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Man Carrying Explosives Similar to Underwear Bomber Was Arrested in Somalia Last Month

Posted by Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 11:32:57 PM
On Nov. 11, a Somali man in his late 30s walked into Mogadishu International Airport with an explosive device remarkably similar to the one that failed to detonate on Detroit-bound Northwest flight 253 on Christmas Day, authorities said.

Man Carrying Explosives Similar to Underwear Bomber Was Arrested in Somalia Last Month

It too had powdered chemicals, liquids and a syringe -- just like the one Abdulmutallab, 23, allegedly carried in his underwear and tried to detonate.

The Somali suspect, Abdi Hassan Abdi, was arrested at the airport and remains in custody. The final destination of the Daallo Airlines flight he tried to board was Dubai.

"We don't know whether he's linked with al Qaeda or other foreign organizations, but his actions were the acts of a terrorist. We caught him red-handed," a Somali police spokesman, Abdulahi Hassan Barise, told The Associated Press.

U.S. intelligence agencies are scrambling to see if the arrest means there is a broader plot involving multiple operatives, ABC News has learned.

Today, there are more indicators that the United States' counterterrorism system may not be functioning properly. Sources told ABC News the intelligence community only informed the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration about the incident involving Abdi this morning.

Tom Kean, chairman of the commission that investigated the 9/11 terror attacks, said the recent lack of communication has a familiar ring.

"This feels like after 9/11," Kean told ABC News. "This is, as Yogi Berra would say, deja vu -- the same thing happening over and over again. We have got to find out why. We have got to fix this problem."

Slowly, a picture is emerging of the security lapses in the case involving Abdulmutallab, a failure that President Obama bluntly acknowledged Tuesday.   More from ABC News and a video report at: http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/us-intelligence-agencies-investigate-broader-terror-plot/story?id=9450057

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Man Videotaped Underwear Bomber On Flight 253. Who and Where Is He?

Posted by Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 11:21:17 PM
“He sat up and videotaped the entire thing, very calmly. We do know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since then, we’ve heard nothing about it.”
 

Man Videotaped Underwear Bomber On Flight 253

Excerpt: Meanwhile, more suspicious information about the underwear bombing has surfaced. An eye witness told the news talk radio station 620 WTMJ in Milwaukee that a man had videotaped the entire flight.

 

Patricia “Scotty” Keepman and her daughter witnessed the alleged botched bombing. Keepman’s “daughter said that ahead of them was a man who videotaped the entire flight, including the attempted detonation.”

“He sat up and videotaped the entire thing, very calmly,” said Patricia. “We do know that the FBI is looking for him intensely. Since then, we’ve heard nothing about it.”

On Saturday it was reported that a “sharp-dressed man” had escorted Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab when he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in Amsterdam. Mutallab was allowed on the plane without a passport. It was later reported that Mutallab seemed to be in a trance.

The alleged videotaping of the underwear bomber and his fudged attack is another oddity that the corporate media should zoom in on. Unfortunately, we no longer have a functioning investigative media in this country.   More at: Infop Wars at http://www.infowars.com/man-videotaped-underwear-bomber-on-flight-253/

Underwear Bomber Dazed, Stared “Into Nothing”

  • Tom Leonard
    The Daily Telegraph
    December 28, 2009  
 
Mr Schuringa said he said he frisked the suspect and discovered his trousers were open and that he had a flaming object resembling a small, white shampoo bottle strapped to his left leg near his crotch.

 

“I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” he told CNN.

Mr Schuringa said he patted out the fire with his hands and shouted for water.

As cabin crew arrived with fire extinguishers, the Dutchman hauled the suspect out of his seat and, restraining him in a choke lock, took him to the first class compartment.

All the while, Mr Abdulmatallab seemed dazed, he said. “He was staring into nothing.” When he got him into first class, Mr Schuringa pulled off his remaining clothes to check for further explosives and helped a crew member to handcuff him.

 

According to Kurt Haskell, an attorney with the Haskell Law Firm in Taylor, Michigan, “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.”

Were the feds retrieving their own agent, was a poorly dressed, young looking individual, but he was accompanied by a man in an expensive suit, Haskell told MLive.com.

“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.’”

Although Mutallab is Nigerian, Haskell said the well-dressed man portrayed him as a desperate Sudanese refugee in an attempt to elicit sympathy and as a way of bypassing his lack of documents.

