Obama Takes Responsibility for Security Lapse, Says U.S. 'At War' with al-Qaeda

President Obama today said the security and intelligence breakdown that allowed a Nigerian suspect to bring explosives aboard a U.S. plane was "systemic" and not the fault of a single individual or agency. But, he added, "Ultimately, the buck stops with me" to protect America from terrorism.
Obama appeared in the State Dining Room just before top aides briefed the press and public on reviews he had ordered on the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Detroit-bound Northwest Flight 253. He delivered his remarks after days of speculation about whether specific responsibility for the security lapses would be assigned to anyone, or whether any resignations of officials would result.

Obama said that while he made it clear to his staff that people would be held accountable going forward, the reviews had determined that "at this stage, the incident was not the fault of a single individual or organization" but was a "systemic failure."

"Ultimately, the buck stops with me," Obama said. "When the system fails, it is my responsibility."

Obama said the suspected would-be bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was equipped, trained and directed by an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Yemen -- a reminder "again of the challenge we face in protecting our country against a foe that is bent on our destruction."

"We are at war," Obama said. "We are at war against al-Qaeda, a far-reaching network of violence and hatred that attacked us on 9/11, that killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, and that is plotting to strike us again. And we will do whatever it takes to defeat them."

Some Republicans, most prominently former Vice President Dick Cheney, and other critics of the president have asserted that Obama had failed to bring a wartime focus to the fight against terrorism, and also questioned the administration's decision to try Abdulmutallab in a criminal court rather than put him before a military tribunal as an enemy combatant.

Cheney told Politico last week that "(we) are at war and when President Obama pretends we aren't, it makes us less safe." Today, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele issued a statement on the planned civilian court trial, saying "International terrorists are not common criminals; treating them as such and granting them the same protections as United States citizens compromises our national security and denies U.S. intelligence services valuable information." Steele accused Obama of playing to "his left wing base."

In his remarks, Obama said he had directed his national security team to "to develop a strategy that addresses the unique challenges posed by lone recruits" like Abdulmutallab and said "that's why we must communicate clearly to Muslims around the world that al-Qaeda offers nothing except a bankrupt vision of misery and death, including the murder of fellow Muslims, while the United States stands with those who seek justice and progress."

Citing increased security measures already undertaken and new ones to come, Obama said, "We will strengthen our defenses, but we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. That is exactly what our adversaries want. And so long as I am president, we will never hand them that victory."

"We will define the character of our country, not some band of small men intent on killing innocent men, women and children," he added.

Repeating an often-used phrase since the attempted bombing, Obama said there was "a failure to connect the dots" that should have led to Abdulmutallab before he was allowed to board the Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight.

Obama said officials had the information "scattered through the system" to potentially disrupt and prevent the bombing attempt.

"Although our intelligence community had learned a great deal about the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, called Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, that we knew that they sought to strike the United States and that they were recruiting operatives to do so, the intelligence community did not aggressively follow up on and prioritize particular streams of intelligence related to a possible attack against the homeland," Obama said.

To prevent a repetition of such lapses, Obama said he had issued a series of directives which included:

-- Requiring the intelligence community to assign "specific responsibility for investigating all leads on
high-priority threats so that these leads are pursued and acted upon aggressively not just most of the time, but all of the time."

-- Ensuring that intelligence reports on potential threats be distributed more widely and rapidly.

-- Strengthening the analytical process in the intelligence agencies.

-- Strengthening the criteria used in adding individuals to terrorist watch lists and, in particular, the no-fly list.