More news is emerging about the crotch bomber ;undibomber or as Mark Styne called him ,the Knickerbomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab . Turns out that he was recently President of the Islamic Society of the University of London .This news by itself should've raised red flags about this guy... not because he was President in itself ;but because 3 of the previous Presidents of this organization are complicit in terrorism attempts. One is awaiting retrial on charges of trying to blow up airliners in 2006. Two others have been convicted of terrorism. As President he organized a series of lectures directly related to jihad called "Jihad Vs Terrorism".

The Brits were concerned enough that in May of this yesr they refused to grant him a visa to return to England.

Data mining is a valuable tool that only works if you use the intelligence. There is where the breakdown occures . More intrusive screening of passangers will not fix that gap.

He's not the same guy as in the photos of the crotch bomber. He's much younger in his teens. The other guy is older and different facial features.

Also, it would help air travel greatly if the airport security was not supplied by an Israeli company. That's worse than having the fox guard the hen house. That's just insanely stupid to farm out security of any kind to an Israeli firm. Why not have each airport under local security instead of farmed out to a known violent country?

If I were to travel overseas today El Al would be my carrier of choice. Update me however . Which Israeli firm do you think is running airport security for the nation ?

Also ;TSA is a government run operation.

Right now the new designated TSA chief's confirmation is being help up in the Senate because he plans on unionizing the TSA.

if the airport security was not supplied by an Israeli company.

I must have missed something, Twink. Which Israeli company is in charge of which airport's security?

So if TSA is unionized and they go on strike, will Obama fire the whole lot of them?

Right now the new designated TSA chief's confirmation is being help up in the Senate because he plans on unionizing the TSA.Hello tom:

It's not being held up by THE Senate. It's being held up by ONE senator - Jim Demint. He's so scared of the unions that he's willing to let the TSA go leaderless at a time when our country is under attack...

You think it's a GOOD thing... I think it's a DUMB thing.

excon

I agree with Steve's point. But that wasn't the point of the OP .

Clearly there are gaps in turning actionable intel into terrorism prevention when you limit it to law enforcement .

Clearly there are gaps in turning actionable intel into terrorism prevention when you limit it to law enforcement .Hello again, tom:

I'm sorry. I think I missed something here...

You're not saying, are you, that there AREN'T gaps in turning intel into prevention when the DOD and/or the CIA, and/or the NSA do the intelligence gathering??

Nahhh, you wouldn't be saying that, because it's particularly THOSE agencies who dropped the ball THIS time.

Plus, if Lenny Brisco, a cop, had all the information the spy dudes did, HE would have connected the dots...

excon

TSA (thousands standing around)

I have already detailed on George's posting how Congress handcuffed the CIA by requiring them to pass the info they gathered to National Counter Terrorism Center (NTCT) ;a law enforcement agency . It was they that dropped the ball... not the CIA

This exchange gave me the opportunity to do some basic research on the so called obstruction of DeMint.

Erroll Southers (not Lenny Brisco)was just nominated on September 11, 2009. That's 7 months, 20 days after Obama took over the Presidency, knowing he needed a new TSA chief.


Southers didn't make it through his first committee until October 28, 2009 ( DeMint had nothing to do with the time it took the committee).

Then his nomination was sent to another committee, which didn't act until November 19, 2009.

So, the nominee wasn't even ready to go to the floor of the Senate until 11 months after Obama became President.

And that report wasn't a clear “nominate” report, but one with a condition: “Nomination was reported with recommendation that it be confirmed subject to the nominee's commitment to respond to requests to appear and testify before any duly constituted committee of the Senate.”

Yes ,DeMint does have questions related to unionization .

So it was clear that on November 19, the Dems did NOT expect quick action on the nominee, they knew the nominee needed to answer additional questions.

And up until today, Harry Reid has not asked to bring the nominee to the floor for debate. And Southers has still not answered the simple question DeMint asked him.

I lost count on how many Bush apt were never filled due to Dem obstruction (especially judicial ).

National Counter Terrorism Center (NTCT) ;a law enforcement agency . It was they that dropped the ball....not the CIAHello again, tom:

Yes, I neglected to mention that agency... But, NO tom. They are NOT law enforcement - not even close. This is from their website:
-------------------

By law, NCTC serves as the primary organization in the United States Government (USG) for integrating and analyzing all intelligence pertaining to counterterrorism (except for information pertaining exclusively to domestic terrorism).
----------------------------

This thread is feeling an awfully lot like a "through the looking glass" moment... And, I ain't smoked nothing but my usual...

The TSA is LEADERLESS, and that's so because you're AFRAID. The crazy thing is, you're AFRAID of unions more than you are terrorists. That's nuts. Then you go on to say that the very agencies who FAILED this time, FAILED because they're law enforcement and not spies?? Dude!

excon

I lost count on how many Bush apt were never filled due to Dem obstruction (especially judicial ).Hello again, tom:

Yeah... I remember back then... I too, lost count on how many times you guys asked for an "up or down" vote on those judicial nominees, meaning you were FOR doing away with the filibuster before you were AGAINST it.

I understand...

excon

And you forget ex, the Dems have an agenda and it ain't confirming a TSA nominee. You recall, porkulus, cap & tax, health care that HAD to rammed though before Christmas... and next year it's going to be amnesty (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/20/obamas-next-push-is-amnesty/).

How many times have I said that these Dems don't give a damn about you? Safety is no priority, health care is no priority, the environment is no priority, the economy is no priority, the agenda is the priority. The Dems are all about power and forcing their Utopian vision on the public, because they're just really, really smart people and we don't know what's good for us.

because they're just really, really smart people and we don't know what's good for us.Hello again, Steve:

Well, I can't argue with that.

excon

Well, I can't argue with that.

I did say "we." ;)

From the Washington Compost
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123102257_pf.html

Erroll Southers TSA nominee lied to Congress during hearings about accessing a gvt data base to dig up dirt on his estraged wife's boyfriend.

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws.

He gave a boilerplate response as a reason .

Southers, a former FBI agent, has described inconsistencies in his accounts to Congress as "inadvertent" and the result of poor memory of an incident that dates back 20 years. He said in a Nov. 20 letter to key senators obtained by The Post that he had accepted full responsibility long ago for a "grave error in judgment" in accessing confidential criminal records about his then-estranged wife's new boyfriend.

It is a violation of the federal Privacy Act to access such information without proper cause. The law says that "any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any record concerning an individual from an agency under false pretenses shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000."

But as we saw during the campaign . The Dems have no problem violating privacy laws if it involves personal issues or to discredit critics as lowely as Joe the Plumber. But they get awefully indignant if data mining is used to catch an enemy of the country.

Hello again, tom:

Yeah. You can't have your top cop checking up on his ex girlfriend, even IF it COULD save us from a terror attack...

excon

Or is he digging up dirt on him to use against his ex in any future divorce proceedings ? Is there probable cause ? How about a court order ? Is the boyfriend a legal American citizen ? The boyfriend was due full protections.

Or is he a foreigner here via a Yemeni based AQ training camp ? I content that instance the normal civil protections shouldn't apply.