WP: Obama gets weekly tutorials in terrorism (This is what Tweety was talking about today)

[Pirate Smile]

Obama gets weekly tutorials in terrorism

By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 6, 2010

After a car bomb nearly detonated in Times Square on Saturday night, White House officials convened a series of impromptu briefings to keep President Obama updated as the suspect was identified, located and caught trying to flee the country.
But for the bigger questions on the global terrorist threat and how the administration can prevent an attack on U.S. soil, there is already a meeting on the books.

Call it the terrorism tutorial.

Almost every week, often on a Tuesday, Obama heads into the White House Situation Room for a meeting that explores terrorism-related subjects in depth. Rarely discussed in public, the hour-long briefings have become one of the most significant gatherings in the West Wing, bringing together Cabinet-level intelligence and security officials "to make sure everybody hears the same information and is updated on the threats," one participant said.

Several weeks ago, the terrorist-threat briefing was about al-Qaeda's bomb-making capabilities. Obama listened as FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III reviewed the forensics test results of an explosive used in an attempted airline attack on Christmas Day. Senior intelligence officials discussed the man in Yemen thought to have made the device, who is now a top target of U.S. surveillance, said four people who were present. Participants also talked about the "broader context," including "what we know about the explosives al-Qaeda uses and what we are doing to screen for them," one said.
Other weeks, the topics have been airport screening measures or specific al-Qaeda members being watched.

A three- or four-page briefing packet, stamped "Secret," is prepared for the president before each meeting. It includes background material on the day's topic as well as a list of the top U.S. terrorism hot spots around the globe, with photographs of suspected terrorists.
For Obama, the meetings are an opportunity not only to get updates on threats and the latest prevention tactics, several participants said, but also for discussing broader anti-terrorism strategies. The president often raises questions about what causes someone to become a terrorist. That topic was especially relevant this week, with the news that a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Pakistan, with no previous history of extremist tendencies, was implicated in the Times Square incident.

Even before this week, Obama had brought up the subject of radicalization on several occasions, regular participants in the meetings said, in part because it is a complex problem that falls under no single agency's jurisdiction. "We don't have a Department to Dry Up Pools of Candidates Who Want to Kill Themselves," one senior administration official said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050505288.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2010050503674

[Arkana]

1. My goodness.

A curious, able-minded President who desires to educate himself on a subject that affects all of his constituents? Fuck that! We need a semi-retarded cowboy who gets drunk and chokes on pretzels.

[blueredneck]

2. hahaha

OMG. Chokes on pretzels...That's hysterical. Or one that ducks shoes?

[cliffordu]

6. Well....

:rofl:

[gateley]

3. I especially like this:

"to make sure everybody hears the same information and is updated on the threats,"

I can't even imagine Bush participating in any such meetings. Of course, he didn't have to -- just waited for Rumsfeld and Cheney to tell him what to do.

[Cha]

4. I was told tonight that

my niece in NYC went out with a friend from school last night and he was the attempted bomber's roommate at the University of Bridgeport where she also gradutated. He said the terrorist had really changed the last couple of years. That's quite a downward spiral from having a family and home to wanting to kill random strangers..while he hightails it out of the country.


"For Obama, the meetings are an opportunity not only to get updates on threats and the latest prevention tactics, several participants said, but also for discussing broader anti-terrorism strategies. The president often raises questions about what causes someone to become a terrorist. That topic was especially relevant this week, with the news that a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Pakistan, with no previous history of extremist tendencies, was implicated in the Times Square incident."

[Tx4obama]

5. I wouldn't call a BRIEFING a tutorial. n/t

[Bodhi BloodWave]

7. Its a 'good' spin to make it seem like Obama has no clue

[impik]

8. My god, we're lucky to have this man as president