My World Earth: US overhauls terror watch lists-Obama meets with Security Councils. CIA killed , US aeroplane threated.Security Failed.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

US overhauls terror watch lists-Obama meets with Security Councils. CIA killed , US aeroplane threated.Security Failed.

US terror watch lists have been radically overhauled after a foiled attack on a US-bound jet, the White House said Monday, as President Barack Obama readied for key talks on the security scare.

The news came as tougher screening procedures for all US-bound air travelers swung into effect in airports around the world.

Obama, who has denounced "systemic" intelligence failures in the Christmas Day plot, was preparing to meet with US intelligence chiefs and security officials on Tuesday to review the findings of two probes into the incident.

But White House spokesman Bill Burton said "safety and security measures are moving forward even as the review goes on" in a bid to plug security gaps.

"There's already been a rescrubbing of all the different lists," he told journalists, referring to the lists which determine whether a person is allowed to board a US-bound flight in a foreign airport.

"Probably thousands upon thousands upon thousands of names were scrubbed, and probably dozens were moved to different lists," he added.

Obama has directly linked the Al-Qaeda network, responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, to the botched bid to blow up a Northwest jet with 290 people on board on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

In the wake of the failed attack, the administration has also ordered tight new security measures for US-bound passengers after a 23-year-old Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, allegedly tried to bring down the jet.

All passengers heading for the United States could now face random checks, patdowns or baggage checks.

And all travelers flying from or via 14 countries including Iran, Nigeria and Yemen will have to undergo mandatory enhanced screening before boarding their US-bound flights, under the new rules.

According to US prosecutors, Abdulmutallab tried to bring down Flight 253 using a device containing the explosive PETN, also known as pentaerythritol.

Stitched into his underwear, it was not spotted by traditional metal detectors. It failed to go off properly, but sparked an on-board fire that was swiftly put out when passengers intervened.

Obama was Monday receiving a review into the incident from the CIA and was meeting with his top counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan.

Brennan on Sunday defended the nation's 16 security agencies saying despite apparent warnings from Abdulmutallab's father, a wealthy Nigerian banker, there had been "no smoking gun" that could have helped unmask the plot earlier.

As the country searched for answers to how the attack was only narrowly avoided, FBI agents were Monday in Ghana investigating Abdulmutallab's stay there amid allegations he bought his ticket for Detroit in the country.

Obama has also revealed that Abdulmutallab had spent time in Yemen during the summer where he was allegedly in contact with the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The group has claimed responsibility for being behind the thwarted attack.

US lawmakers are gearing up for a series of hearings and briefings into the botched attack next week and lawmakers expected to receive the preliminary findings of the reviews ordered by Obama.

Burton did not specify whether Obama would address journalists after the Tuesday talks at the White House, but said it was unlikely the results of the two reviews ordered by the president would be published.

"I think that coming out of that meeting we'll probably have more on what some of the next steps are," Burton said.

"I think that there will probably be some new information available, but I wouldn't anticipate a full reading of what's in those reviews."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said meanwhile Monday that the United States would only reopen its embassy in Sanaa, which closed on Sunday, when it was believed to be safe.

"We review our security conditions constantly and we'll make a decision on reopening the embassy when the conditions permit," the top US diplomat said.

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official (2nd R) checks the identification of passengers

Map showing countries whose plane passengers will be subject to stricter controls by the US authorities

Barack Obama and daughter Sasha disembark from Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Jan. 20: Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the 44th president of the United States with his wife Michelle by his side. (Reuters)

The Threat that was never been.

As millions converged on Washington last year to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama, security officials were concerned that among them were extremists traveling from Somalia to set off explosives as Obama took the oath of office.

The incoming administration took the threat so seriously, the New York Times reported, that contingency plans were drawn up in case the incoming government and president were killed.

For 72 hours before Obama was sworn in, intelligence agencies worked around the clock trying to figure out whether the threat was real and what, if anything, should be done if a terrorist struck while millions watched on the Mall and tens of millions more saw the ceremony on television.

According to intelligence officials, a group of Somalis was believed to be crossing from Canada to detonate a bomb as Obama took the oath.

Obama's counterterrorism advisor John Brennan told the Times that as the inauguration drew nearer the plot "seemed to be growing in credibility and relevance."

As Obama publicly thanked the outgoing administration for its generous help in a smooth transition, privately his advisers and Cabinet-designees sat across the table from Bush's team to evaluate the information coming from the intelligence community and what should be done about it. The president-elect could do little beyond ask questions.

"All the data points suggested there was a real threat evolving quickly that had an overseas component," Juan Carlos Zarate, President George W. Bush's deputy national security adviser for terrorism, was quoted as saying.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the only Cabinet member who had been sworn in by Jan. 20, was selected as successor to the leadership in a worst case scenario and spirited off to a secret location during the inauguration.

In the end, the report turned out to be false: No terrorists traveled here to attack the inauguration. The story was apparently little more than a rumor, fueled by a false report from a rival organization.

Brennan said he suspected a "poison pen" threat in which militants revealed information to harm rival groups.

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