Janet Napolitano, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, has told cable news network CNN there are as yet no indications that Friday's failed attempt to ignite a bomb on a Detroit-bound aircraft had anything to do with the al-Qaeda terrorist network, or was part of a larger conspiracy.
The would-be bomber, 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has now been charged with attempting to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 shortly before it completed its journey from Amsterdam to Detroit on Friday. He was overpowered by passengers and flight crew before he could succeed.
Ms Napolitano added that there are no indications anything was wrong with the security procedures at Amsterdam airport. She also said that while Mr Abdulmutallab's name appeared on a US list of hundreds of thousands of possible terrorist suspects, there had been insufficient data to warrant him being placed on a list of people forbidden to fly to the US.
The father of the would-be bomber is said to have voiced his concerns about his son's political opinions before the attack and approached the US embassy in Nigeria several times in the months leading up to the flight. However, US officials at the embassy, after conducting an investigation, saw no reason to prevent Mr Abdulmutallab from flying.
In response to the attempted attack, airports across the world have tightened up security.
Logo of US Department of Homeland Security from Wikimedia Commons
Logo from Wikimedia Commons
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Hiram is completely and absolutely correct in his assessment.
"She also said that while Mr Abdulmutallab's name appeared on a US list of hundreds of thousands of possible terrorist suspects, there had been insufficient data to warrant him being placed on a list of people forbidden to fly to the US."......If, Abdulmutallab's name appeared on a list of hundreds of thousands "possible" terrorists suspects and security did not stop him and investigate him prior to allowing him to board the plane, then there is a serious breach of security at Schipol airport. Think about it for just a few seconds and observe how security failed in their responsibilities. If he was a suspect, they should have still pulled him over and followed-up with a more stringent investigation and interview of the suspect. They might not had enough information on him to restrict him from flying but how would they have known unless they gave him a more comprehensive inteview. This is one of the situations where security can find sufficient date to allow or disallow a person to fly on an airline. Don't put a person on a suspect list and not follow-up on him or her. It just doesn't make sense. Protect the public from danger and do what is right and interview all suspects.
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