Terrorist Identification
It seems I’ve heard this song before. The failure to share information is being blamed as cause of the failure to identify the boxer shorts bombing attempt on Northwest Airlines on a Christmas Eve flight from Amsterdam.
That was the cry after 9/11. A whole new process was initiated with a new Intelligence Czar appointed to take care of the problem. A new attractive building was built to house the intelligence collation with appropriate offices for the activities of the National Counter-Terrorism Center, referred to as the NCTC.
At the center of the problem seems to be that the people assigned to collate intelligence need to display a little more intelligence in their approach. In the current crises of competence their primary activity has been to initially deflect blame from the NCTC doorstep and once again blame the CIA.
The Obama administration has made the CIA their default agency for blame . In this case it is clear that pertinent preliminary information concerning the Nigerian terrorist was forwarded to the NCTC from the CIA in a timely fashion. The NCTC clearly did not initiate the appropriate action that anyone would take, that had half a brain and an understanding of their job description
A description of the NCTC mission can be found on their web site which in part states:
“The NCTC serves as the primary organization in the U.S. government for integrating and analizing all intelligence pertaining to terrorism. NCTC serves as the central and shared knowledge bank om terrorist information. NCTC serves under the policy direction of the President of the United States.” That for the last year has been Barack Obama as the policy director.
There have been two recent Jihad terrorist actions against the United States. These two attacks are the first such activities since 9/11 against the U.S. The individuals committing these personal Jihads were counseled and under the influence of the same Islamic cleric in Yemen, Anwar al Awlaki. Awlaki was born in the U.S. and moved as a young man to Yemen with his family. He returned to the U.S. to pursue his education and lived here for many years
He received an engineering degree from Colorado State University and a Masters degree from San Diego State University. He later pursued a doctorate at George Washington University. During this period he became an Imam and lectured to students at several locations. He was connected to various terrorist groups and activities and moved to the U.K. in 2002 while under FBI investigation. He returned to his tribal area in Yemen in 2004 where he has risen to an important position in Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula. He has written a Treatise entitled “44 ways to support Jihad”.
It is hard to understand how we have known about Awlaki in Yemem, Hassan the Ft Hood Jihadist and Abdulmuttalab of the Northwest attempt and their connection to Al Qaeda influence in Yemen with no definitive warning or action from the NCTC..
“Obama’s can’t do”* style is once again at the center of the government reaction to a threat to Americana. There will be a group or commission set up to study what went wrong with airport security. They probably will respond to the call for security improvement with inane, expensive, travel delaying answers, that will not work.
There are 550,000 people on the government watch list. There should be a program that lights up the computer whenever they buy a ticket or show up to get on a plane. The luggage and each such individual should go through a full scan using the latest technology available. Forget sensitivity, do the body scan of those on the watch list and periodically review the list to expand the “no fly” portion when needed.
Where are the dogs? Years ago when standing in line, waiting to fly to or from Europe, often a Marshal with a dog came down the line with a sniffing dog. I’m not sure what they were sniffing for (probably drugs) but it never bothered me. I never worried whether I was receiving special attention because of my frequent travel and was somehow being profiled. I actually was questioned seriously several times when entering England and France. I had the right answers and was sent on my way with courteous apologies for any inconvenience that was caused. I really don’t understand the profiling objections and think that it should be used with care, especially with international flights.
The action needed right now isn’t a new department, it is some people in charge with a sense of mission and an understanding of the enemies of our country and what Jihad is all about.
It’s time to let the dogs out and roll out the body scanners.
Someone might also also drop by and visit Awlaki.
* “Obama’s can’t do style” was the title of a commentary piece by Robert Lieber in the LA Times. Lieber is a professor at Georgetown University.
Late note. The WSJ today (Jan 4,2010) showed photos of the top 4 commanders of Al Qaeda in Yemen. Two of them were released from Gitmo where they had been held for terrorist activity.
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What we need in our government(both the Executive and Legislative branches)is leadership with loads of common sense and testosterone who support fully actions that will place the security of it’s citizens above any and all other concerns. That priority should prvail even if that means hurting some foreign born person’s feelings because he had the misfortune of being born in a jihadist infested hole where respect for human life seems to be of little concern.
The late Frank Rizzo, top cop who later served 2 terms as Mayor of Philadlephia once said “a Liberal is a conservative who hasn’t been mugged yet”.
BTW, a photo in the WSJ today showed 4 top Al Qaeda commanders in Yemen, 2 of which were released from Guantanamo Bay facility whwre they had been held for terrorist activities.