Stupidity ought to be labeled for what it is, lest we not learn to leave it behind.
Omar Abu Ali is serving a 30-year sentence for having joined Al Qaeda and plotted to assassinate George W. Bush and is currently an inmate at a federal supermax prison in Florence, CO. Last year he requested President Obama’s two books. The answer has now come denying the request. The prison’s officials, citing FBI guidance, said that one page from “Dreams From My Father” and 22 from “The Audacity of Hope” could harm national security. They gave no specifics, but the passages are from chapters on foreign affairs.
The books, written before Mr. Obama ran for president and before he had access to the intelligence given the Chief of State, have been best sellers for many months. What they say is not only a matter of public record, but also, give or take a few people, public knowledge. Given the length of Omar Abu Ali’s sentence and the restrictions of a supermax prison, it is difficult to see how these pages could really harm national security.
Not many details are known about this denial. Were they, it is conceivable they could be mitigating . If they were, would they mitigate an instance of stupidity?
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