In addition to receiving warnings directly from the father of suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the U.S. government also received other intelligence pointing to a Yemeni-based Nigerian who was being groomed for a terrorist attack … during the Christmas holidays.
These warnings were linked to the al-Qaeda subsidiary that has claimed responsibility for the attempted attack – and which has promised more violence to come.
Abdulmutallab, who successfully boarded a plane bound for America in Amsterdam on Christmas Day, attempted to detonate a homemade bomb made of PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) over the skies of Detroit. The bomb didn’t go off, thankfully, but the larger question of how he got on the plane in the first place – with the explosives – has become a major headache for the administration of President Barack Obama.
That headache gets worse with each new revelation of missed intelligence.
Privately, the White House is blasting the intelligence community, saying it failed to piece together specific warnings that presaged a terror attack during the Christmas holidays by a Yemen-based al Qaeda operative known as “the Nigerian.”
Initially, Obama’s administration sought to paint the foiled attack as a “success” story, but Obama’s Homeland Security Director, Janet Napolitano, quickly changed her tune in the face of withering public criticism. Specifically, she has backtracked on her initial statement that the “system worked.”
More recently, Obama’s allies in Congress have sought to place blame on S.C. Senator Jim DeMint for holding up the appointment of Erroll Southers, who is Obama’s choice to head up the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
DeMint responded by pointing out that Obama waited eight months to name his TSA director, part of a broader “downplaying” of terrorist threats.
By sam December 30, 2009 at 10:43 am
According to Mr. Obama, we aren’t fighting a war against terrorism. This is simply a minor criminal matter to be handled by the court system.
Certainly not worth interrupting Mr. Obama’s boogy boarding lessons on the Big Island.
Isn’t it a good thing we have Mr. Obama to protect our nation during such times as these!
By roofus December 30, 2009 at 11:25 am
The good news is that the Boogy-Boarder-in-Chief still plans to shutter GITMO and turn these Muslim goons loose in our prison and court systems.
Mr. Obama still plans to send up to 80 GITMO alums to Yemen.
My only question is: Is Obama still smoking pot and snorting coke, or has he ventured into LSD experimentation?
By 2 cents December 30, 2009 at 11:35 am
Stating the obvious, this country is in trouble. Worse than WWII in my opinion.
Obama is turning out to be a dangerous idealist. Or perhaps something more sinister. Hard to tell, which is why he was elected.
How did they miss it is a good question. People would understand more if they would stop shouting conspiracy theory to every new and alternative piece of evidence people literally have their lives threatened or lost for bringing to the table.
I don’t think anything was missed. Roosevelt knew Pearl Harbor was being targeted. He let it happen. Why? Too many Americans either supporting Germany or not wanting war. It provided the perfect cause to declare war.
If we’d close our borders somewhat and quit letting terrorists into the country it would help a lot. Also, deal with the our own homegrown terrorists.
By countryboy December 30, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Too bad we didn’t get warnings from Obama’s father, as to what a SOS his son is.
By SC Native December 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Hahahahaha. So let me get this straight. The terrorist was allowed to board the US bound airplane because Jim DeMint is stalling an effort to have the White House pick for TSA director confirmed???
Gotta love the libs!
By Ynot December 30, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Demint does need to stop grandstanding.
up or down votes is exactly what Republicans wanted… why don’t they want them now?
By Elmo December 30, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Its not about Obama being a failure. Hell Bush was warned directly by the CIA attacks were coming and the FBI knew people were learning how to fly but not land commercial aircraft.
Maybe just maybe our government cant protect us or guarantee us free health care .
By Cole Blease December 30, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Obama is only a couple of degrees removed from the radical Islamic terrorism. His preacher of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright is bosom buddies with Farrakahn, and Farrakahn and his black muslim ilk are tied in with the Islamic radicals in the Middle East.
By suet December 30, 2009 at 6:42 pm
Isn’t it odd that B. Hussein Obama won’t truncate his “ME-TIME” vacation in Hawaii to address the lastest attempted terror attack on U.S. soil?
Is this man president or is he just an imposter?
