Ok, yes, now I will assume you are slow. No one is defending anything Lakhani. The point of this post and the John Martin article is more of a focus on who Rehman is.
From the article:
Instead [of this being a victory against terrorism], a portrait emerges of Lakhani as little more than a 68-year-old failed clothing merchant who, desperate for money and full of bluster, stumbled into a highly orchestrated sting at a time when the United States was eager for success against terrorism.
Maybe I'm slow but, to me, that reads like a defense of Lakhani. Or, at least, an appeal for clemency.
The point of ... the John Martin article is more of a focus on who Rehman is.
And my dual point all along has been (1) Lakhani ought to be treated like the mass murderer he so very much wanted to be, and (2) it doesn't matter who Rehman is.
So very sorry if I'm not as quick as you are. Smart ass.