“The ticket agent referred Mutallab and his companion to her manager down the hall, and Haskell didn’t see Mutallab again until after he allegedly tried to detonate an explosive on the plane,” states the report.

Crucially, Haskell said that after the plane landed he saw another man being taken into custody by the FBI along with Mutallab. However, the FBI later said that Mutallab was the only individual taken into custody.

Were the feds retrieving their own agent,agent, the sharp dressed man who ensured that Mutallab boarded the plane despite his overwhelmingly suspicious circumstances?  More at: http://www.infowars.com/government-allowed-plane-bomber-to-attempt-attack/
 
 

"And then there is the supposed tape released four days before the attempted underwear bombing. It shows what ABC describes as “the leader of al Qaeda in Yemen” who says he will kill Americans. “We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God.”    from first article posted here

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"Barack Obama gets an 'F' for protecting Americans" Telegraph UK

Posted by Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 10:42:30 PM

"Yes, the buck stops in the Oval Office. Obama may have rather smugly given himself a “B+” for his 2009 performance but he gets an F for the events that led to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarding a Detroit-bound plane in Amsterdam with a PETN bomb sewn into his underpants.  He said today that a “systemic failure has occurred”. Well, he’s in charge of that system." by Tony Harnden http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100020934/barack-obama-gets-an-f-for-protecting-americans/

The picture we’re getting is more and more alarming by the hour. Here are some key elements to consider:

1. Abdulmutallab’s father spoke several times to the US Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria and visited a CIA officer there to tell him, apparently, that he feared his son was a jihadist being trained in Yemen. According to CNN, the CIA officer wrote up a report, which then sat in the CIA headquarters at Langley for several weeks without being disseminated to the rest of the intelligence community.  This was not just a casual encounter. Again according to CNN, there were at least two face-to-face meetings, telephone calls and written correspondence with the father. If it’s true that the CIA sat on this then it beggars belief.

2. After 9/11, the huge bureaucracies of the Homeland Security Department and the Directorate of National Intelligence (DNI) were created. Inside the DNI, the National Counter Terrorism Center was created. These organisations were created to “connect the dots”. It may well be that the fault lay with NCTC and not the CIA – CIA spokesman George Little says here that “key biographical information” and information about “possible extremist connections in Yemen” was passed to NCTC. If NCTC knew about it, then did someone at the National Security Council within the White House? There’s a huge blame game beginning so we’ll no doubt know soon enough.

3. It wasn’t just the meeting with the father. According to CBS, “as early as August of 2009 the Central Intelligence Agency was picking up information on a person of interest dubbed ‘The Nigerian’ suspected of meeting with ‘terrorist elements’ in Yemen”. So there were other parts of the jigsaw that were not put together.

4. In his studied desire to be the unBush by responding coolly to events like this, Obama is dangerously close to failing as a leader. Yes, it is good not to shoot from the hip and make broad assertions without the facts. But Obama took three days before speaking to the American people, emerging on Monday in between golf and tennis games in Hawaii to deliver a rather tepid address that significantly underplayed what happened. He described

Toby Harnden is the Daily Telegraph's US Editor, based in Washington DC. More about Toby. Contact toby.harnden@telegraph-usa.com.

 as an “isolated extremist” who “allegedly tried to ignite an explosive device on his body” – phrases that indicate a legalistic, downplaying approach that alarms rather than reassures. Today’s words showed a lot more fire and desire to get on top of things – we’ll see whether Obama follows through with action. In the meantime, he went snorkelling.   More of this article  "Barack Obama gets an 'F' for protecting Americans"  by  Toby Harnden is the Daily Telegraph's US Editor, based in Washington DC.  Contact toby.harnden@telegraph-usa.com.

Telegraph UK at: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyharnden/100020934/barack-obama-gets-an-f-for-protecting-americans/

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Second person was detained by U.S. Customs after alleged attack on Flight 253

Posted by Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 10:31:48 PM
I had a visit from the FBI yesterday. They brought in several photos including one I casually identified to them as "The man they won't admit exists that they detained in customs." Amazingly, they changed their story and admitted that this 2nd Indian man was still being held in customs on "immigration issues." (i.e. no passport) last night. So, there first story that only one man had been detained was apparently untruthful.

