Obama Is Told of Signs That Should Have Grounded Plot

[Turborama]

Source: NYT

The United States government had intelligence about a possible Al Qaeda attack around the holidays and had more information about where the suspect had been and what some of his plans were, an official said.

Some of the information at the time was partial or incomplete and it was not obvious that it was connected, the official said, but in retrospect it now appears clear that had it all been examined together it would have pointed to a pending attack involving the Nigerian suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Mr. Abdulmutallab allegedly tried to carry out a bombing on a Detroit-bound flight Christmas Day.

The official said the administration is “increasingly confident” that Al Qaeda had a role in the planned attack, as the group’s Yemeni branch has publicly claimed.

President Obama alluded to the intelligence in a statement he issued Tuesday. “Had this critical information been shared, it could have been compiled with other intelligence and a fuller, clearer picture of the suspect would have emerged,” the president said. “The warning signs would have triggered red flags and the suspect would have never been allowed to board that plane for America.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/us/politics/30obama.html?_r=1

---

Could these "leaks" be coming from Cheney's moles?

ETA this CNN report:

Source: CIA failed to circulate report about bombing suspect

The father of terrorism suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab talked about his son's extremist views with someone from the CIA and a report was prepared, but the report was not circulated outside the agency, a reliable source told CNN's Jeanne Meserve on Tuesday.

Had that information been shared, the 23-year-old Nigerian who is alleged to have bungled an attempt to blow up a jetliner as it was landing in Detroit, Michigan, on Christmas Day might have been denied passage on the Northwest Airlines flight, the source said.

U.S. officials said the father, a former Nigerian banker, expressed his concerns about his son's radicalization during at least one meeting and several calls with officials at the embassy in Nigeria.

The information on AbdulMutallab had been sent to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, but it sat there for five weeks and was not disseminated, the source said.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/29/airline.terror.cia/index.html

[kpete]

1. Obama Is Told of Signs That Should Have Grounded Plot

Source: New York Times

Obama Is Told of Signs That Should Have Grounded Plot

By PETER BAKER and CARL HULSE
Published: December 29, 2009

HONOLULU — President Obama declared Tuesday that there had been a “systemic failure” of the nation’s security apparatus after being told about more missed signals and uncorrelated intelligence that should have prevented a would-be bomber from boarding a flight for the United States.

The president was told during a private briefing on Tuesday morning while vacationing here in Hawaii that the government had a variety of information in its possession before the thwarted bombing that would have been a clear warning sign had it been shared among agencies, a senior official said.

Two officials said the government had intelligence from Yemen before Friday that leaders of a branch of Al Qaeda there were talking about “a Nigerian” being prepared for a terrorist attack. While the information did not include a name, officials said it would have been evident had it been compared to information about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on Christmas Day.

The government also had more information about where Mr. Abdulmutallab had been and what some of his plans were.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/30/us/politics/30obama.html

[babylonsister]

2. But then there's this...

"Some of the information at the time was partial or incomplete and it was not obvious that it was connected"

...how do you ground a plot when your info is partial or incomplete, and not obviously connected? Is the NYT trying to create a story where there really isn't one?

[zeemike]

7. I think Condi Rice pegged it.

No actionable intellegence....no name address date of birth and phone number so no need to do anything.

[babylonsister]

8. I think you're wrong. Condi had actionable intel and did nothing. But

you go ahead and support what they didn't do. They had some actual names for starters...

http://www.agonist.org/annex/pdb.htm

[zeemike]

16. I guess you miss my sarcasm.

i must pay more attention to that smiley.
I was trying to point out that this is the same excuse that they used for 911 and being snaky because that is what I do when I get upset by things going bad.

[xultar]

3. Republicans tripping over themselves to get to the microphone in 3, 2, 1

let's hope they all break a lip so we don't have to hear their bullshit.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Yes, the warmed-over 9/11 prevention team.

[marshall]

4. Time to tear down the wall between intelligence and law enforcement

The FBI, CIA, ICE, etc. They all need to pool their resources and information.

Stop the madness!

[emilyg]

6. +1

[ThomThom]

23. I thought that was why we created Homeland Security...?

[twitomy]

9. So the govt failed to "connect the dots"...

sounds oddly familiar. Whatya want to bet that if this moron succeded, we would be hearing "Obama Knew"?

[JDPriestly]

10. Obama should have started his term by letting the CIA know who is boss.

He would have easily accomplished that by encouraging a forceful investigation and prosecution of those who authorized the torture.

Obama was easy on the illegal acts of torture -- and here is the result. The CIA once again thinks it is the real government and that it does not need to cooperate with others.

The issue here is not about CIA cooperation with the FBI. It is about CIA cooperation with Homeland Security. That should be a given. There should be far more cooperation by the CIA than there was. This demonstrates a lack of discipline within the CIA that is just appalling.

Carry-over CIA agents from the Bush administration should be especially carefully reviewed to determine whether they are playing with a full deck.

[704wipes]

11. Carry-over CIA agents from the Bush administration should be

checked on to make sure they were not making a political decision to withhold/delay information in order to make Obama look bad.

[ShockediSay]

17. And what the hell is Joe Lieberman doing as Chairman of Homeland Security Committee

besides blocking real health insurance reform, campaigning for a lucrative lobbying job in health insurance and making Republicans look good?

[Turborama]

12. I agree with one proviso

ALL carry-overs from the Bush administration should be especially carefully reviewed to determine whether they are playing with a full deck.

[47of74]

13. Obama should take the agency totally apart

And rebuild it so that it exists to serve the people of the United States, not the other way around.

[TheWatcher]

14. There was a guy back in the early 60's who was going to try that.

If I remember correctly he was rather dramatically fired from his job in Dallas.

As much as I agree with you, that move would probably not be wise.

[Kablooie]

15. I'll bet if they'd check, they would find the intel sat on a Bush appointee's desk for weeks.

[yava]

18. what about the guy's wealthy father having warned the US embassy?

He apparently told the embassy his soon was lured by terrorists.
That was in the news.
If so, what did the Embassy do with that info?
What were the directives at that embassy regarding the processing of such warnings?
It looks like once again, there is more to this (or less) than meets the eye in MSM.

[Turborama]

20. "what did the Embassy do with that info?" Check out the 2nd article in the OP for an answer to that

"What were the directives at that embassy regarding the processing of such warnings?" That is most likely top secret information.

[and-justice-for-all]

19. Well obviosly this is not Obama's fault...

"CIA failed to circulate report about bombing suspect" & from this statement: “Had this critical information been shared, it could have been compiled with other intelligence and a fuller, clearer picture of the suspect would have emerged,” the president said. “The warning signs would have triggered red flags and the suspect would have never been allowed to board that plane for America.” some people and agencies were not doing their job; I would like to see heads roll for their failure.

[pimpbot]

21. but but but!

Dont you know that Obama is supposed to work the front lines of intel gathering as well? Surely he could have stopped this guy in the act had he used his super powers to teleport into the plane! Its all his fault he was in Hawaii instead of doing everyone elses job! :sarcasm:

[and-justice-for-all]

22. LOL!! drat, I forgot!! nt