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| Anti-Terror Official Stayed on Ski Trip After Learning of Failed Bomb Plot |
| 2010-01-08 |
| National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter did not cut short his holiday ski trip when he learned of the attempted bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day, according to a report in the New York Daily News. Leiter, who is in charge of analyzing terror threats, didn't return to his office post in McLean, Va., until several days after the holiday, a decision that has raised some eyebrows in the intelligence community. "People have been grumbling that he didn't let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation," a source told the Daily News. The NCTC, the government's primary organization for analyzing all terrorism intelligence, has been roundly criticized for failing to "connect the dots" on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian man charged with plotting to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 as it flew from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. Leiter, who reports directly to Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair, was appointed by President George W. Bush. He was sworn in as head of the NCTC on June 12, 2008 after serving as the center's acting director since 2007. Before joining the NCTC, Leiter served as the deputy chief of staff for the ODNI, where he helped coordinate its internal and external operations and create national intelligence centers, like the NCTC and National Counterproliferation Center. In a statement issued on Saturday -- eight days after the failed bomb attempt -- Leiter reaffirmed the center's commitment to preventing terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al Qaeda. "The failed attempt to destroy Northwest Flight 253 is the starkest of reminders of the insidious terrorist threats we face," Leiter said. "While this attempt ended in failure, we know with absolute certainty that Al Qaeda and those who support its ideology continue to refine their methods to test our defenses and pursue an attack on the homeland." "Our most sacred responsibility is to be focused on our mission -- detecting and preventing terrorist attacks from happening on our soil and against U.S. interests," he said. "The American people expect and deserve nothing less." Leiter's spokesman, Carl Kropf, did not say when he returned from his ski trip and fully retook the reigns of the agency, according to the Daily News. Kropf's office said he was not immediately available for comment when contacted by FoxNews.com. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 he probably enhanced the operation and investigation by keeping his fiat fingers out of it. now if we can get him to stay on vacation for another 1300 days or so |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2010-01-08 22:49 |
| #10 Now if we could keep them all on vacation, something might actually get accomplished. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-01-08 22:44 |
| #9 What gorb said. In spades. Director Leiter was in contact with the home office, and no doubt took his Blackberry (or the secure equivalent) with him on the slopes, so he was constantly available to the staff if they needed him. This is not an issue as far as I'm concerned. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-01-08 22:24 |
| #8 Hey, how often do you get great snow? |
| Posted by: Woodrow Angineter8252 2010-01-08 15:47 |
| #7 So what was the guy going to do if he were there? The same as what was done in his absence: Substantially Nothing. The problems are much deeper than this guys presence, which would solve nothing. The real problems are going to take a long time to solve, beginning with combining all the intelligence fiefdoms under one roof when it comes to sharing and using terror intelligence. Wasn't the guy on a vacation with his kid or something? If he's divorced, it's probably a rare opportunity. He asked everyone if they wanted him back, and they said no. Done. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-01-08 15:46 |
| #6 Anti-Terror Official Stayed on Ski Trip After Learning of Failed Bomb Plot So did his boss. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2010-01-08 14:33 |
| #5 It is a well known fact, or at least I thought it was, that terrorists routinely set their dates of attack to coincide with anniversaries, holidays, holy days, and other specific dates of interest. The rationale is quite obvious. Does it not seem strange or possibly inept, that personnel assigned to key intelligence and defense positions would not wish to be readily available and on-hand during these periods, should something go wrong? Evidently the perception by the American people of someone being asleep at the helm matters not to these arrogant, bumbling bureaucrats. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-01-08 11:59 |
| #4 Couldn't resist that deep powder. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2010-01-08 11:34 |
| #3 From CBS News: A source told CBS News that Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, was on holiday in Monterey, Calif. when Abdulmutallab was apprehended, and didn't return to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. until the weekend following Jan. 1. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-01-08 07:25 |
| #2 Obama, fire someone, anyone. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2010-01-08 00:32 |
| #1 TIMES OF INDIA > [Danish Newspaper Plotter]RANA: I AM A PAKISTAN ARMY DESERTER. Told Chicago court he is hence NOT a flight risk to flee US to go back to Pakistan. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-01-08 00:23 |