Service to Both Al Qaeda and U.S., With Fate Hanging in the Balance

Don't forget , that as part of their anti -terrorism strategy over the years, the FBI has been involved in creating potential acts of Terrorism by undertaking acts of Conspiracy and influence to incite people to make an attack...including the supply of weapons /explosives...before making the arrest/s before the actual terrorist act is taken. Seems that's considered an acceptable way to get Terrorism convictions: be part of and/or push a conspiracy and provide moral and actual material help right up to the moment before the Terrorist act was to happen. And would never have even come close to happening without the help of the FBI creating the possibilities to ensure it happened.

According to the article, Vinas was the one who came up with the idea for blowing up the LIRR. Should he be given a lesser sentence because he told the FBI about the plan he came up with?

Should Whitey Bulger be given time-served because he provided the FBI with information as an informant?

Put this rat back in a cage for the rest of his life.

Once a traitor always a traitor.

I'd go by the guideline that when it comes to punishment, the value of his cooperation has to outweigh his crimes. It is more important to us that his cooperation has enabled us to devastate AQ than to punish him.

Any punishment has to be designed to keep him talking and motivated to talk - maybe he gets VIP treatment where he is jailed - VIP treatment that can cease any time after he stops cooperating or is proven to have made up stories to keep his VIP treatment.

The minute we release him, we lose any leverage over him. I'd say that, as long as he's got something to say, we keep him in jail. We release him only if he has nothing further to reveal. VIP treatment in jail is valuable to him and a bargaining chip to us only if we can keep him in jail.

Releasing him is valuable to us only to the extent that we can use the fact that we are releasing him as a motivator to get AQ operatives to talk.

The priority - and urgent priority - is the defeat and wholesale destruction of AQ. The fate of a particular AQ operative, no matter how deserving of punishment he is, is a secondary concern to us.

The comment that no one can know for certain that he will re-offend should be appreciated. This guy has to spend the rest of his life under tight supervision. He made smart moves by going to Lahore,a city of arts and literature,instead of Peshawar,a hub for militants. Can we expect more Mr.Vinas in other terror organisations,so that drones can destroy their networks,especially in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir?

He snitched out AQ because he was an opportunistic coward who got caught just like the majority of other snitches in the justice system looking for a deal. He was mentally ill and had a tough childhood? That probably applies to 30% of all Americans and 90% of all criminals. Rather than waste money monitoring him for decades, keep him in a jail cell where he is no longer a threat to civilians. The real story here has little to do with him, and everything to do with the fact that we have no mental health system at all. He may have been able to lead a productive life if his mental illness had been diagnosed, addressed, and treated years before he washed out of the military. Maybe it would be better to make execution the default setting for home grown terrorists and allowing the snitches to live - in prison. This guy will never be anything but a drain on society and that is the best one can hope for.

Great decision by the judge - time served (8 year + btw) for crimes he was "contemplating". He was young and in the end he served far more benefit than anything bad that he actually carried out. I wish him the best of luck with the rest of his life and I trust he can be an asset to society.

It seems many commenters missed the fact that he had already been in jail for "nearly eight years."

Post release supervision, a GPS monitor, having to call a probation or parole officer daily. Being subject to random visits, searches and drug/alcohol tests. Give him a clear understanding that if he fails to meet the terms of the supervision, he will be in prison for at least another eight years.

Release him to Al Qaeda, let them decide his fate.

Nobody is "radicalized" unless they want to be. This whole idea that some charasmatic Imams, or other radical Islamists can "turn someone's head" is just an excuse. Everybody knows this, too: could your head be turned by the preaching of some radical Imam? Could you be persuaded to commit murder against innocent people because some Imam told you to? No way! I don't care that this criminal cooperated with the FBI, either. The guy belongs in jail. He has already shown he is a menace o society, and was probably only cooperating with the FBI to get his sentence reduced. It worked and the judge bought it. So, I guess it's business as usual: he had some pretty sharp lawyers. Besides that, the FBI doesn't need this guy, anyway. They have lots of other legitimate ways of getting the information they need without guys like that. He belongs in jail, and his being out if jail is endangering innocent citizens.

The last timei checked, people were constantly gripping about the LIRR. If blew himself up without causing any other fatalies or injuries, perhaps he really could have made a statement.
The train service might actually have improved if some one bought attention to the horrible service.

This is not a difficult decision. In this case, considering his cooperation, his youth, and his contrition, 8 years is enough. Let him go.

In the case of the Newburgh sting, the FBI completely set-up individuals via entrapment with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in the United States and conspiracy to acquire and use anti-aircraft missiles which carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. All 4 received 25 year sentences at a Federal Correctional Institution and is scheduled for release in 2031. I fully realize they were antisemitic and basically thugs. There are tens of thousands of loonies that are, including many Trump supporters. But, where were they going to get stinger missiles? This same sting was duplicated in Miami and elsewhere. I agree that they're all may be guilty of something but they had no access to weapons of mass destruction. Unless they were supplied it by us and that's how many Middle Eastern nations acquired them. It's all nothing more then a tempest in a teapot!

Slap him on the wrist, give him a new ID, and let him go. Let him be a poster boy for US mercy and fair treatment for those who rat out American enemies.

