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Ex-Bush official warns against killing Al Qaeda bomb maker

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    Capture vs. drone strike up for debate

  • Duration 4:29
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We'll former Bush Administration official has a message for the White House and it is asks do not kill the bomb maker.

Behind the recent thwarted plot to bring down a US bound airplane he says capturing and questioning.

Ibrahim -- would be a better choice to gather intelligence.

Former bush aide mark Easton says that the Obama administration has killed too many senior terror leaders.

Saying this quote killing these terrorists has allowed President Obama to avoid confronting the question of what to do with them once they're captured.

Mike Baker joins me now on this is a former CIA Covert operations officer.

Also the president diligence Al C a global intelligence and security firm good morning Mike what do you think about this.

Well I mean I added -- I think it's.

A bit of a venture into the land of the statement of the obvious bye -- yeah the writer of the -- by mark.

It's in theory a lovely idea and it's it's great you know -- don't kill.

You know utilize the information that they've got stored up in their heads.

But it presupposes somehow.

That you know it's an -- or situation and that's not how.

Intelligence that's not how they -- operational world works you know you don't sit around and say let's toss a coin in a wolf.

-- operation to capture this individual or -- just you know fire rocket up this tailpipe.

You you you have to deal with the intelligence you've got an often -- information.

That allows you to target someone threw a drone strike it's fleeting intelligence it's a very short shelf life.

And it doesn't give view.

The other option of saying you know let's go in there and try to capture you're talking about high threat very high risk scenarios and environment.

Yeah but you know I really a look at assignment -- and that there was a choice there.

And a lot of people give the president a lot of credit for making the choice to do what he did -- they could have easily done a -- drone strike on that house.

And they wanted all the intelligence and it could also be argued as it is in this piece.

That a number of significant events have happened since then that could very well traced back to some of the intelligence that they got there don't -- once in awhile.

Have to make sure that -- get somebody to get -- up to date.

On what's going on now well of course and I'm not I'm not saying you don't try to capture when the opportunity exists what I'm saying is the argument that sank.

Don't use it on strike just capture them.

Is a simplistic argument because it it it.

If it doesn't think about all the concerns you've got you look at the the issue with the bin Laden and you're absolutely right that was that a conscious decision.

In part based not so much -- let's Hoover up all the intelligence and there it was based -- we want proof that we've got him.

All it took but it took place it took place in Pakistan it didn't take place.

And in what you would quickly traditionally call a high risk environment it was still very very risky I'm not saying it's not.

But I think it anything -- that you can't satin also a situation where we got a lot of intelligence and -- right evidence to support the fact that.

He was the one who confirmed.

The name of the -- that they didn't have kids and they might not have gotten a -- and -- and this guy is you know at the head of a cap arguably which is our biggest threat right now in Yemen.

So does it not behoove us to make every effort to try to add to try to honoring him minute and I don't -- -- because that's saying I don't know -- if there's a lot.

Well clearly you're you're absolutely right and that's I think -- when you're actually right and we -- and we do.

Witness a fact that just recently in this story seems to have been lost to other things that have attracted people's attention but we had a recruited asset inside -- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula doing just that trying to gather information about a C a and all the others in -- trying to gather information about the logistics and communications.

And we had an ongoing operation which of course was blown out of the water when somebody couldn't keep their mouth shut and talked about it and said we were on top of this thing since April.

So we tried to do that witness again as you pointed out -- Sam.

An operation was -- where we had the ability.

And that's -- guess what I'm trying to say perhaps not eloquently when you have the option.

To do that then markets is absolutely correct that's what you should try to do but it it does not come up very often -- you have that chance.

And then you have to say okay well do we wait and hope that we get that opportunity with -- high value target or do we take that one shot that we have a moment to take him out of action.

What do we just let him go -- they hopefully someday we'll get enough information capture.

Lot of nuances to be sure Mike can you make a great point.

About the intelligence that was lost.

And as a result of that leak Mike Baker tell his -- fat thank you -- to a season -- -- --

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