Obama: 'System failed' in a major way
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama said Tuesday that U.S. intelligence has had considerable success, but that the botched Christmas Day attack shows "the system has failed" in a major way.
"When a suspected terrorist is able to board a plane with explosives on Christmas Day, the system has failed in a potentially disastrous way," Obama said at the White House in a statement to reporters.
U.S. intelligence had uncovered numerous "red flags" prior to the attack, Obama said at the White House, but failed to connect the dots.
"The U.S. government had sufficient information to have uncovered this plot and potentially disrupt the Christmas Day attack, but our intelligence community failed to connect those dots, which would have placed the suspect on the no-fly list," Obama said.
"In other words, this was not a failure to collect intelligence; it was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already had," the president said. "The information was there, agencies and analysts who needed it had access to it, and our professionals were trained to look for it and to bring it all together."
Obama said he could accept the imperfect nature of intelligence work, "but it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged," he said, adding: "That's not acceptable, and I will not tolerate it."
The president listed steps so far to enhance security, including more airport screening and tighter monitoring of U.S. visa holders.
In addition, Obama said he ordered his national security team to complete preliminary reviews of the situation this week so that suggested reforms can be implemented right way.
"Time and again we've learned that quickly piecing together information and taking swift action is critical to staying one step ahead of a nimble adversary," Obama said. "So we have to do better, and we will do better, and we have to do it quickly. American lives are on the line."
Obama reiterated, however, his intention to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda," Obama said. "In fact, that was an explicit rationale for the formation of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula."
Critics of the Guantanamo transfers have raised concerns over political instability in Yemen and the presence of al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, noting that some previous detainees released to Yemen by the Bush administration have renewed their terrorist ties.
Interactive: Obama meeting attendees 
Video: Militant Islam in Nigeria Obama repeated an earlier statement by his spokesman that that transferring Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo back to Yemen would be halted for now.
"Given the unsettled situation, I've spoken to the attorney general and we've agreed that we will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this time," Obama said.
Earlier in the day, the president met with FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Tuesday, an administration official told CNN.
The group was to have discussed possible changes to terror watch lists, as well as accountability by responsible authorities.
In particular, the top officials wanted to know whether watch lists should have signaled that bombing suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab was a danger, the official said.
The president met with Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan for 90 minutes on Monday and was scheduled to meet with him again Tuesday, the official said.
Brennan gave Obama an update on his review of the terror watch listing system.
The Nigerian man is accused of trying to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear as a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, made its final approach to Detroit Christmas Day. The device failed to fully detonate, instead setting off a fire at the man's seat.
AbdulMutallab was arrested on charges of attempting to destroy an aircraft. He will face his first court hearings Friday.
FBI investigators "gleaned usable, actionable intelligence" from AbdulMutallab in the hours after his arrest, Gibbs said Tuesday. Gibbs declined to elaborate on the nature of the intelligence
Last week, Obama blamed human error and security lapses for the failure by U.S. officials to act on information that the Nigerian bombing suspect was a possible terrorist threat.
AbdulMutallab had a multiple-entry U.S. visa. His father, a leading banker in Nigeria, warned U.S. authorities before the attack that his son might be involved with Islamic extremists, but the information failed to prompt a response such as canceling the visa.
Tuesday's meetings were held just hours after the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. It had been closed after intelligence suggested that four al Qaeda operatives could have been planning an attack on the compound, a senior administration official said Monday.
Authorities say AbdulMutallab may have received training in Yemen from the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
A statement posted on the Embassy's Web site said "successful counter-terrorism operations" conducted by Yemeni security forces Monday north of the capital, Sanaa, addressed "a specific area of concern and have contributed to the Embassy's decision to resume operations."
Yemen's state-run news agency, SABA, reported Monday that two al Qaeda suspects were killed and two others were injured in clashes with a Yemeni anti-terrorism unit.
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