Republicans are saying President Barack Obama has a "blind spot" when it comes to the war on terrorism.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, Maine Sen. Susan Collins says it was exposed in the administration's handling of the Nigerian student who allegedly tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day.
The criticism follows a report by The Associated Press a week ago that authorities questioned Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO'-mahr fah-ROOK' ahb-DOOL'-moo-TAH'-lahb) for the better part of an hour without giving him a Miranda warning. When later advised of his rights, Abdulmutallab stopped speaking to investigators.
Collins says while the president has spoken of being "at war" with terrorists, the Nigerian suspect was treated as a criminal defendant, rather than an "enemy combatant." She says that was done without the input of the nation's top intelligence officials and may have cost them an opportunity to gain intelligence about al-Qaida operations in Yemen.
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