Photoshop credit: Another Black Conservative
The failed terror plot that took place over the Christmas holiday, in which a terrorist attempted – unsuccessfully – to blow up his explosive-filled underwear on an inbound flight to Detroit proves that our security systems are not quite where they need to be. At least that's what a normal person would think after a known terrorist sneaks explosives by security and then attempts to ignite them during flight. But don't worry, that, according to Homeland Security Director Janet Napolitano on Sunday, is exactly how the system is supposed to work:
What we are focused on is making sure that the air environment remains safe, that people are confident when they travel. And one thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked.
The system worked? Put aside for a minute that a known terrorist snuck explosives by security and boarded a plane loaded with Americans headed for the US. Let's focus on how the system failed at flagging this terrorist in the first place:
According to a law enforcement source, the first failure came on Nov. 19, 2009, the very same day Abdulmutallab father's, Dr. Umaru Mutallab, a prominent banking official in Nigeria, expressed deep concern to officials at the U.S. Embassy in Abjua, Nigeria, that his 23-year-old son had fallen under the influence of "religious extremists" in Yemen.
The second failure to flag an active visa belonging to Abdulmuttalab occurred the very next day in Washington, after Mutallab's concerns were forwarded to officials there. It was only after the Christmas Day terror attack in Detroit that U.S. officials learned that Abdulmuttalab had been issued a visa by the U.S. Embassy in London valid from June 16, 2008, through June 12, 2010.
Do I blame the Obama administration for this? Absolutely. Mind you, this incident comes a few weeks after Napolitano's outfit accidentally posted the TSA's full playbook on countering terrorism at airports for all terrorists to see online. That of course, according to the increasingly naïve and incompetent Napolitano, posed no security risk whatsoever. Yeah right.
But at the foundation, this administration has adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward the threat of terrorism and to say they've reversed course and have taken it a little less serious than the previous administration would be a big understatement. Just look at AG Eric Holder's initiative to try suspected terrorists as civilians with all the rights we have, or the way they've handled the Ft. Hood terrorist attack man-made disaster senseless act of violence, as examples.
I would guess terrorism, in terms of importance on the Obama agenda, falls somewhere below amnesty for all illegals and somewhere above what Bo the family dog is eating for supper. So, yes, that's a problem.
Case in point: according to correspondence from a US Air Force pilot who asked to remain anonymous, the airport of origin of the terrorist was once red-flagged by the US but recently got the green light to allow all explosives aboard was approved for travel by the Obama administration:
Do you know that up until 30 days ago the airport that the terrorist left from originally (Lagos, I think it is called, in Nigeria) was deemed inadequate to do proper screening of passengers. Therefore, any passenger that got on a flight that was going to enter the US that originated in Lagos was going to have to get re-screened before boarding the flight for the US.
Miraculously, 30 days ago Obama and his crack staff said this airport was now deemed to have adequate screening capabilities and techniques. Within 30 days they try to blow up a plane. Now Bush may have been a little whacky with his religious views but I mean you can guarantee that this scumbag jihadist that tried to blow up the plane would not have gotten as far as he did because the Bush administration wouldn't have given the thumbs up to security clearance at some 5th rate airport in Nigeria.
Can't you just feel the Hope? And the Change? More than likely, this adjustment in status at the Nigerian airport was in exchange for some political favor, at the expense of American lives. Maybe it was for a vote in Copenhagen, the UN, etc.; back door politics at the expense of US security, but I digress.
Another issue to add to this ignorance and pacifism towards jihadists that want to slit our kid's throats, is the failure of a giant bureaucracy too big not to fail. It's what the federal government does best; it grows way too big, has too many parts, and then fails to deliver as advertised as the numerous parts fail to mesh and produce. That dynamic played a big role here. The fact is the State Department neglected to double-check the incriminating information against visas issued by our numerous embassies and that is a major problem and something Napolitano should be held accountable for.
As such, it's becoming more evident that this unqualified clown that is Janet Napolitano needs to go immediately for everyone's sake…but more importantly, their safety.
UPDATE: Someone got to Napolitano since yesterday and she has since renounced "the system worked" stance:
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that airline security failed in allowing a Nigerian on a terror watch list and allegedly armed with explosives onto a Detroit-bound flight, a turnaround from her declaration a day earlier that "the system worked."
The woman just reeks of incompetence and poor leadership, and that's a stench that has to be removed from the halls of Homeland Security soon.