The purpose of our criminal justice system should be to preserve public safety. In that regard, is Vinas likely to re-offend, and would his further incarceration increase public safety? I think on both counts the answer is 'no'. Deterrence only works for rational people. Anyone who joins al Qaeda or other terrorist organization is not rational but fanatical.

So all we are left with is the need for retribution. Retribution is too rooted in religious beliefs and should have no part in American criminal justice. It is one of humanity's more seemly attributes and does nothing for us as a society.

To know that he finally did the right thing should be sufficient reward in itself.

Plea bargains usually still result in time behind bars.

Fascinating story. It sounds like in the end he saved more lives than he took, which is what factored into the judge's decision.

I don't think he is a natural killer, just a lost soul who found purpose in a twisted version of Islam that is all too common these days. I hope he can once again become a productive member of society.

It would be STUPID to punish someone severely who did the right thing and saved so many lives.

Mr. Vinas should be punished for his crime.

But his extraordinary change-of-face should be recognized.

It is also STUPID to tell federal prosecutors to go after low-level drug users.

It is time for juries to nullify verdicts that fill our jails with stupid young people...for the benefit of the prison-industrial complex and its corrupt, racist head, Jeff Sessions.

The only reason he didn't kill Americans is because he got caught before he had the opportunity to do so. I don't understand the logic. This guy should be going away for life.

Some commenters are saying that leniency is good because Mr. Vinas didn't "commit any crimes." He DID commit crimes. He conspired to commit acts of terrorism, and took steps toward getting the jobs done (made suicide vests, volunteered to be suicide bomber, helped plan bombing the LI railroad).

Conspiracy is a crime. This is why we can arrest people who are planning to blow things up, and why we don't have to wait until after the LI railroad has been bombed to take steps.

If we couldn't arrest anyone for conspiracy to commit terrorism, the world would be in (worse) chaos.

He had the intent to do great harm, but did he actually do it? Unless I have missed something, no one actually died because of his crimes (though the Pakistani police officer was injured). I would be more stern than I am if his evil plans had come to fruition. As it is, there is a case for leniency, if only to encourage others. His crimes are no worse than those of John Lindh, who was less useful and still got a break.

Don't we have psychologists anymore in America? Or do we use them only when we want to torture people and stay at the cutting edge of what is permissible by law?

It is high time we took back the leadership role we seem to have abandoned in the last 30 years and reform how we handle criminal sentencing. To those who complain that he "plotted spectacular plans to blow up the Long Island Rail Road" did he blow up the rail road? No? Then he cannot be punished as if he did. Someone who says, "I hate Suppan and want to kill him with my rifle" needs to be checked out to see if he means to carry out the threat, and punished for making the threat, not as if he carried it out. ("Minority Report" covered this!)

We need more of these alienated individuals to realize that America is not a monolithic entity trying to destroy their world. They need to see there are good and bad elements to American society and there are comparable good and bad sides to their own communities, whatever they may be. We need to show them that America can be ruthless with our enemies and those who mean harm to us, but we can also be compassionate and forgiving to those who atone for their errors, in the same way we expect to be shown compassion and forgiveness when we atone for our errors.

Enough with the irrational thinking and playing with emotions. Give this guy counseling and maybe he can reach out to other alienated kids and be of some help to everyone. Learn to turn adversity into opportunity!

I agree with the leniency but wonder how much it has to do with his being "White" i.e. not Arab or a native of mostly Muslim countries.

I would really, really like to see a book written by this young man. I'm sure he could give us so much insight into the rouses that AQ uses to rope these young, confused men into their murderous acts. Here, in MN we have seen the heart-break of so many mothers who have lost their sons to AQ recruiters. If a tell-all book about AQ and its methods becomes an international best seller maybe that could slow their recruitment; all a potential recruit would have to do is read the book to find the method used on him and, possibly, that would open his eyes to see that all AQ really promises is death for him and countless others.

He plotted spectacular plans to blow up the Long Island Rail Road. He needs to be in jail.

Valerie is correct. Just what is 'tight supervision'? Also, why haven't more of these individuals come forth? Are there any affiliated with ISIS? If not, why not? We need all the resources we can get in order to be successful. Should we still be supporting Pakistan in the same manner? The new Administration should review many of our overseas commitments, get input from the State department as well as the intelligence community before making a military decision.

This man has committed treason against the United States of America, and quite frankly, is lucky he has not been executed by the United States. He deserves his time.

I'm of two minds about this case. He didn't succeed in the army and moved from job to job. His longest "employment" was with Al Qaeda, and he had big plans for them. But then he helped the US government --- well, after he got arrested.

He seems to be a guy who's easily swayed by circumstances and/or the cause du jour.

So maybe the judge is trying to reward him for helping, which may encourage others to become ex-jihadists. Okay, but...I wonder what's going to happen to Mr. Vinas now. The article mentions "tight supervision." What does that mean? Will the government help him find a job? Will it help him keep a job? Will someone send him to a mental health professional? What if he ends up alone and without direction again? What cause will he turn to next? I don't want this guy to be put in a position where he can discover another scary cause run by people who know just which of his buttons they need to push.