Terrorist Was "Singing Like a Canary" -- Until He Lawyered Up

If anyone remains unclear about why it's such a dangerous conceit for the President to allow foreign terrorists to be charged as civilians and tried in US civilian courts, a report from today's London Telegraph spells it out.

Apparently, the 23-year-old Nigerian who tried to blow up a Northwest flight on Christmas day was "singing like a canary" until he was provided with a lawyer, in accordance with Miranda requirements that attach to civilian trials in the United States. He was about to disclose information about other such plots being hatched by Al Qaeda in Yemen, using other young Muslim terrorists like himself.

Then the terrorist was provided with a lawyer. And he stopped talking.

Seems to me that when it comes to the war on terror, there's been plenty of "hope and change" between the Bush and Obama administrations . . . for would-be terrorists, that is. Feel safer yet?