Days after [the U.S. Attorney's] filing, as the Abdulmutallab fiasco unfolded, Attorney General Eric Holder and other senior administration officials made it clear in congressional testimony and numerous media appearances that their focus was no longer on gathering intelligence to pre-empt an attack, but on prosecuting terrorists in the criminal justice system. That change in focus likely grew out of President Barack Obama's early decision to close the prison complex at Guantanamo, and to transfer high-value detainees like Ghailani who have been held there to the criminal justice system.

One immediate consequence of the president's approach is the effort by Ghailani's lawyers to take full advantage of a bevy of constitutional rights that are available to him in the civilian justice system, but which he would have never received in a military commission. Ghailani's demand that charges against him be dropped because of the long delay in getting a trial is likely only the first of a torrent of filings to come from al Qaeda members if the administration persists on trying them in civilian courts.

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This administration's approach greatly impairs our ability to obtain vital intelligence and puts us all at greater risk of suffering another terrorist attack. Hopefully, the administration will consider the arguments of its own prosecutors and change course before it's too late.