Author Archives: Maggie M. Thornton

President Obama finally admitted the Christmas Day attack on Northwest Flight 253 was a “systemic failure.” What does that mean? Did the CIA not do their job? Did the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) not do their job? How did Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s name stay off of the No-Fly List? Who was the final coordinator of all the information we knew about the Christmas Day bomber, or the Underwear Bomber as he is fondly called? As I tried to answer these questions, it became evident that the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) dropped the ball. The CIA says they sent Abdulmutallab’s name to the NCTC. The NCTC says they are “responsible for…integrating counterterrorism intelligence and operation across agency boundaties, both inside and outside the U.S.” They knew about Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and apparently did nothing.

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