According to CNN, a how-to guide to making bombs was found on Najibullah Zazi’s computer as he was detained leaving Manhattan earlier this week. Zazi is the man whose sudden visit to New York before Obama’s recent trip here caused raids on several Queens homes by federal officials worried about a terror plot. They’d been watching Zazi in Colorado for alleged terrorist activities, and a tie to Al Qaeda has been reported. In Queens, officials seized nine backpacks and other materials that led them to suspect a plan for “Madrid-style” subway bombings. (His lawyer denies that there was an explosive diagram on his computer, and other incendiary reports, like that the Afghan-born Zazi was trained in a Pakistani terror camp.)
Here’s the weird thing: Zazi’s back in Colorado, getting grilled by authorities for over eight hours a day. He’s also walking around free, holding press conferences about his innocence, getting photographed by paparazzi, and generally acting calm about the whole thing. This is the first time we can remember a reported “person of interest” in a terrorism plot in this situation — basically, getting treated like anyone else suspected of a crime. It’s just so full of … due process. Isn’t it strange that this seems strange to us?
Queens ‘Qaeda’ how-to [NYP]