To MplsMom- I got a several minute close up look of the terrorist in Amsterdam and he has quite a different look about him. Further, there were very few black persons on our flight or at the airport and he was rather easy for me to identify later. Hope this helps. Thanks Mlive and those that continue to be supportive. KH 

Posted by pug   Just to give everyone an update.
December 30, 2009, 9:58AM
 
 

By Sheena Harrison | MLive.com

December 29, 2009, 6:46PM
A person was detained by customs at Detroit Metro Airport on Friday following Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's alleged attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, according to a spokeman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Full story »
 
 
Update: In an interview on Wednesday afternoon, Smith said MLive.com's story was accurate. He clarified that the man taken into custody came to Detroit aboard a separate flight and was detained for issues unrelated to the attack on Flight 253. 

Bill Carter, a spokesman with the FBI in Washington, D.C., said in an interview Tuesday that Abdulmutallab was the only person arrested or charged in relation to Friday's foiled attack.

The news about a person being taken into custody comes after two passengers aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 said they saw a second man being taken away in handcuffs on Christmas Day while they and others were waiting to be interviewed by FBI agents at the airport. Smith was unable to say whether that man was the person detained by customs officials.

Update: Smith said Wednesday that the man taken into custody was the one seen by Flight 253 passengers while in customs. Passengers from various flights went through customs processing in one centralized location. 

Kurt Haskell, a Taylor, Mich., attorney who says he was seated a few rows behind suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, told MLive.com on Saturday that he saw a second man taken into custody after search dogs appeared to find something in his carry-on bag. 

Daniel Huisinga of Fairview, Tenn., who was returning from an internship in Kenya for the holidays, says he also saw a man being taken away in handcuffs at the airport after a dog search. A third person, Roey Rosenblith, told The Huffington Post on Sunday that he saw a man in a suit being placed into handcuffs and escorted out, as well.

Huisinga talked about seeing a man taken away at the airport during an interview Monday on MSNBC. He mentions it at about the 1:25 mark of the video below. The reporter appears to confuse Huisinga's account with a man who was ...
 
 
Posted by pug
December 29, 2009, 8:49PM

Kurt Haskell here. Glad to see that a prior statment of mine is proved correct once again. The FBI's statement, well.....................................
Thanks Mlive,

 
 
 
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The TSA is going after bloggers who wrote about a directive to increase security after the Northwest Flight 253 incident.

Posted by Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 9:42:28 PM
"Special Agent Robert Flaherty knocked on my front door with a subpoena. He was very polite, and used "sir" a lot, and he said he just wanted a name: Who sent me the security directive? "    http://www.elliott.org/blog/full-text-of-my-subpoena-from-the-department-of-homeland-security/
 
 

ON THE INTERNET:

The basic info regarding increasing security is right here in the PUBLIC FILES.

Quote:

 
 

TSA and DHS Statements on Northwest Airlines Flight 253
News & Happenings

DHS Secretary Napolitano Statement on Northwest Flight 253
December 26, 2009
1:00 p.m. EST

"I am grateful to the passengers and crew aboard Northwest Flight 253 who reacted quickly and heroically to an incident that could have had tragic results. The Department of Homeland Security immediately put additional screening measures into place- for all domestic and international flights- to ensure the continued safety of the traveling public. We are also working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement on additional security measures, as well as our international partners on enhanced security at airports and on flights.

The American people should continue their planned holiday travel and, as always, be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement officials.

Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place. These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere. Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should allot extra time for check-in."

Department of Homeland Security Statement on Northwest Incident
December 25, 2009
5:30 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON D.C. – Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident aboard Northwest Airlines flight #253 and is closely monitoring the situation.

Passengers may notice additional screening measures put into place to ensure the safety of the traveling public on domestic and international flights.

As always we encourage the traveling public to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement officials.

We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit www.tsa.gov for updates.

Transportation Security Administration Statement on Northwest Airlines Flight 253
December 25, 2009
4:30 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON D.C. - Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is aware of an incident that occurred onboard Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. The flight landed safely in Detroit at approximately 11:53 a.m.

All passengers have deplaned and out of an abundance of caution, the plane was moved to a remote area where the plane and all baggage are currently being rescreened. A passenger is in custody and passengers are being interviewed.

TSA will continue to monitor the situation and update this information as necessary.

