Thank you, President Bush
Maybe you're one of those voters who doesn't really like George W. Bush, but rationalizes that at least he's kept us safe from terrorists since he flubbed Sept. 11. Hopefully your faith in the Great Leader will be tested by the collapse of a legal case against several Pakistani terror suspects in London today. A jury convicted three of them on the more minor charges in the indictment, but acquitted them and several others of plotting to blow up airliners with liquid bombs.
How is this Bush's fault? As author Ron Suskind outlines in his latest book, The Way of the World, Bush, who was in the political doldrums in the summer of 2006, wanted quick arrests in the British investigation that could be the subject of a dramatic announcement. When the British refused, he forced their hand by getting our Pakistani "allies" to arrest one of the plotters, Rashid Rauf, in the summer of 2006. This forced British police to arrest the rest of the plotters in the United Kingdom immediately, instead of patiently watching and gathering evidence that probably would have resulted in long prison sentences--and prevented the plot from going forward.
Yes, the arrests prevented the plot from going forward. But now the majority of the alleged plotters go free, and can get involved in planning something else. Thank you, President Bush.