Obama: We failed to connect the dots or act promptly
US president Barack Obama, in a speech after meeting top security chiefs, Tuesday, Jan. 5, said: We had enough information to foresee and prevent the attempted bombing [of the Northwest airliner] on Christmas day." He said "elements of our intelligence knew that Umar Abdulmutalleb had traveled to Yemen and linked up with extremists there" and we knew this group was working with an individual whom we now know as Abdulmutalleb to attack America. But although agents and analysts with access to trained professionals had the intelligence it was not fully analyzed or leveraged to put the suspect on the no fly list. "I will not accept this. We have to do better and we must do it quickly." Obama declared.
The president announced that additional Yemeni prisoners from Guantanamo Bay would not be sent back to Yemen at this time. "But Gitmo will be shut in a manner that "keeps the American people safe and secure."
He then commented: "Don't lets forget Guantanamo was the reason that al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula [which took responsibility for the failed Delta airliner attack] was formed."
Obama went on to say he expects security, intelligence and homeland chiefs to submit their reviews and recommended reforms this week for immediate execution so that future attacks can be prevented. He outlined new security measures "to keep the flying American public safe" and promised the watch list system for suspected terrorists would be updated for better integration of information.