Posted 9:58 AM by steve

It's certainly good news that all four of the London terrorists are now in custody, especially in light of the fear that more attacks were planned, not only in London, but also in Italy...

I wonder how the police caught up with the four so relatively fast?

Did the four call the police and turn themselves in - maybe because they are innocent and want to clear their good name, maybe because they now realize that what they did was wrong and want to face the consequences? (yeah, right!) Were they turned in by good citizens who not only gave the police the names of the four and told the police where they were? Was it a combination of a tip here, some evidence there, a slip by the suspect here and a lucky break there that let the police put the puzzle together?

Or was it the result of someone like Haroon Rashid Aswat, alleged to be behind the 7/7 London attacks, having the crap beaten out of him and giving the police information that led to identifying and locating the four terrorists?

If it was, good for the police and good for whomever it was that realized that times like this are no time to be playing by a set of antiquated rules. These four terrorists were ticking time bombs, of the variety that opponents of 'special interrogation' (I say interrogation, you say torture) claim never exist. There's no telling how many lives were saved by getting these four into custody before they could wreak any more havoc.

And I have no problem subjecting these four to 'intensive questioning'. Their controllers may still be on the loose, as may be those who provided the explosives, the logistical support, the training. Every hour that these four are not being forced (yes, forced) to provide information is another hour in which our enemies get to proceed with their plans to kill us. So maybe not all of the information they provide under duress will be reliable... not every clue the police uncover during non-coercive interrogations pans out either.... not every piece of evidence seized during a search turns out to lead anywhere relevant. The key is to get information fast, so that investigators can start to sort it out. Better they get and chase down twenty tidbits, nineteen of which are wrong, than to wait and wait and wait and wait hoping these suspects reveal one piece of truthful information.

Thanks to Wizbang for offering up space for trackbacks...

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