US boosts air security after possible airliner bombing attempt

[TomCADem]

Source: Yahoo

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Friday ordered increased security for air travel after a man reportedly attempted to bomb an airliner flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

A passenger aboard an Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers was subdued after he attempted to ignite a device as the plane was preparing to land in Detroit, an airline spokeswoman told AFP.

After Obama was informed of the incident he held a secure conference call with his Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism Advisor John Brennan, and National Security Council chief of staff Denis McDonough, the White House said.

"He asked to arrange a subsequent secure call and... instructed that all appropriate measures be taken to increase security for air travel," the White House said.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091226/ts_afp/usattacksair_20091226002004

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This may cause some delays for Holiday travel, but better safe than sorry.

[mattvermont]

1. wasn't the original story about fireworks? nt.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Yes, it was.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/25/airliner.firecrackers/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+

So are they using fireworks as an excuse, calling it an attack?
Or is the fireworks part a false story?
And the hell do I have to parse out the news like some Russian reading Pravda???

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

4. Still waiting to hear conclusively what the weapon was comprised of.

If that info is not forthcoming today, we'll probably hear tomorrow.

[rsmith6621]

2. So How Much More Can Be Done Here In the USA..

.....SEE OBAMA ISN'T KEEPING US SAFE.....:sarcasm:

[ShortnFiery]

5. Stationing thousands of combat troops over in the ME is keeping Americans LESS SAFE.

President Obama doesn't care about keeping Americans Safe.

We're very close to WWIII and it will begin in the ME thanks due to NO SMALL PART with our bombing raids in Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. We are NOT at war with these countries and should not be using our Air-strikes to KILL the ruling thugs' POLITICAL ENEMIES. The foregoing is against International Law.

Al Quaeda = anyone who Karzai and USA corporate interests don't like.

[DWilliamsamh]

6. Take you tin foil hat in for repair...it isn't focusing the radio waves correctly...

President Obama is doing what he thinks is best (including consciously and sanely disentangling from Iraq. you may not AGREE with his actions in every detail or even in any detail, but your disagreement does not equal apathy on his part regarding the safety of the American people.

Now before you go crazier on me - I don't agree with the escalation in Afghanistan, and wish we were leaving Iraq on a faster time table. Our unquestioning support of every single thing Israel does, is more dangerous to us that Iraq or Afghanistan combined. A more even handed policy in the MEW would go a LONG way to improving relations with those we now consider enemies in the ME.

[ShortnFiery]

15. President Obama and his MIC are making Americans LESS SAFE ...

every day there are COMBAT TROOPS occupying two ME Countries.

You know that the above is correct and wouldn't tolerate it with a republican President.

Bring the Troops Home NOW! That's the KEY ACTION that will make Americans Safer.

[DWilliamsamh]

24. Actually I "know" no such thing.......

I agree (and so does Pres. Obama by the way) that the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq made things worse for us and the rest of the Middle East. I do NOT think the same thing about Afghanistan - although I disagree with the path the President has recently embarked on. I disagreed with President Bush's invasion and his ordered military actions during the occupation of Iraq and so did/does President Obama. I agreed with the necessity of the initial military action in Afghanistan, and the continued need to kill Al Qaida, and the need to capture or kill Bin Laden. This President and I disagree about the best way to do that. So I raise my voice in protest - but I don't actually doubt his motivation.

My original response to you was based on your assertion that President Obama doesn't "care about our safty." I think you disagree with his method and I do not chastise or ridicule you for your opinion. But once again, your differing opinion (and mine for that matter) doesn't translate into your being correct about the President's level of concern for the safety of our citizens or our nation.

[ShortnFiery]

31. No, simply IMO, those in the ruling political class consider this geo-politics ... they HONESTLY

don't give a rat's ass about the health and welfare of the Poor Bloody Infantry nor ANYONE in the WORKING CLASS who must wear a military uniform.

Sure, they'll SAY all the right things but you won't see Chelsea Clinton enlisting anytime soon. Nor do I expect the "Obama Daughters" enrolling in R.O.T.C. courses when the attend college.

The POOR and YOUNG PEOPLE *kill and die* for the entertainment and enrichment of old, bloated and wealthy ELITES. PICK A COUNTRY AND TELL ME the forgoing is NOT TRUE?

You can't because you know what I type is "the unvarnished truth."

