The Obama administration has been "inconsistent, unprepared and somewhat often in La-La Land" when it comes to dealing with Islamic terrorists both in this country and overseas, former director of the CIA Porter Goss tells Newsmax TV.
In an interview Tuesday with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth, Goss, who also served as a GOP congressman from Florida, said suspected terrorist bomber Ahmad Rahami, apprehended after last weekend's bombings in New York City and New Jersey — and reportedly on the FBI's radar two years ago — could be considered an "enemy combatant."
"If he is a terrorist that has sworn allegiance to another country or another flag — and that would be radical Islam — then I would treat him as an enemy combatant," he said.
"It's a crazy system we have," he added. "What has happened in 15 years since 9/11 we haven't sorted out a consistent way to deal with these people who are causing this problem for us."
"Count on them being in the United States playing on our own turf because it's a better deal for them," he continued.
"Here they have all the rights and privileges of a free democratic open society to do their exploitation, their propaganda and so forth — to commit their deeds, to get their knives or guns or ammunitions or pressure cookers or whatever they're going to do — and when they get caught they get American due process rather than get their head taken off if they were in their home country."
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Goss pointed out taking radical Islamists "off the battlefield is a great idea — with one exception," noting the case of American-born Anwar al-Awlaki, who died in September 2011 after being hit during a drone strike.
"If you do that that way, if you vaporize him, how do you ask him any questions?" he asked.
"How do you get good information, good intelligence about what's coming next?"
"That's a real conundrum," Goss added. "We've got and this administration I think has been inconsistent, unprepared and somewhat often in La-La Land thinking that they are going to find these guys are going to be rational if they try and sit down and bargain with them. They're not rational. These are ideologues."
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