- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 0
-
Sparkle (0)
President Barack Obama made his first public comments today on the attempted terror attack that took place on Christmas Day.
From CNN:
President Obama warned Monday that the United States would respond aggressively to terrorism such as last week's botched attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner.
In his first public comment since the Christmas Day incident, Obama said he directed his national security team to "keep up the pressure on those who would attack our country."
The President's statement came after a branch of Al Qaeda in Yemen and Saudi Arabia claimed responsibility, and said it was in retaliation for recent American-backed attacks on its members in Yemen.
But Senior Administration officials are pushing back on the idea this was a retaliatory strike. ABC reports, "A senior administration official rejects entirely the idea that the attempted attack was retaliatory, pointing out that Omar Abdulmutallab was in the field long before that air strike. (He purchased his plane ticket in Ghana the day before, in fact, and had been in Yemen for months before.)"
Vicki at the Frugal Cafe Blog Zone wants answers, "Praise God that the passengers on Flight 253 were paying attention and were able to foil this terrorist attack on a plane headed for Detroit. A Christmas miracle…I want to know: How did Homeland Security fail in preventing this man from boarding the plane with a bomb in the first place? "
While Politeia is praising the flight's apparent hero, "A young Amsterdam entrepreneur has become the toast of the town. The 32 year old partner in a media company, Jasper Schuringa grabbed hold of the Nigerianse Muslim terrorist Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab (23) and narrowly averted a Christmas man-made terror disaster over Detroit."
And the Mahablog asks, "All I want to know is — since the Shoe Bomber, we’ve had to take off our shoes to get through airport security. Now will we have to take off our pants?"
ABC News reports, "Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released by the U.S. from the Guantanamo prison in November, 2007, according to American officials and Department of Defense documents...American officials agreed to send the two terrorists from Guantanamo to Saudi Arabia where they entered into an 'art therapy rehabilitation program' and were set free, according to U.S. and Saudi officials."
Officials in Yemen say the Obama administration had formally requested the government's help in the investigation.
Politics & News Contributing Editor Erin Kotecki Vest
