News
Obama to get update on terror plot inquiry
By: cnn.comPosted On: 01/05/2010 2:18 P
Tweet
President Obama will meet with his top security officials Tuesday to get an update on the inquiry into security lapses that allowed a bombing suspect to board a U.S.-bound flight.
President Obama will meet with his top security officials Tuesday to get an update on the inquiry into security lapses that allowed a bombing suspect to board a U.S.-bound flight.
Obama will meet with FBI Director Robert Mueller, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano Tuesday, an administration official told CNN.
Obama will get an update from Mueller on the FBI's investigation. Obama will get information from Holder on the prosecution of the suspect in the botched Christmas Day airline bombing. And he will get an update from Napolitano on her review on detection capabilities, the official said.
The group will discuss possible changes to terror watch lists, as well as accountability by responsible authorities, senior administration officials said.
In particular, the top officials want to know whether watch lists should have signaled that bombing suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab was a danger, the officials said.
The group also will talk about intelligence gathering and whether agencies are sharing information, they said.
After the meeting, Obama will make public statements about his findings and an initial series of reforms to improve the country's ability to thwart future attempts to carry out terrorist attacks, according to the official.
The president met with Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan for 90 minutes on Monday and is scheduled to meet with him again Tuesday, the official said.
Brennan will give Obama an update on his review of the terror watch listing system.
A Nigerian man is accused of trying to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear as a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, made its final approach to Detroit Christmas Day. The device failed to fully detonate, instead setting off a fire at the man's seat.
AbdulMutallab was arrested on charges of attempting to destroy an aircraft. He will face his first court hearings Friday.
Last week, Obama blamed human error and security lapses for the failure by U.S. officials to act on information that the Nigerian bombing suspect was a possible terrorist threat.
AbdulMutallab had a multiple-entry U.S. visa. His father, a leading banker in Nigeria, warned U.S. authorities before the attack that his son might be involved with Islamic extremists, but the information failed to prompt a response such as canceling the visa.
Tuesday's meetings will be held just hours after the reopening of the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. It had been closed after intelligence suggested that four al Qaeda operatives could have been planning an attack on the compound, a senior administration official said Monday.
Authorities say AbdulMutallab may have received training in Yemen from the terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
A statement posted on the Embassy's Web site said "successful counter-terrorism operations" conducted by Yemeni security forces Monday north of the capital, Sanaa, addressed "a specific area of concern and have contributed to the Embassy's decision to resume operations."
Yemen's state-run news agency, SABA, reported Monday that two al Qaeda suspects were killed and two others were injured in clashes with a Yemeni anti-terrorism unit.
Latest VLogs
iLoveMakonnen "Loudest of the Loud Tour - On the Road Pt. 2"
Life With Ty Dolla $ign (Ep. 7)
