]

21. Scott Brown, the Mass Senator, also repeated the "Lawyered-up" Meme.

I think this talk was written by Rush, Sean and Glenn. Collins reads so well.

[Carnage251]

22. There is no way she passed public speaking.

:rofl:

[scarface2004]

23. hey 'senator' collins...

e s a d!!!!

[defendandprotect]

24. Collins wouldn't recognize two terrorists if they were heading up the GOP!!!

Bush/Cheney - MIHOP!!

[Quixote1818]

25. Thats the best line of the day! nt

[VPStoltz]

26. Should read "didn't recognize..."

Or more logically - REFUSED to recognize as in acknowledge.

[VPStoltz]

27. Again with the Right Wing stories.

It is now known that incidents was a botched mess.
No one called Obama to ask him what should be done with Abdulmutallab.
The FBI made a lot of mistakes - mistakes the President has acknowledged.
This woman is a moron.

[Politicalboi]

28. This POS needs some nasty e-mails

They have NO respect for President Obama and I believe it is because he is black. They all feel safe saying anything as long as it's not the N word, anything goes. Can anyone imagine had a Dem said anything close to this about Knucklehead they would be asking for impeachment or resignation. Is this %itch up for re-election in 2010?

[WhoIsNumberNone]

29. What's with her voice?

Did anybody else find her just too annoying to finish the video?

[demi moore]

30. it hurt my mind listening to her

she was reading off a script written with a crayon.

[TatonkaJames]

31. Why is it that.....

When her opposition party was saying the same thing about her party (the last administration)
she didn't have a thing to say ? I hope the American public, especially her constituents can see
the hot air coming out of that pie hole.

[smuglysmiling]

32. She's an example of the problem.

A squeaky talking-points machine full of accusations and with no interest in solutions. Let's hope voters in her state have a proper candidate and vote her out into the street.

[earcandle]

33. We got a constitution bitch!

Sorry, but this is treason and I hate traitors who want to
fuck up our rights, laws and privileges.

Especially this woman. 

[AsahinaKimi]

34. What is it with Republicans these days..??

Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once they start down the dark path, forever will it dominate their destiny. They have all turned to the DARK SIDE.

[TankLV]

44. They are all COWARDS - they are afraid of imaginary shadows...

[FarLeftFist]

35. Oh republicans are selling fear again.

When all else fails.

[big lu]

38. Uggh you fear-mongering twat

What difference does it make whether he remains silent or not? It's quite likely that, before giving him the Miranda, those investigators got as much information from Mutallab as they felt he was willing to give them.

Considering the fact that using torture to extract information is no longer an option and also considering the fact that he was willing to die for his beliefs, I doubt that this guy was freely ratting out his group just because his rights weren't read.

[Shining Jack]

39. Argh !

I couldn't watch this annoying moron for more that 40 seconds.:banghead:

[Enthusiast]

40. Fear is all they have. nt

[baldguy]

41. They have stupidity too.

[hulka38]

42. What was she saying in September of 2001?

[IsItJustMe]

43. I don't think that there is a Republican left that has not been completely radicalized in dogma,

lies, and propaganda. There is no logic or ability to reason left in them what-so-ever.

And people hold her up as a moderate, please.

This was a disgusting display of insanity that has griped the Republican party. These folks are detached and delusional from any form of reality.

If this is what politics does to people, I want no part of it.

[judesedit]

45. And either would she, idiot girl. Remember Tim McVeigh? Wake up, Stooge

These people are terrorists themselves. They try to scare Americans constantly. Like the boy who cried wolf, no one will listen to them at all eventually. I can dream, can't I? I guess Collins wants to blow up the whole world. In my opinion, she's braindead. Poor constituents depend on the likes of her. She is conveying to the whole world, that our justice system is inadequate. What a stooge.

[Rozlee]

46. She wouldn't recognize a terrorist if he was blowing up HER undrerpants

:nuke:

[W T F]

47. Amount of time Bush spent questioning Osama Bin Laudin's family before he let them leave the country

: BIG FAT ZERO!

Bush wouldn't know an impending terrorist attack even if you shoved a CIA briefing titled " Bin Laudin determined to attack inside America" in his face>

[onpatrol98]

48. Strange Things

She does say some strange things.

[indy legend]

50. Moderate republican my a$$

There is no such thing as a moderate ( or intelligent ) republican politician. This is the most "reasonable" person we are supposed to reach across the aisle to ? You can not reason with unreasonable people. When will we learn this ? There is not one of these assholes on the right we should try to work with anymore. In fact there are at least a half dozen democrats that should join these creeps. I don't want to hear the word bipartisan ever again. The people voted and sent Republicans home last year. It is time to tell the republicans to go to hell. Get to work and do what we sent you there to do or be prepared to go home yourself next election.
Remember, a democrat who talks, acts, and votes like a republican is just as useless as a republican and you can be damn sure we won't forget that next election.

