It’s definitely change:

Abdulmutallab remains in a Detroit area prison and, after initial debriefings by the FBI, has restricted his cooperation since securing a defense attorney, according to federal officials. Authorities are holding out hope that he will change his mind and cooperate with the probe, the officials said. (Emphasis added)

Yes, hoping that he’ll talk is so much more effective than, you know, interrogating him. But hey, just because he’s an illegal combatant, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have Miranda rights. Right?

[Update a couple minutes later]

More thoughts on the suicidal law-enforcement mentality:

Charging Mutallab with a crime is no cause for relief, however. Instead, the decision renews concern about how seriously the administration is taking the threat posed by al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations, and whether we are slipping back into the pre-9/11 mindset of treating terrorism as principally a law-enforcement problem. Whatever legitimate role our civilian authorities may have in eventually bringing Mutallab to justice for attempting to blow up the airplane, experience and common sense tell us they are a poor means of addressing the more immediate problem — acquiring intelligence to stop the next attack before it happens.

That’s OK. If there’s another attack, we’ll just arrest the attackers. And make sure they get a fair trial. If they survive.

[Update a couple minutes later]

Apparently the Washington Post has given up hope.