Text of my subpoena from the Department of Homeland Security

December 29, 2009    http://www.elliott.org/blog/full-text-of-my-subpoena-from-the-department-of-homeland-security/


We had just put the kids in the bathtub when Special Agent Robert FlahertyWe had just put the kids in the bathtub when Special Agent Robert Flaherty knocked on my front door with a subpoena. He was very polite, and used "sir" a lot, and he said he just wanted a name: Who sent me the security directive?

I invited Flaherty to sit down in the living room and introduced him to my cats, who seemed to take a liking to him. The kids came by to say hello, too.

"A subpoena?" I asked the special agent. "Is that really necessary?"

"Sir," he repeated. "You’ve been served."

Alright, then. I’ve been served. Here’s the full text of the subpoena:

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Department of Homeland Security
Transportation Security Administration

SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM

YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, to produce and permit inspection and copying of the records described below to Special Agent Robert Flaherty, TSA Office of Inspection, Transportation Security Admininistration, 580 T G Lee Blvd, Suite 610, Orlando, Florida 32822 (Phone #: 407-563-4096), email: Robert.M.flaherty@dhs.gov, no later than COB December 31, 2009, in furtherance of an official investigation:All documents, emails, and/or faxsimile transmissions (sic) in your control possession or control concerning your receipt of TSA Security Directive 1544-09-06 dated December 25, 2009.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, the undersigned, an officer designated by the Transportation Security Administration, has hereunto set his hand in the county of Arlington, Virginia, this 29th day of December, 2009.

Dan Kuntz
Senior Counsel – Civil Enforcement
Transportation Security Administration
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

AUTHORITY

This subpoena is issued under the authority contained in 49 U.S.C. §§ 40113 and 46104; and 49 C.F.R § 1503.3.

Any person who neglects or refuses to produce records in obedience to this subpoena is subject to fines under Title 18, United States Code, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, 49 U.S.C § 46313.

(For those of you who didn’t go to law school or take Latin, a subpoena duces tecum — Latin for "bring with you under penalty of punishment" — is form of a subpoena issued by a court ordering the parties named to appear and produce tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial.)

So if I’m reading this correctly, the TSA wants me to tell them who gave me the security directive.

I told Flaherty I’d call my attorney and get back to him.

What would you do?

(Incidentally, my kids liked Special Agent Flaherty. They’ve been calling him "our friend from the TSA" all evening. Probably because he had a cool badge and got along with the cats.)
 
TSA Special Agent John Enright, left, speaks to Steven http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/dhs-threatens-blogger/ outside the blogger's home in Niantic, Connecticut, after returning Frischling's laptop Wednesday.
 
Photo: Thomas Cain/Wired.com    http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/12/dhs-threatens-blogger/

 

Two bloggers received home visits from Transportation Security Administration agents Tuesday after they published a new TSA directive that revises screening procedures and puts new restrictions on passengers in the wake of a recent bombing attempt by the so-called underwear bomber.

Special agents from the TSA’s Office of Inspection interrogated two U.S. bloggers, one of them an established travel columnist, and served them each with a civil subpoena demanding information on the anonymous source that provided the TSA document.

The document, which the two bloggers published within minutes of each other Dec. 27, was sent by TSA to airlines and airports around the world and described temporary new requirements for screening passengers through Dec. 30, including conducting “pat-downs” of legs and torsos. The document, which was not classified, was posted by numerous bloggers. Information from it was also published on some airline websites.


“They’re saying it’s a security document but it was sent to every airport and airline,” says Steven Frischling, one of the bloggers. “It was sent to Islamabad, to Riyadh and to Nigeria. So they’re looking for information about a security document sent to 10,000-plus people internationally. You can’t have a right to expect privacy after that.”

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said in a statement that security directives “are not for public disclosure.”

“TSA’s Office of Inspections is currently investigating how the recent Security Directives were acquired and published by parties who should not have been privy to this information,” the statement said.

Frischling, a freelance travel writer and photographer in Connecticut who writes a blog for the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, said the two agents who visited him arrived around 7 p.m. Tuesday, were armed and threatened him with a criminal search warrant if he didn’t provide the name of his source. They also threatened to get him fired from his KLM job and indicated they could get him designated a security risk, which would make it difficult for him to travel and do his job.

“They were indicating there would be significant ramifications if I didn’t cooperate,” said Frischling, who was home alone with his three children when the agents arrived. “It’s not hard to intimidate someone when they’re holding a 3-year-old [child] in their hands. My wife works at night. I go to jail, and my kids are here with nobody.”

 
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