Obama to Tackle Airport Security Following Several Breaches

FOXNews.com obama-closePresident Obama returned to Washington Monday with an eye toward cracking down on airport security following at least three recent incidents that exposed gaps in the screening system. President Obama touched down in Washington Monday after his end-of-year vacation in Hawaii -- and hes arriving to a whole new mess with the countrys security infrastructure in question following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight. The president returns home with an eye toward swiftly cracking down on airport security following at least three recent incidents that exposed gaps in the screening system. Though its unclear whether the president will demand resignations he and other officials in his administration have warned about the need for accountability in the face of security concerns across several agencies. The latest breach happened Sunday evening at Newark Liberty International Airport where flights were grounded for hours after a man who has still not been found walked through an exit into the secure side of a terminal. All passengers were evacuated and then had to be re-screened before they were allowed to board their planes. The attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day shined a bright light on airport security gaps as well as potential failures to share information among various intelligence agencies. Days later the crew on a flight from Baltimore to New York City found a firecracker on board after the plane landed. I think this guy may have done us a favor former 9/11 Commission Co-Chairman Tom Kean said of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab the 23-year-old suspect in the Christmas Day incident. For the first time here were looking at the problems in Yemen. For the first time the administration is really concentrating on this. For the first time were re-doing airplane safety. Some terror analysts say the failed attack shows that security has not improved measurably since the Sept. 11 2001 terror attacks despite the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and billions spent on airport security. In response to the attempted bombing the Transportation Security Administration has ordered that travelers flying into the United States from more than a dozen countries will undergo additional screening including pat-downs and full-body scans. The measures will apply to passengers flying out of countries listed as state sponsors of terrorism -- Cuba Iran Sudan and Syria -- as well as other countries of interest including Nigeria Abdulmutallabs homeland and Yemen where he allegedly trained with Al Qaeda. janet-nopalitanoHomeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano who has been widely criticized for her immediate response to the Christmas Day incident has dispatched senior officials abroad to meet with leaders from international airports to determine how to shore up security. The TSA is already planning to roll out more full-body scanners at U.S. airports. Joe and Susan Trento author of the book Unsafe at Any Altitude said TSA screeners simply are not finding contraband with any consistency. If it gets to the point where theyre on the plane with explosives the systems already failed Joe Trento said. TSA the pilots call it Thousands Standing Around -- thats what it amounts to. Its eye candy. Its designed to make us feel better. The other half of the administrations review is focusing on how terror watch lists are formed and coordination among intelligence agencies. Abdulmutallab was added to a watch list of more than a half-million people after his father warned U.S. officials about his sons extremist ties in November. But he was never added to a smaller list that would have kept him off U.S.-bound flights or another list that would have mandated secondary screening -- the kind that might have detected the explosive materials he carried on board. Obama counterterrorism adviser John Brennan told Fox News Sunday that despite the warning signs that many lawmakers are pointing to there was no smoking gun that could have singlehandedly flagged the suspect before he boarded the plane. It was the failure to integrate and piece together those bits and pieces of information he said. In the review so far theres no indication whatsoever that any agency or department was not trying to share information. There were some lapses. There were some human errors. He repeated the presidents warning that accountability needs to be part of the review but he defended top officials including Napolitano who have come under scrutiny in the wake of the attempted attack. Sen. Joe Lieberman I-Conn. said Napolitano is still the right person for the job and that officials should not be looking to point fingers. Were not out to protect anybody or attack anybody. Were out to fix what went wrong on December 25th Lieberman said on ABCs This Week. So its time to take a fresh nonpartisan look not to knock down the Department of Homeland Security or the 9/11 reforms. But with Capitol Hill hearings set to start later this month and the administrations review underway some lawmakers are asking who dropped the ball? Somebody screwed up big time Sen. Kit Bond R-Mo. vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a written statement last week announcing hearings in January.
by is licensed under
ad-image
image
05.03.2025

TEXAS INSIDER ON YOUTUBE

Unfortunately, an error occurred:
ad-image
image
04.30.2025
image
04.28.2025
ad-image