Janet Napolitano: “The system worked.”
December 27, 2009
A man named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is on more than one government terrorism watch list. His own father turned him in for his connections to al Qaeda and his jihadist radicalism.
That he is listed on multiple terrorist watch lists does not prevent him from being issued a visa to enter and travel within the United States even as millions of others are denied the same on the most flimsy of pretexts. His name appearing on several government terrorist watch lists does not result in him being placed on the no-fly list. His name being on several government terrorist watch lists does not result in him receiving extra security screening before he boards an international flight to enter the United States.
He is able to bring through security and onto a commercial airliner an explosive device easily capable of bringing the aircraft down. He is able to ignite the device which fails and is extinguished by the bare hands of a airline passenger acting of his own volition.
Update: Oh, I get it. The system gets a “solid B+.” That makes sense.
Jim 22 :
Date: December 27, 2009
From Today’s Washington Post – an exerpt:
“Administration officials said President Obama is seeking accountability in the incident, although he has not demanded any sort of special review. He is getting detailed briefings on the facts of the case and the airport security changes while on vacation in Hawaii, the officials said.
One administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Abdulmutallab received his 2008 tourist visa from the U.S. Embassy in London. “We interviewed him, and his name was run against the watch list maintained by [the Department of Homeland Security] and the FBI,” the official said. “There was no indication of any derogatory information. There is every indication that whatever radicalization took place occurred recently.” “
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
No doubt she is responding to the airliner bombing attempt by increasing survelance of “teabaggers”, opponents to health care reform and Reid’s “hate mongers.”
Jim 22 :
Date: December 27, 2009
BREAKING:
Fox News just broke into Fox News Sunday to report that a passenger was arrested in Detroit when Delta flight 253 from Amsterdam landed today.
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
The difference between what happened and a couple hundred killed on Christmas day was a failed explosive device and a heroic Dane. That is it.
Would Obama be taking this more seriously had the PETN achieved the pressure and temperature to blow the airplane out of the sky? The happenstance of that pressure and temperature gradient is the only aspect of events that has prevented this from being the most deadly terrorist attack against America since 9/11.
Jim 22 :
Date: December 27, 2009
From the Fox News website: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581232,00.html
Police Arrest ‘Disruptive’ Passenger Aboard Plane at Detroit Airport
Sunday, December 27, 2009
DEVELOPING: Several police vehicles and a police command unit have surrounded a plane at Detroit’s Metro Airport.
Metro Airport spokesman John Witner said there was a report of suspicious activity on the Delta/Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam Sunday. That is the same flight number as the flight that a Nigerian man was suspected of attempting to blow up over Detroit on Christmas Day.
All 257 passengers and 12 crew have deplaned safely, said Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott. The flight landed safely in Detroit at 12:34 p.m. Sunday.
The flight crew requested that law enforcement meet the aircraft after a passenger on the plane became verbally disruptive, said Elliott.
The Associated Press reported that the incident lead to the arrest of a Nigerian man, who is now in custody.
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
I am just glad that Jasper Schuringa isn’t a US Navy Seal. He would be brought up on charges under the UCMJ for putting the bomber in a choke hold.
MadBrad :
Date: December 27, 2009
These things come in waves of three, it seems.
I’m sure that the “incident” today is the result of unfair profiling on the part of “THE SYSTEM” that works.
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
I guess she was trying to say that, after the fact, the system worked. Still, DHS isn’t supposed to be first responders. They are supposed to stop this shit from happening. They only proper response from her was this: “We failed. We are going to do better.”
Her job is to protect the lives of my fellow citizens, not cover Obama’s ass.
MadBrad :
Date: December 27, 2009
They say that the Nigerian who barricaded himself into the bathroom may have been sick. I wonder if the ill effects of kiestering C4 are to blame. Hopefully this man is being examined for any potential risk of explosive diarhea.
UpNorth :
Date: December 27, 2009
Hey, R.D. you left off veterans from your list of folks who are or should be under surveillance. Yeah, the system worked, right.
If the FBI can maintain the NCIC computer system that has criminal records and warrants covering the country, surely they can interface a watch list and don’t fly list, or can they?
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
I am trying to understand the purpose of the new rule stating passengers are not to get out of their seats during the last hour of the flight. From what I read, the bomber stayed seated and Schuringa left his seat. If the new rules were slavishly followed, the bombing wouldn’t have been thwarted. Right?
Tatersalad :
Date: December 27, 2009
Well, where was “Infrgard” on this one?
http://www.infragard.org/
R.D. Walker :
Date: December 27, 2009
I am 46 years old and I have had an ATM card since high school. Later it became a debit card. I have used the cards literally thousands of times and I don’t think there has ever been an error. Millions of transactions an hour take place the world over and it always “finds” my account and debits the right amount.
Robert Gibbs, however, excused the government for not identifying the bomber as being on the watch list because there are 550,000 people on the list. That, my friends, is a bullshit excuse.
JCT :
Date: December 28, 2009
Complacency is what results from a lack of vigor, and sometimes candor, on the part of an organizational leader. Secretary Napolitono is the Homeland Security leader, whether some like it or not.
For her to say “the system worked” reflects an attitude that can only contribute to complancency throughout her organization.
An incendiary device on a plane on Christmas Day is not success. Furthermore, statements as to the involvement of others in the plot, or lack thereof, should be made when “dead” certain.
Secretary Napolitano provided inadequate leadership in this incident.
Tatersalad :
Date: December 28, 2009
Who was the sharply dressed man?
And where is he now? “Flight 253 passenger: Sharp-dressed man aided terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab onto plane without passport (MLive.com exclusive),” by Sheena Harrison for MLive.com, December 26 (thanks to Puneet):
A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport.
Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked exclusively with MLive.com and confirmed he was on the flight by sending a picture of his boarding pass. He and his wife, Lori, were returning from a safari in Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday.
Haskell said he and his wife were sitting on the ground near their boarding gate in Amsterdam, which is when they saw Mutallab approach the gate with an unidentified man.
Kurt and Lori Haskell are attorneys with Haskell Law Firm in Taylor. Their expertise includes bankruptcy, family law and estate planning.
While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab could board without a passport. “The guy said, ‘He’s from Sudan and we do this all the time.’”
Mutallab is Nigerian. Haskell believes the man may have been trying to garner sympathy for Mutallab’s lack of documents by portraying him as a Sudanese refugee.
The ticket agent referred Mutallab and his companion to her manager down the hall, and Haskell didn’t see Mutallab again until after he allegedly tried to detonate an explosive on the plane….
Posted by Robert on December 27, 2009 10:26 PM
milan :
Date: December 29, 2009
WHAT THE HELL HAVE WE BECOME-
WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY-
I AM A 63 YO VET AND THIS IS WHAT I GET – OH I AM SO SORRY THAT I HURT SOMEONES FEELINGS–MERRY CHRISTMAS TOWEL HEADS-OBAMA WON’T PROTECT YOU FOREVER HE IS TOO BUSY PLAYING KISS ASS—-ITS TIME FOR SOME BALLS IN CHARGE-MAYBE THE OLLIE NORTH TYPE