Tuesday, November 22

From a few months back, but in relation to due process...

This American Life is probably my favorite show on the radio [sorry Rachel, but you're definitely next :-)].

A few months ago, they had an episode called The Arms Trader (real audo format). Here's the summary:
The U.S. government spent two years on a sting operation, trapping an Indian man named Hemant Lakhani whom they suspected of being an illegal arms dealer. It's one of the few cases that has gone to trial in the War on Terror, and one the Justice Department has pointed to as one of their big successes. In the end, they got Lakhani, red-handed, delivering a missile to a terrorist in New Jersey. The only problem was, nothing in the sting was what it appeared to be. Including the missile.
There is no terrorist involved in this story: just a pathetic man who did something incredibly stupid. No plot was foiled. No risk was averted. A salesman got duped into badly attempting to commit a crime.

But hey, it looks good on paper.

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