By now you’ve probably all heard about the attempted terror incident on NW 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. The accused terrorist wannabe, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is the son of a Nigerian banker. He had a valid U.S. Visa issued in 2007 (obviously Obama’s fault). He was carrying 80 grams of PETN explosive (pentaerythritol tetranitrate) in his underwear bomb (more explosive than attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid). He was supposedly trained by al Qaeda in Yemen and two former Guantanamo detainees claimed credit for the attempted bombing. These detainees were released by the Bush administration in 2007 (obviously also Obama’s fault):
Guantanamo prisoner #333, Muhamad Attik al-Harbi, and prisoner #372, Said Ali Shari, were sent to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 9, 2007, according to the Defense Department log of detainees who were released from American custody.
Abdulmutallab was placed on the “Watch List” at least 1/2 year ago. After all this talk about the “War on Terror” we have obviously dropped the ball AGAIN on this issue. Why were these men released from prison and why weren’t they tried and convicted before? Obviously, the Bush torture program was an utter failure. It either radicalized these guys or failed to get information out of them. Why did Abdulmutallab get a U.S. Visa and why wasn’t it revoked when he was placed on the Watch List? Do agencies STILL not communicate with each other?
Plus, what future actions can we take? I think al Qaeda obviously found a security loophole in boarding procedures which I hope we’re closing. I do think this is a failure in the Obama administration (non-revocation of the U.S. Visa) and I hope they are addressing this issue. I’m glad that the only al Qaeda guys left are crazy, stupid ones but it only takes a lucky crazy stupid guy to hurt a lot of people.