[ShortnFiery]

32. p.s. bin Laden is long DEAD and now *anyone* who poses a threat to the USA is labeled "al Quaeda"

How convenient. :thumbsdown:

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

7. I would think one would want to wait for more info before jumping to conclusions

Don't get me wrong, perhaps the initial reports are entirely accurate, however, it seems best to remain skeptical until we have a fuller picture. With that said, let's say this guy is linked to al-Qaeda, is that alone evidence that our presence overseas is making us less safe? I'd say no, considering how Americans were being killed by al-Qaeda before either of our two current wars were underway.

Secondly, we're allied with the governments of Yemen, Somalia, and Yemen. We're not engaged in acts of war against them. We're working with them in an attempt to help them secure their own territories.

[lollybaby]

8. Some perspective on this people...

Nigerians celebrate Christmas with setting off fire-crackers. The questions are, is this particular Nigerian visiting the United States for the very first time? Was he engaging in his country's practice of celebrating Christmas with fire-cracker? Did he choose the very worse place to engage in his celebrations?
Like you stated, the mere possession of fire-crackers and displaying them on a plane should get this idiot (and I do not use the word 'idiot' lightly) charged with terrorism. But let us remember not everyone is aware of our laws, security concerns and way of life, I am just saying...

[Pavulon]

10. All nigerians dont celebrate christmas..

many millions of muslims live there, and some of those folks may be this jihad kinda folks.

[lollybaby]

11. You obviously do not know anything about Christmas celebration in Nigeria...

Let me explain it to you, dude. People set off fire-crackers in celebration of the season, not the religious aspect of it. Just like most people buy gifts and presents here in the United States regardless of one's faith during the Holidays, you get it. I know this and I am sharing this perspective. If you take the time to read my post, you will notice, I think this idiot should be charged with terrorism. However, not everything is elaborate as we may want them to be, I am just saying...

[Pavulon]

12. He set off an explosive device on final approach.

he claims to be al-q, and may have the jihadi spirit. In that case he should rot in florence ADX and the people who helped put him here should end up face down in a ditch with a .22 cal hole in the head or be turned into pink mist by a missile, whichever is most appropriate.

People here shoot off guns in celebration of stuff too, they dont do it on airliners.

Nothing elaborate about morons trying to blow up airliners.

[ShortnFiery]

18. Hey, haven't you got the memo? Everyone now against the USA is "al Quaeda"

in addition to being a dirty stinking "terrorist." :crazy:

[RamboLiberal]

20. This is not a firecracker

Federal authorities have been told that Abdulmutallab allegedly had taped some material to his leg, then used a syringe to mix chemicals with the powder while on the airplane, one official said.

Officials described the device as incendiary rather than explosive, pending tests by forensics experts at the FBI. Incendiary devices generally deliver less of an impact than explosive devices. The remains of the device used are being sent to an FBI explosives lab in Quantico for analysis, federal law enforcement and airline security sources told CNN.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/25/AR2009122501355.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR

From reading reports tonight I wonder if this clown wasn't trying to set the airliner on fire. Fire can be as deadly as an explosion. Be interesting in the coming days to follow this story.

[ShortnFiery]

35. WE KILL all the ruling thugs' of those Countries POLITICAL ENEMIES. This is just absurd. eom

[Pavulon]

9. Karzai bombed the uss cole, and killed all those nice people in bali?

some people dont respond to "please".

[ShortnFiery]

16. Having NAVY and TROOPS over in the ME while KILLING people that the "leader thugs" don't

like and calling them ALL "al Quaeda" is NOT endearing us to the average working-class citizen within the ME. :thumbsdown:

[Pavulon]

29. How they choose to identify themselves is irrelevant

they are people to find, extract info from, then jail or kill.

[ShortnFiery]

36. Yes, you've really got that violent reaction down. When are you going over to help KILL them?

I mean, you can glorify all the Killing and Dying without getting in on the action? Come on, if this WAR is so damn righteous, you should go enlist or become a contractor. All this desire for KILLING should not be wasted on the keyboard. :P

[Pavulon]

39. Did my part in KFOR

cashed a check with the explicit intent of killing people who needed to get shot at the time. Thankfully that was not required. Folks carrying out ethnic cleansing and killing random kids by shelling pubic places dont always respond to please. I mean the correct response to rwanda was to do jack shit right? Darfur, fuck em.

Using force to change the outcome of conflicts is required in some situations, you cant solve all the worlds problems on your knees or with a kind word.

I also handed out water after a floods and hurricanes too. Not that any of that makes my point more or less valid.

[high density]

13. So in other words the terror attack was successful after all

More "security" means we're fucked again.

[Socal31]

14. Actually...

If you were on the plane and the bombing was successful, they you would have been "fucked."

An extra few minutes in line at the airport doesn't quite rise to that level.

