Deal With Headley Worth It, Says US Attorney

Justifying a controversial plea bargain deal cut with the Mumbai attacks accused David Headley that spared him from death penalty and extradition to India, a top US attorney today said that not doing the pact would have been a "terrible mistake".

"I am convinced that we would have made a terrible mistake if we did not sit down with Headley and get all the information that we did and came from them," US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters after a Chicago court convicted Tahawwur Rana on two terrorism charges based in part on Headley's cooperation with prosecutors.

"Headley had an insider's view of what (Illyas) Kashmiri was up to, what they discussed and what he was planning. He had the insiders view of what Sajid Mir was up to, what Major Iqbal was up to and what people were doing," Fitzgerald said, adding that Headley has so far named 34 different targets that had been surveyed.

From: http://ping.fm/oxYxA