He’s probably plotting his next great assault on the US Constitution— extending voting rights to convicted felons and ILLEGAL aliens.
By countryboy December 30, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Cole it should have told us something when we learned how radical Wright was and yet Hussein Obama sat through years of Wright’s radical sermons, until he won the nomination and the media focused on Wright. Why would Obama not just get up and walk out on a radical sermon years ago and not return so long as Wright was preaching. That’s what I would have done the first time I heard an off the wall sermon.
By Pat Hendrix December 30, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Hilarious, you morons do realize that Bush stayed on a month long vacation after Richard Reid attempted to do the exact same thing? He only addressed it with an off hand comment six days later, then had Reid tried in federal court. Yes, the same scenario that you bed wetters now fear.
Oh, even better, you do realize that Abdulmutallab’s handlers were released from Gitmo by Bush and returned to Saudi Arabia to undertake “Art Therapy”? Yes, art therapy. Guess if you hold hands with the Saudi royals their citizens get a pass on killing Americans. Guess the DNC should be raising money off that little fact.
And speaking of “warning signs” try beating this one:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (4/8) – On August 6, 2001, over a month before 9/11, during the “summer of threat,” President Bush received a Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) at his Crawford, Texas ranch indicating that bin Laden might be planning to hijack commercial airliners. The memo was entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike inside US”, and the entire memo focused on the possibility of terrorist attacks inside the US. In testimony before the 9/11 Commission, Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor to President Bush, stated to the commission that she and Bush considered the August 6th PDB as just an “historical document” and stated that it was not considered a “warning.”
Yeah, historical document. Guess the justice department was too busy getting robes on those naked statues to check Zacarias Moussaoui’s computer. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/01/29/statues.htm
Nobody can take you people seriously.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFmMGYv3mag
By The BOSS December 30, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I could not agree more. We must remember that Obama and his cronies were claiming this whole thing as a damn “success” story on Sunday. They found out on Monday that most (if not all) of Americans viewed them as fu__ing retards! What a joke? This guy now wants to deflect blame to DeMint. What a freaking MORON!
This president should bring his tail home to DC right now! He’s had enough vacation! Come do your job or accept a pink slip! I passed a long brown turd into the toilet this morning that I respected more than our president!
By heyward December 30, 2009 at 9:10 pm
Pat,
The difference between Reid the shoebomber and this latest Muslim assclown terrorist (I’ll call him Umar Fart Abdul for short) is that Reid’s parents did not call the US Embassy TWICE to inform regarding his radicalism and terrorist intent. The fact is that Umar Fart Abdul was on a watch list by our dear own CIA and was never flagged by the airlines is a major, catastrophic screw up. It is only by the grace of God that little Umar’s exploding loins didn’t kill over 300 innocent Americans.
Obama believes you can reason with homicidal, Muslim terrorists. Obama is shutting Gitmo and sending at least 80 detainees to Yemen. Obama believes terrorism is a legal issue to be handled by our over-booked courts. Apparently Umar has an attorney and is no longer revealing any of his contacts or anymore useful information. Obama is giving terrorists more rights than American citizens!
Thanks Obama, keep hanging ten on the Big Island on your boogie board while the rest of America goes to work…
By No Way! December 30, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Obama is just a cold brown turd, ready to be flushed in 2012.
By 'Truth Seeker December 30, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Amen Pat Hendrix, spot on!!! Every thing else every one has written is pure bull shit. How they think they have an inside track to anyone in the administration’s mind is unbelievable. Did anyone listen to Tom Ridge on Larry King saying he knew exactly what Napolitano meant in her statements? Demint is a carpatbaggin joke too.
By 'Truth Seeker December 30, 2009 at 10:19 pm
suet, eat me!
By Pat Hendrix December 30, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Heyward,
Again, I find it odd that you failed to address anything I wrote, choosing to fall back on tired, and misinformed talking points. The Obama Administration has upped the number of troops in Afghanistan and increased military action in Yemen. He simply refuses to use the idiotic term “war on terror” because it makes no sense to make war on an abstract noun. He now says Al Qaeda or radicals. The fact you find the semantics of the debate of any real value suggests a lack of seriousness on your part.
