National security adviser: Airline bomber report to 'shock' Americans

[bigworld]

Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel "a certain shock" when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.

President Obama "is legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behavior that were available, were not acted on," Jones said in an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY.

"That's two strikes," Obama's top White House aide on defense and foreign policy issues said, referring to the foiled bombing of the Detroit-bound airliner and the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in November. In that case, too, officials failed to act when red flags were raised about an Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Hasan. He has been charged with killing 13 people.

Jones said Obama "certainly doesn't want that third strike, and neither does anybody else."

The White House plans to release an unclassified report Thursday on what went wrong in the incident involving a 23-year-old Nigerian man who tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-06-terror_N.htm

[niyad]

1. shocked??? doubt it seriously, as we have been watching the failure of the intel community for a

long time now. angered, more than likely, at the testosterone contests that seem to go on between the various groups.

[phantom power]

2. Mysterious, how we went 8 years without a story like this...

during the terms of the president under whose watch 3 thousand people were killed in a single terrorist attack.

I wonder what the difference could be? Thinking, thinking...

[goclark]

5. Thinking, thinking

Oh yes I do understand.

[UpInArms]

7. ...

WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 14: U.S. President George W. Bush (2nd R), poses with Former CIA Director George Tenet (L), retired General Tommy Franks (2nd L) and Paul Bremmer (R), former administrator for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, after presenting them with the Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House December 14, 2004 in Washington, DC. Bush honored former administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority Paul Bremer, Former General Tommy Franks and former CIA Director George Tenet with the nations highest civilian honor.
****************

maybe that is because Dimson was too busy pinning medals on the chests of those who failed?

[jobycom]

14. C'mon, it's not like they had a memo claiming al-Qaida was about to attack us or anything.

I mean, Obama is upset we missed something big, like an unknown fanatic who had to rely on a bomb so makeshift it didn't even harm the person wearing it because airport security filtered out everything else. Bush only missed a little attack with 19 participants and hours of radio chatter and intelligence memos warning that something big was coming for weeks using tactics they had used before in other hijackings and striking a target that even little kids in the Brazilian rain forest knew was their top dream target. Who cares that he had a plan on his desk developed by the previous vice president to step up airport security and warning of just such an attack? I mean, if that plan had had any merit, the Republicans wouldn't have voted it down in committee along straight party lines claiming it was too expensive and that there would never be a foreign hijacking on American soul so we didn't need to spend the money.

I mean, yeah, AFTER 911 they went ahead and adopted all of the provisions of the Gore Commission and pretended it was their idea all along, but c'mon, that was after. No one could have imagined the terrorists would actually do what our intelligence services were warning for decades they could do. Well, aside from several best sellers and top movies and a couple of tv shows, but who's counting?

Point is, it's way more important that Obama wasn't personally watching this underwear bloke even though nothing happened than it is that Bush wasn't following the advice of his intelligence offices and missed a couple of minor signs to something little like 9-11. That was hardly worse than a fraternity hazing, anyway.

[glitch]

18. Especially when you consider the purge of intel professionals by Bush and the new "loyal" recruits

that are now in the positions making these mistakes.

[liberal N proud]

3. More like pissed off

These are gaps in intel that were known during the previous administration and were not addressed then.

[PADemD]

8. +10

[Beetwasher]

19. Or NOT Gaps At All, But Deliberate Attempts At Undermining The Current Admin

Though I suspect the report would never say that directly, nor would the admin.

But I've seen stuff lately that is implying as much if you read between the lines.

[liberal N proud]

21. Without blatant evidence it would be difficult to prove as well.

Nothing would surprise me coming from the bu$h regime

[hlthe2b]

4. I'd only be shocked if it detailed overt attempts by CIA and other

security agencies to sabotage Obama administration... There is something so nonsensical about the crouch bomber incident, but my shock would only come if the report were at all revealing as to what really happened. We'll see.

[ShortnFiery]

6. Democratic "soft glove" attempt at FEAR-MONGERING.

:eyes:

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. I want to see details of the "bombers" IQ.

This whole story is suspicious...the guy spends 20 minutes in the bathroom, but returns to his seat
and acts suspicious, in full view of everyone, while some guy is standing in the aisle filming it...
not to mention the whole bit about how he got on the flight.

[Frank Cannon]

10. Shocked? Hardly. Nothing shocks me anymore.

What's that old "Bartcop Rule"?

"When someone makes a 'mistake' that nets them BILLIONS, count on them making that same 'mistake' again and again and again."

[MilesColtrane]

11. The whole idea of the Department of Homeland Security, adding another top-down...

layer of bureaucracy over the CIA, FBI, and TSA was stupid.

It was another Bush boner that may have made some people feel good at the time, but it has proved to be the worst possible solution to the problem of interagency communication.

[Bragi]

12. "Come and get your new load of fear here"

OMG! A father in Nigeria alleges that his son is in the clutches of extremists, and this information isn't immediately forwarded to law enforcement authorities and airlines everywhere.

Shocker! Fear! Fear!

So let's "fix" the system so that information about vaguely possible threats is immediately spread around and immediately acted upon, just like what was envisioned in Bush's undercover "Total Information Awareness" program.

Once we have everyone's data on everything we can then "connect all the dots"

Yay!

Off hand, I don't see any downside here. We can think about the implications later.

Just do it! Now!

Go fear go!

[OffWithTheirHeads]

13. The David Vitter diaper bomber was a Dick Cheeney sleeper cell

Cheeney sends diaper bomber to Gitmo.
Cheeney releases diaper bomber from Gitmo. Sends him to Yemen for "art lessons".
Cheeney fails at attempt to become Diktater for life and is sent back to the private sector instead of the Hague where he should have been sent.
Cheeney spends his private time screaming "Be Afraid!"
Diaper bomber comes back from art school and tries to prove Cheeney correct.

Hmmm.

[pjt7]

15. 9.11 was an inside job

what's to be shocked about, after that?

[truth2power]

22. Correct-o. n/t

[winyanstaz]

16. yup...all trails lead back to cheeney and co...

and their bosses...

[valerief]

17. It'll shock no one. We know the TSA is all Kabuki theater.

Now, on to real life. Where's the toilet paper line? I need to get my monthly ration. (Don't laugh. That's coming soon.)

[SoapBox]

20. You're an idiot if you are surprised...

Only the Dumb and Dumber Pee Bagging crowd will probably be surprised.

The rest of us that listen and read have known that many of our security
policies are laughable and built mostly to be superficial and look good.

Then there will be the head spinning and vomit spewing from Rushpubs and Faux Noise
saying EVERYTHING is Prez O's fault.

[Festivito]

23. M$M playing it up so shock will become "OLD NEWS" faster.

Cheney came out immediately. Now he's gone, long gone. Out of media, out of mind.

Only the perception he made remains.

This will play for a few hours after it is reported, then, on to coverage of the snow storm. Snow indeed.