ZAZI PLOT DETAILS EMERGE…. For all the talk about Abdulmutallab’s unsuccessful terrorist plot on Christmas, I continue to think the Najibullah Zazi case is an under-appreciated victory for the United States. A deadly attack was thwarted; intelligence was collected; and justice was served. No torture, no military commissions, no need to stray from the legal process. The legal system was followed to the letter, and it not only worked beautifully, it saved a lot of lives.

We learned more about the Zazi plot this week, and the details are chilling, to put it mildly.

Zazi and his two Queens friends allegedly planned to strap explosives to their bodies and split up, heading for the Grand Central and Times Square stations — the two busiest subway stations in New York City. They would board trains on the 1, 2, 3 and 6 lines at rush hour and planned to position themselves in the middle of the packed trains to ensure the maximum carnage when they blew themselves up, sources said. During Zazi’s brief visit to Queens from his home in Denver last September, he rode the subway multiple times to the Grand Central and Wall St. stations, scouting where to best spread death and mayhem, the sources said. […] The attack was to take place on Sept. 14, 15 or 16 – as soon as the bombs had been assembled – with Sept. 14 the most likely date, sources said.

A fourth man, who helped plan this intended attack, has been quietly arrested in Pakistan, following Zazi’s cooperation with authorities.

I realize conservatives don’t want to talk about this story, which is probably why major media outlets aren’t paying much attention to it.

But that’s a shame because when it comes to counter-terrorism, this is a big f’in deal. Here we had a serious terrorist threat — arguably the most important since 9/11 — and an al Qaeda recruit who was poised to kill a lot of people. Obama administration officials thwarted Zazi’s plan, took him into custody, read him his rights, and gave him a lawyer.

And the results couldn’t have been better for the United States. Zazi will spend the rest of his life behind bars, but only after cooperating with federal officials and becoming a valuable source of intelligence.

If Republicans really want to debate the efficacy of Obama’s counter-terrorism policies, we can start right here.