In any event, I’m not certain how shutting down Gitmo is relevant to this situation. It’s not like Gitmo stopped this moron’s handlers from getting released by Bush to go into “Art Therapy” where the promptly left Saudi Arabia to start plotting the murdering of Americans. Fucking Art Therapy! Are these people serious?
In any event, this is a serious mistake on the part of DHS and the Department of State and we are damn lucky nobody got killed. Too bad we have an opposition party more interested in scoring political points and raising money than addressing the underlying tactical/systemic failure. It’s pathetic.
By madcockandheywardsupporter December 30, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Pat Hendrix is a real voice of reason and it would be good if people would take time to read what she has to say. Instead of this knee-jerk fear of everything that came from outside the borders of South Carolina, it would be good to read something that made sense. Thanks, Pat, for your contribution. It’s nice to know that someone isn’t eager to throw away our constitutional freedoms because of an incident that has conveniently happened just about the time to renew the Patriot Act again.
Jeremiah Wright is not a Muslim. He is a christian preacher. He might not agree with conservative politics, but it is true that slavery did happen. It’s true that the Tuskeegee syphilis experiments happened and why do people get mad because he references a few historical facts in a sermon? Robert Schuller always had Republican politicians on his “show” at the Crystal Cathedral. No one complained. To have complained would have been treason and blasphemy. A 3-story flag coming down from the rafters while someone was singing was just ducky with people. Maybe you never heard of separation of church and state.
It’s hilarious that dumb people keep calling barry a muslim. He is not a muslim. If he were, he would not be sending drone planes to kill as many people as possible in Afghanistan. He would call off the killing of anyone in Iraq and Afghanistan because HE…would…not…want…to…kill…his…fellow…believers. Got it?
The very act of killing fellow believers would be wrong, according to those who faithfully follow their belief. Would you church people ever want to kill people who belonged to the same denomination as you do? Of course you wouldn’t do that. You couldn’t do that. That would be wrong. So, stop saying that he’s a muslim. He may be a water carrier for big business, but he hasn’t gone Turk.
Pat, please post more and TRY to get some sense in these people’s heads. What good is having the internet if people continue to be as shallow and stupid because they can’t take time to transcend their prejudices? Try thinking and don’t use the internet as merely a forum for your prejudices. Please take some time to READ about some of the issues and stop letting FOX News do your thinking.
It is perturbing and disgusting that boogie-boarding is going on when there are so many problems. A jobs program should be started and it would be easy to begrudge him a holiday. Why they won’t repeal NAFTA is a mystery, unless they really are just carrying water for the big boys. As to those who complain about the holiday: you should be grateful to still have a job if you are ‘going to work’. It’s pretty clear that there will be no help from him. Your cowboy leader in Crawford spent lots of time there while the nation suffered. Nobody in the conservative corner complained about that. While the people drowned in New Orleans, the cowboy was having a birthday cake and I guess that was okay because the morally upstanding Bill O’Reilly (even though he’s a yankee) said the people in New Orleans got what they deserved. At least you have a job so that you can still go to work. Be grateful you can still laugh at the unemployed and blame them for not having work. That’s the Conservative way.
By Liberty For Me December 31, 2009 at 10:29 am
You people are such tools…You think you have some kind of answer because its “your” party one way or the other.Parties don’t matter..Presidents don’t matter.Actions matter.
Which one of you asks the question that is the 1000 lb gorilla in the room??..Why are these people terrorists??? Why do so many people risk their families and their own lives to attack us??
If your answer is because they are jealous or because they are crazy…You are a mental midget.
Try putting a little gray matter to work and think if it was you…What would drive you to do these apparently crazy actions?
By Pat Hendrix December 31, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Wow, dude, I’m a MAN, despite jokes to contrary on this site. In any event, I’m in total agreement that Wall Street got rich while Main Street took it on the chin. Obama and the Democratic congress are just as soldout to big Pharma, the insurance industry and Wall Street as the previous crowd. The Dems are going to take an ass stomping in 2010 and they deserve it.
Term limits, please, term limits.