January 10, 2010

OBAMA OVERHAULS SPY WATCH

"We are at war with al-Qaeda!," declared President Barack Obama on Thursday -- in response to the Christmas Day attempt by a young Nigerian terrorist to blow up an overseas airliner as it approached Detroit, Michigan.

Prompt reaction by passengers -- and by a flight attendant -- to smother the flames squelched the bomb concealed in the terrorist’s underpants.

The terrorist was Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, age 23.  He began his journey in Yemen where he acquired the explosives.  His father, a respected banker there, had warned officials that his son was dangerous.

SYSTEMIC FAILURE

Obama stated that “a systemic failure” in the U.S. intelligence community was to blame for not uncovering the Christmas Day bomb plot – but those failures were ultimately the President’s responsibility.

“This incident was not the fault of a single individual or organization, but rather a systemic failure across organizations and agencies.  Ultimately, the buck stops with me.”

Nevertheless, Obama singled out two key intelligence agencies – the National Counterterrorism Center and the Central Intelligence Agency.

The report by those agencies stated:

“Though all the information was available to all source-analysts at the CIA and NCTC -- prior to the attempted attack -- the dots were not connected.

“As a result, the problem appears to be more about a component failure to connect the dots,  rather than a lack of information-sharing.”

CONNECT AND UNDERSTAND

“Rather than a failure to collect or share intelligence, this was a failure to connect and understand the intelligence that we already had,” said Obama.

John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism adviser, stepped forward to shoulder some of the blame.

“I told the president that I let him down, and will do better as a team.

“Over the past year, the intelligence community has done a stellar job in protecting the homeland.  However, in this one instance, we did not rise to that same level of competence.”

CORRECT MISTAKES

Obama outlined steps he has ordered for government agencies to correct mistakes leading up to the Christmas Day event.

The directives included quicker and wider distribution of intelligence reports, strengthening the process by which intelligence analysts process and integrate information and strengthening the criteria used to add to terrorist-watch lists.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says she will go to Spain later this month to meet with her European counterparts.  It will be the first in a series of meetings seeking “a broad consensus on new international aviation security standards and procedures.”

Napolitano said DHS also will accelerate deployment of advanced imaging technology

“so that we have greater capabilities to detect explosives like the ones used in the Christmas Day attack.

“We must do better in keeping dangerous people off airplanes, while still facilitating air travel.”

REPUBLICAN  REACTION

Republicans criticized the Obama administration for its handling of the event in Detroit.

Former vice-president Dick Cheney has said Obama is “trying to pretend” the United States is “not at war.”

Former 9/11Commission chairman Lee Hamilton told ABC News on Wednesday:

“While the president does bear the burden of responsibility for preventing such attacks, the problem of lax vigilance throughout the government is primarily to blame.

“I just think what’s pervasive through-out the country -- and has been for a number of years -- is the complacency, an inertia, a business-as-usual attitude  -- that I think is harmful.

“That complacent attitude includes the entire political leadership of the United States – Obama, congressional leaders, and the many, many, people that have had a part in homeland security.”

BLAME GAME

Undoubtedly, Congress will hold a number of hearings on homeland security when it returns from its winter recess later this month.

Democrats will have difficulty in blaming former President George W. Bush for declaring a War Against Terrorism following the 9/11/01 attacks on the New York City twin towers and the Pentagon at Washington, D.C. wherein nearly 3,000 Americans were killed.

A Third World War is in the offing!

The questions are why, where and when?

PARTING SHOT

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift – that’s why it is called the "present."

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist