Britain Reportedly Denied Abdulmatallab Entry
27 December 2009 11:20 am by Taylor Marsh
bumped
What happened between the reports to the U.S. embassy in Nigeria from Abdulmatallab’s own father, Umaru Mutallab, a Nigerian banker, and the decision to put the young Nigerian on a watch list, but not on the no-fly list? The WSJ is reporting that State shared the information with U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism bureaus. Where it went after that and who made the decisions following are worth investigating. Why did Britain reportedly understand the dangers but we didn’t?
Jake Tapper is reporting that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on “This Week” that after the failed terrorism attempt things worked “like clockwork,” but “she wasn’t so sure about how well the government performed before the incident.” Gibbs was his usual glib self, talking about make sure there was “no clog in the bureaucratic plumbing.”
The Washington Post writes today that one anonymous Administration source said there was “insufficient derogatory information available” about Abdulmatallab to include him in anything beyond a database for terrorism related individuals. I’d like to know what is sufficient if someone’s own father, a significant individual in Nigeria, thinks his son might be a danger to the U.S.
At first glance, with facts still rolling in, this looks dangerously like sloppy gate keeping, the same we saw under Bush-Cheney.
I’d sure like to see the surveillance tapes to see what type of behavior Abdulmatallab was exhibiting before he got on the plane. It’s impolitic to say, but I also wonder when countries, including our own, are going to quit making everyone go through histrionics like being basically tied to your airline seat one hour before landing, which is absurd, and instead do some simple profiling of behavior, perhaps taking Israel’s El Al’s lead, as was talked about after 9/11.
During the interrogation, ticket holders are also psychologically evaluated. Their entire makeup is judged by tone of voice, mood and body language. The information is sent by computer to international law enforcement agencies, such as Interpol or Scotland Yard, for instant evaluation.
A discussion about profiling in the U.S. invariably begins and ends with race, completely ignoring behavior. Instead, airlines and countries across the globe shrug off psychological tells that could reveal something is very wrong. When used with the other traditional methods of discovering bombs, etc., we’d have another layer of security in place.
But this long after 9/11, the U.S. in particular, including obviously the airlines, just don’t take safety seriously.
More from the Washington Post article today:
Administration officials acknowledged Saturday that Abdulmutallab’s name was added in November to the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, which contains about 550,000 individuals and is maintained by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center. TIDE is a catch-all list into which all terrorist-related information is sent.
Some, but not all, information from TIDE is transferred to the FBI-maintained Terrorist Screening Data Base (TSDB), from which consular, border and airline watch lists are drawn. The Transportation Security Administration has a “no-fly” list of about 4,000 people who are prohibited from boarding any domestic or U.S.-bound aircraft. A separate list of about 14,000 “selectees” require additional scrutiny but are not banned from flying.
Abdulmutallab’s name never made it past the TIDE database. “A TIDE record on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was created in November 2009,” one administration official said, but “there was insufficient information available on the subject at that time to include him in the TSDB or its ‘no fly’ or ’selectee’ lists.”
There is another report about how the Iraq and Afghanistan wars had radicalized the young Nigerian, giving more ammunition for the case that U.S. involvement in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have caused serious blow back: His father said he became radicalized after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and on the Pentagon, and by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But the real tell in this story so far is that unlike the U.S., who only had Abdulmatallab in the terrorist database but didn’t go any further, the UK Times is reporting that Britain had already taken action against the young Nigerian:
The son of a prominent Nigerian banker, who allegedly attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight over America, was barred from returning to Britain earlier this year.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, graduated from a university in London last year but his visa request was refused in May when he attempted to apply for a new course at a bogus college.
… [...] He attempted to return to Britain for a six-month course in May this year but was refused by officials from the UK Border Agency.
“He was refused entry on grounds that he was applying to study at an educational establishment that we didn’t consider to be genuine,” a Whitehall official said.
Neither the Washington Post, nor the WSJ, among others, has any reporting about Britain denying Abdulmutallab’s entry in May 2009.
Now, it’s all eyes on Lagos airport, with rising concern over security out of Africa.
At 10:05 am I made a comment in a POA essay about how the pro-Zionist, neocon foreign policy at the Pentagon was making America look more and more like Israel. And what do you know, at 10:34 am “perhaps taking Israel’s El Al’s lead” is suggested. There you have it ladies and gentlemen. We are Israel and they are us. If you for one minute believe that the Islamic radicals don’t see it that way then you are very much mistaken. “You will reap what you sow.” Peace
Profiling a passenger to look at their psychological state is not pro-Zionist. You’d understand that if you could separate your hatred for Israel with being practical when it comes to employing all anti-terrorism techniques possible regarding airline safety.
Though the issue of why we didn’t consider him a risk, but Britain did, tells the tale as well.
“Haskell said he and his wife were sitting on the ground near their boarding gate in Amsterdam, which is when they saw Mutallab approach the gate with an unidentified man”
“While Mutallab was poorly dressed, his friend was dressed in an expensive suit, Haskell said. He says the suited man asked ticket agents whether Mutallab could board without a passport. “The guy said, ‘He’s from Sudan and we do this all the time.’””
http://tinyurl.com/y8u6omf
So, why aren’t we hearing about this? I have a coupla questions here that are pretty obvious. First, what security firm is handling security at both airports involved? Is it the Israeli firm that seems to have managed to insidiously weasel its way into our own airports?
And two, surely there must be security camera shots of this guy in a suit. Will we ever be told what intelligence agency he worked for? Obviously, he had some pull, and was not just some unknown yahoo to the security personel.