[ShortnFiery]

17. Terrific, I can't wait to have my 81 y.o. mother patted down again by the STRAC airport security..

:crazy:

[tblue37]

28. When they ran my wooden cane through the X-ray machine

on Sunday, it got stuck and my flight was delayed for about 12 minutes while they tried to get it unstuck. My flight was boarding in a rush becase they had not intended to take off to Reagan International (in D.C.) on time because of the snow on the runways, but then decided in a hurry at the last minute to take off on time after all, so they were hurrying us through security at the last minute--when my cane got stuck and delayed the departure a bit.

On the way home, our plane was dayed for about 40 minutes, because there was an extra passenger on board, so they had to do boarding pass stub/ID check on every passenger. Many were in the wrong seats, so they had to have them move themselves and their overhead luggage one by one to the proper seats--very time-consuming in the narrow aisles of an airplane.

Supposedly, they are checking boarding passes before you get on the plane, so how did a person who was supposed to be flying to Milwaukee end up on a plane bound for Kansas City? Obviously they are often just pretending to check the boarding passes.

In other words, the "security" is, to some degree at least, theater rather than real security, but as with my stuck cane, the inconvenience is quite real.

At least the security people in KC offered me a hand to help me get through the metal detector, rather than just taking my cane and requiring me walk through on my own. As it happens, I can walk short distances without the cane (usually, though I do risk falling or "locking up" even on short distances), but I have sometimes seen very frail people being forced to attempt that walk with no help at all. Even as I walked through the metal detector, I started to lose my balance and had to grab the side of the detector--which is when TSA lady offered me her hand because I was not supposed to ouch the side of the detector.

[47of74]

19. The problem is on the other side of the pond

It was the Amsterdam airport that messed up here. They were the ones who fell asleep at the switch.

[JCMach1]

21. His flight originated in Nigeria...

http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/al-qaida-link-suspected-in-failed-us-plane-attack-1.558166

[Arrowhead2k1]

22. The suspect is from Nigeria. The flight originated from Amsterdam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Airlines_Flight_253

[JCMach1]

23. You are correct, misread the piece... I wouldn't call Amsterdam all that lax with security

I suspect that that the chemicals we are talking about here are rather common... My only question is the liquid... Someone should have caught that.

[mainer]

30. I always found Amsterdam pretty tight on security

They always have an individual interview with each passenger before they allow them to board.

[kayla9170]

25. Now more security shakedowns at DTW

This sucks it happen in Detroit. It says one of three things to me.

1. The attacker could not have known exactly where he was. Detroit/Dearborn is home to many Muslims. They normally would not attempt a attack in this area because of this.

2. The attacker wanted to just get attention or he would have known that firecrackers do not light in mid-air.

3. Now, Michiganders will have to go though unnecessary security procedures for this idiot flying out of DTW. For that, he should be placed in GITMO. :mad:

[Mudoria]

26. AQ hasn't worried about killng Muslims anywhere else in the world

So I doubt they would have worried about those living in the Detroit area. Assuming this guy is with AQ at all. If he is AQ they must have been reduced to the 3rd string because this guy is a moron. OTOH, he may have a bit of hero worship of AQ and was trying to impress them.

[ShortnFiery]

37. We don't even know if what has been reported is TRUE? Remember the "Gulf of Tonkin"

A healthy DIS-TRUST of Governmental Speak is a good thing. :thumbsup:

[gateley]

27. Kind of OT, but I always wondered about the tennis shoe flambe guy, and now this

one -- why didn't they just go into the restroom to ignite their devices? Did they think no one in the passenger cabin would notice? Stupid on stupid.

[ShortnFiery]

33. No, I wonder if this was "a set up" to justify the Air Strikes in Yemen?

I don't trust ANYTHING coming from the M$M who get's their news fed to them from The Pentagon.

[dysfunctional press]

34. faa anounces new mandatory dress code for ALL air travellers!

[Bragi]

38. For me, this is pretty well IT when it comes to discretionary flying

So now we get to enjoy all the current inconveniences plus now we get: only one item of closely-inspected hand luggage; more random searches and pat-downs; staying in our seats for the last hour of every flight; having access to nothing while landing; generally, hands where everyone can see them.

These seem to be the major new security measures favored by US security authorities. Also, unofficially, all passengers are suspected terrorists, and every passenger is deputized to intercept and deter them.

To which I say: See ya' discretionary travel by airplane. I suspect I won't be indulging in optional air travel as much in the future as I have in the past, especially any that involves US airports and air space restrictions, line-ups and general inconveniences.

Good for the environment, but you'd think I'd at least get a carbon credit I could sell for flights not taken.

- B