flight 253

Published: 01/6/10

Bloggers Consider Deliberate-Dud Theory

By Steve Pendlebury - AOL News

(Jan. 6) – Among the many "what-ifs" being batted around online in the wake of the Christmas plane bombing attempt is one that got its start on Andrew Sullivan's blog. What if, a reader asked, the so-called "underwear bomber" wasn't out to actually bring down Northwest Flight 253? What if the goal was simply to terrorize America? The Daily Dish reader's question stems from the fact that authorities say Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab spent a long time in the plane's bathroom preparing the explosive device, but didn't detonate it there. Instead, he returned to his seat, where other passengers ...

Published: 01/6/10

A Silly Argument: Obama Was 'Distracted,' So Flight 253 Almost Blew Up

By David Corn - Politics Daily

Flight 253 was a big deal. One lone underwear-bomber nearly killed hundreds and devastated a critical industry. Citizens and their elected representatives are right to demand answers and accountability from the government officials responsible for national security and aviation safety. But it's silly to blame President Obama for the screw-ups that led to this almost-disaster. Yet that's what happening in some quarters. At the White House press briefing on Monday, as press secretary Robert Gibbs was noting that Obama receives daily intelligence briefings on terrorist threats, veteran reporter ...

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Published: 01/2/10

How Young Muslims Get Radicalized

By not in system - AOL News

(Dec. 31) -- Two big questions are driving the coverage of failed Christmas Day bomber suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and they are these: How was it that the warning signs were missed and he was allowed to board the airplane he allegedly intended to destroy? And just what is it that drives young men like him – incidentally Muslim young men of privileged upbringing and Western education – to turn to violent religious extremism? The first has sparked a vicious blame game and could well prompt a full-blown congressional inquiry. But the second is just as important, especially as ...

Published: 12/31/09

Failure to Connect Dots Recalls 9/11 Shortfalls

By Andrea Stone - AOL News

WASHINGTON (Dec. 31) -- The headlines were sickeningly familiar. "Spy Agencies Failed to Collate Clues on Terror," concluded The New York Times. "U.S. Intel Lapses Helped Abdulmutallab," CBS News reported on the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. "What the CIA Did and Didn't Know About Alleged Underpants Bomber" was the post on Newsweek's Declassified blog. President Barack Obama received a report today on the intelligence failures that let the alleged underpants bomber board a U.S.-bound airplane on Christmas Day. But details have already emerged about tantalizing clues that ...

Published: 12/31/09

Poll: Waterboard the Terror Suspect, Americans Say

By David Knowles - AOL News

(Dec. 31) -- The U.S. government no longer uses the interrogation technique known as waterboarding on suspected terrorists. But don't tell that to the American public. According to a new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports, 58 percent of those surveyed said that they want the federal government to waterboard terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the man accused of trying to set off an explosive device on Northwest/Delta Flight 253 as it approached Detroit. Congress voted to outlaw waterboarding in 2008, and Republicans like John McCain have often repudiated the practice. Yet a clear ...

Published: 12/31/09

Obama Reviewing Reports on Failures Leading To Terrorist Attack On Flight 253

By Lynn Sweet - Politics Daily

President Obama on Thursday received preliminary reports on the human intelligence and screening errors that led to a terrorist suspect being allowed to board Detroit-bound Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day. He said in a statement issued from Hawaii that he will meet in Washington on Tuesday with officials responsible for air safety.Obama said he discussed the situation in separate calls with John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "This morning, I spoke with John Brennan about preliminary ...

Published: 12/31/09

Should Obama Be in Washington?

By not in system - AOL News

(Dec. 31) -- At a morning story conference for Politics Daily, our colleague Lynn Sweet mentioned that in the wake of the abortive terrorist attack aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, President Obama has been on the receiving end of criticism for remaining on holiday in Hawaii while details of this crisis unfolded. ...

Published: 12/31/09

Republicans Go Bonkers Over Obama and Flight 253

By David Corn - Politics Daily

As 2009 comes to a close, it seems that some Republicans are looking to reach new heights of rhetorical excess. The bumbled-and-thwarted Christmas Day terrorist attack has caused many GOPers to become hysterical, as they crassly seek to exploit this near-tragedy to bash President Barack Obama. Ex-Veep Dick Cheney, no surprise, has led this dishonorable charge, issuing a statement: As I've watched the events of the last few days it is clear once again that President Obama is trying to pretend we are not at war. He seems to think if he has a low-key response to an attempt to blow up an airliner ...

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Published: 12/29/09

Protection or Privacy? Plot Renews Debate

By Andrea Stone - AOL News

WASHINGTON (Dec. 29) – Body scans, metal detectors, pat-downs, carry-on luggage searches. Is there no privacy? As investigators piece together how a Nigerian man listed on a terrorist database slipped through security with explosive powder in his underpants, airline passengers have been left standing in longer lines, enduring more intrusive screening at airports around the world. Few have complained about the extra hassles but some are raising red flags over just what constitutes TMI when it comes to fighting terrorism. At the heart of the debate are state-of-the-art body scanners at ...