[BootinUp]

51. Is her seat up for re-election this year? nt

[StreetKnowledge]

52. You mean like you guys did to Richard Reid and Timothy McVeigh?

Terrorists are the same as criminals. Treating them differently (i.e. torturing and killing them as has happened repeatedly at Guantanamo) just makes them more than they are. Why didn't you guys have a problem with the way Richard Reid or Timothy McVeigh was tried?

Oh yeah. Because the GOP was in charge then.

Fucking hypocrites.

[Jack Rabbit]

53. No Republican would recognize Osama bin Laden if he were walking down 5th Avenue--with a dirty bomb!

President Obama gets higher marks for keeping American safe than the usurpers Bush and Cheney did. Now deal with it.

[graywarrior]

54. Sounds like she's auditioning for Faux News

[democracy1st]

55. ******Update: Abdulmutallab starts talking again ******

From NBC's Pete Williams and Chuck Todd
After initially talking freely to FBI interrogators, and then refusing to answer questions, the man accused of the Christmas Day bomb plot has begun talking again, according to officials familiar with the case.

Asked today at a Senate hearing about Umar Abdulmutallab, the director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, said the government needs to balance the need for intelligence versus the need for prosecution.

"The balance in Abdulmutallab was understandable. We got good intelligence. We're getting more," he said.

It's an important development, because the administration has been widely criticized for treating Abdulmutallab as a criminal defendant and giving him a Miranda warning, instead of declaring him an enemy combatant and subjecting him to questioning by intelligence officers.

Abdulmutallab's renewed cooperation appears to be in preparation for a guilty plea, which would spare him the death penalty.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told the Senate today that Abdulmutallab did talk to FBI agents after he was arrested on Christmas Day, speaking freely until he went into surgery for burns on his legs. After the surgery, when the FBI sought to resume the questioning, Abdulmutallab made it clear he would not answer further questions. When agents had satisfied themselves of that, they read him his Miranda rights.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/02/02/2192458.aspx

[Cha]

56. Thank you, democracy1st.. now we know susan collins is a

a stupid tool.

"ABDULMUTALLAB 'HAS BEEN COOPERATING'.... Over the weekend, in the official Republican weekly address, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who really ought to know better, blasted the Obama administration's handling of the Abdulmutallab case. She was particularly incensed by "the irresponsible, indeed dangerous, decision on Abdulmutallab's interrogation."

Now, I can appreciate political opportunism as much as the next blogger. I can even understand trying to take advantage of a perceived weakness.

But these criticisms are just absurd. The Obama administration has not only dealt with the Abdulmutallab case by the book, but it's also had considerable success that even Republicans should be satisfied with.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a jetliner bound for Detroit on Dec. 25, started talking to investigators after two of his family members arrived in the United States and helped earn his cooperation, a senior administration official said Tuesday evening.

Mr. Abdulmutallab, 23, began speaking to F.B.I. agents last week in Detroit and has not stopped, two government officials said. The officials declined to disclose what information was obtained from him, but said it was aiding in the investigation of the attempted terrorist attack.

"With the family, the F.B.I. approached the suspect," the senior administration official said, speaking to reporters at the White House on the condition of anonymity because of the pending legal case. "He has been cooperating for days."


For weeks, conservative lawmakers, activists, and media personalities have insisted that the administration had made a terrible mistake -- making Abdulmutallab aware of his rights, failing to interrogate the suspect, and neglecting to gain potentially valuable intelligence.

The talking points may make for spirited Fox News broadcasts, but they're also at odds with reality.

"The intelligence gained has been disseminated throughout the intelligence community," the official said, adding, "The best way to get him to talk was working with his family."

Another federal official said Mr. Abdulmutallab had provided information about people he met in Yemen, where he is believed to have receiving training and explosives from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a branch of the terrorist network.

"He's retracing his activities over there," said the official, who would discuss the case only on the condition of anonymity. "You run to ground what he tells you, validate it and follow up. You build a relationship. It's a pretty standard process."

Imagine that. The right's bed-wetting notwithstanding, the Obama administration handing the matter exactly as it should, and the current approach has "been very successful."

Conservatives have been on the offensive, but they've been attacking from a position of weakness and ignorance. This isn't the way to improve already-suspect credibility on national security matters.

—Steve Benen 9:25 AM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (19)

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