Najibullah Zazi, Terrorist or Political Patsy?

Have you read much about his case?

He appears to be guilty, according to some media reports.

But what I'm reading and seeing on television doesn't make sense to me.

What I've learned...

1. He was trained by Al Queda to make bombs and engage in acts of terrorism.
2. He learned how to make bombs and engage in acts of terrorism by doing research on the internet.
3. The FBI helped him make bombs, and provided him with training and materials as part of a sting operation.
4. The FBI was covertly surveilling him, and screwed up. so they had to break cover and interview him.
5. Simple bombs are WMDs. This means that grenades, pipe bombs, landmines, mortars, rockets and maybe even bullets are Weapons of Mass Destruction.
6. Bombs can be made from hydrogen peroxide, acetone and a strong acid. I didn't know that before the press informed me. That certainly sounds like a dangerous combination of ingredients.
7. He bought these materials.
8. He expressed interest on the internet in blowing stuff up and engaging in a terrorist attack.

The conflicting stories paint a picture of a violent troubled man who is definitely guilty. Just like those other cases.

But if we look at the pizza delivery bombers... It turns out they were blowhards that didn't have the intelligence, finances, materials or initiative to pull the caper off. An FBI agent or informant, gave them the idea and tried to talk them into trying it. Evidently they were too lazy so they were arrested on conspiracy charges, which got dropped. They finally plead to lesser charges, unrelated to terrorism, indicating that the FBI didn't have a case.

But it made the news. It made the FBI look good. It probably got them more funding. It probably got some folks promoted. It was a lie, a sham, and a set up. It was also criminal. but they arrested Muslims, so I doubt we'll see any outcry.

So if you're a dumbass, and you like to make threats and you think it'll be cool to brag about it on the internet. Think again. The FBI can take you down, even if you're just trying to make a bad joke. They take this seriously. Seriously enough to even get folks drunk and try to talk them into saying they want to be terrorists, so that they can make an arrest. It makes them look good, it makes the President look good. And after you've been beaten abused and finally cop a plea on lesser charges, the press will barely acknowledge that you're really only guilty of being a dumbass.

Now Najibullah Zazi could be their first real arrest of a wannabe almost terrorist. But because their record on this kind of crime id dismal to begin with and they already bungled the surveillance, I wouldn't bet money on it. I'm broke, and it's not a sure thing.

I'll go out on a limb and say there's an 80% chance that the FBI really doesn't have a very good case against this dumbass, and that they'll have to get him to plead guilty to lesser charges, to avoid a trial and an acquittal.