“the pro-Zionist, neocon foreign policy at the Pentagon”
That about says it all dosen’t it. Though you did forget to include the CIA planed the whole thing.
I’ve seen two diferant versions now of when this guy was first picked out as someone to keep an eye on. Which is it?
If he was ID’s 2 years ago what was it that brought him to DHS attention? Because if he was ALREADY identified as someone to keep an eye on, THEN his father came to us and said I think he may do something stupid and he STILL wasn’t on the no fly list somebody/some folks should get their walking papers for criminal neglegance.
P.S. Have we done anything in the way of offering his Father and family santuary for coming to us with this?
Not that I’ve read, secularh. And to your point about “walking papers,” there are serious holes from when the U.S. embassy reported what they were told and nothing being done about it beyond making a note of his name on some database terror listing.
This is laughable. If some guy waltzed Abdulmatallab right past security protocol, then “tightening” security protocol is just a feel good cover their asses bit of posturing.
BOOO!!!
But don’t worry folks, we will get right on finding out what went wrong and fixin’ it, we want you to be scared, but we don’t want you to think we’re incompetent.
Its amazing what a gullible society of jackasses we’ve become.
I hate to say this but “You can have all the security in the world to stop terrorist like this guy, and in the end one of his terrorist friends will make it through” I know that might sound crude to some people. I was in London during the train bombings a couple years back, it was my very first trip over seas and I remember being terrified the day the bombs took place. However, when I looked around at the face coming up out of the damaged subways and on the streets I noticed a difference culturally with the English and Americans. The folks I was around that day didn’t become hysterical at all they were upset but kept there cool. There media didn’t go overboard about the London bombings and everyone around me handled it with an adult manner.
Once I made it back to the State, American media was is in overdrive as if our country would be under attack soon. People around me here was walking around afraid of there own shadows, it was pathetic to witness. Here I was returning from almost losing my life in the London train bombings renewed with the strength I got from English men and Women, who refuse to be afraid or let the terrorist ruin their lives to my home country of frighten children. I really do believe Americans have a lot of growing up do we seem to think of ourselves as if bad things are never suppose to happen to us. After we suffer from the best nation on earth attitude; but were not just like other countries we will be attacked.
It’s rather odd and a little scary that former progressives like Jane Hamsher and Taylor Marsh are drifting more and more to the right. I don’t think it is anti-Semitism that is at the heart of observations made by people like Imhotep about the profiling words in today’s TM post. It is reality. One could only speculate what is causing this drift. Is it because Obama is president and not Clinton or something more unsettling?
I don’t know about Jane Hamsher but Taylor marsh hasn’t altered her views one iota from what I have seen reading and commenting here for a couplla years now. We have seen eye to eye on alot of things and been diametrically opposed on others.
There has been a very recent influx of America is ALWAYS wrong, Obama is ALWAYS wrong and Israel is ALWAYS wrong postings. What I like to think of as the crazy as a shithouse rat left or Mujhawienies. NOBODY is liberal or progressive enough for them. THEY will define who a liberal, who is a progressive, who a feminist is and if you deviate one iota YOU’RE A NEOCON.
Like I’ve said before, they are the views that the wingnuts hold up as the poster children for liberals. They are the folks, conspiracy theorists and paranoids that make me cringe anytime I hear them refered to as the left, or progressive or liberal. They quite simply aren’t.
They are the lunatic fring of the left. The right has their version only on the right the wackoos have taken over the party.
Let me be perfectly clear…..I do NOT hate Israel. I do NOT hate Jews. I LOVE America. I do NOT hate anybody. I have real problems with militant Zionists and Scoop Jackson neocons. I don’t like warmongers or most anybody who believes that the use of violence solves problems. The foreign policy of the United States of America long ago went off the rails. Way off the rails. We can discuss how and when it went off the rails and who caused it to go off the rails if you’d like. Or we can pretend that everything about our foreign policy is just A-OK, and it’s just that nobody understands poor old us, is all. Anybody up to an adult discussion? Peace
Jymn says:
27 December 2009 at 3:20 pm
Are you kidding? Pres. Obama isn’t even a factor in this discussion. Partisan blinders makes people stupid.
It is not wrong to suggest BEHAVIOR profiling at airports when we can’t seem to stop single individuals that are on terrorist lists, but are not on no-fly lists. At the very least he should have been subject to further security scrutiny.
Marie205 says:
27 December 2009 at 1:53 pm
Important comment, Marie205.
As secularh notes, I’ve been consistent on this issue for years.
“We can discuss how and when it went off the rails and who caused it to go off the rails if you’d like. Or we can pretend that everything about our foreign policy is just A-OK, and it’s just that nobody understands poor old us, is all. Anybody up to an adult discussion? Peace”
Oh gosh Teacher…could we?! I mean, would you PLEEEEEAZ conscent to instruct poor dumby ol us and share your sage WISDOM?!
Cause we are such helpless, dumb lil lambs in the woods and sooooo lost.
WO is us, WO,WO! PLEASE save us and show us the error of our ways!
“One could only speculate what is causing this drift. Is it because Obama is president and not Clinton or something more unsettling?”
What I find unsettling is the lunatic fringe of the left crawling out from under their rocks and shouting their conspiracy theories about the CIA,9/11,Zionism and Israel running America,and a general condemnation of EVERYTHING America has, does and WILL do anywhere on the planet.
They are writing the copy for the repugnantklans next round of politicol adds and as always will be using this strident scree from the weeds to hammer Democrats as “WEAK ON DEFENSE”
Carl Rove, Cheney and the gang thank ya’ll!