Closing down ... Guantanamo
BARACK Obama last night blamed "human and systemic failure" for a terrorist bid to blow up a jet over America.
The President said information about al-Qaeda fanatic Umar Abdulmutallab was not properly shared by US intelligence staff before he tried to detonate explosives aboard the Christmas Day flight.
Mr Obama said: "I consider it totally unacceptable. The warning signs would have triggered red flags and the suspect would never have been allowed to board that plane for America."
Speaking on a break from his Hawaii holiday, Mr Obama said a security review he ordered would tighten procedures, but warned "there is still no 100 per cent guarantee of success".
Abdulmutallab, 23, launched his failed attack as the Northwest Airlines jet approached Detroit from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board.
The President said: "When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been, so that this extremist boards a plane with dangerous explosives that could cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic failure has occurred.
"And I consider that totally unacceptable. It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect's name on a no-fly list.
"There were bits of information available that could and should have been pieced together. It's becoming clear the system in place for years is not sufficiently up-to-date to take full advantage of the information we collect and knowledge we have.
"The reviews I have ordered will tell us more, but what is apparent was that there was a mix of human and systemic failures that contributed to this potentia catastrophic breach of security."
The President praised the "extraordinary" work of US intelligence but said "a mix of human and systemic failures" contributed to this "potentially catastrophic breach of security".
Last night it was claimed Abdulmutallab had links to a US soldier who killed 13 colleagues at a Texas military base last month.
Mr Obama spoke as it emerged that six terror detainees were sent back to al-Qaeda hotspot Yemen ten days ago after being freed from Guantanamo Bay.
They were repatriated despite warnings the country is a major centre for hundreds of militants planning attacks.
There are also terror training camps, including one where Abdulmutallab spent a month.
US politicians yesterday urged Mr Obama to stop sending suspects to Yemen as he shuts the Cuban detention centre.
.........................................................................................................
No comments:
Post a Comment