Critics say Obama’s response to the Christmas Day plot by Abdulmutallab was late and trepid, and analysts believe terrorism has become the Democrats’ and Obama’s central political vulnerability. A senior GOP strategist says the current focus on national security is a challenge for the administration because terrorists are so unpredictable. “It’s driven by events,” he…
Travelers will find an increase in random screenings, canine teams, behavior detection officers, and air marshals on flights, due to what Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano describes as a “continued threat” from al-Qaida. These measures were amongst an array of plans President Obama announced after an intelligence review last week was conducted to assess how…
Two al-Qaida militants who have allegedly been threatening the US and British Embassies in Yemen were killed by government forces on Jan. 4. The embassies were closed to the public for the second day. The Yemeni forces were tracking Nazih al-Hanq of the group al-Qaida in the Arabian Penninsula. Increases in security were apparent on…
Islam Channel, a London-based satellite broadcaster, has been accused with providing a platform for Anwar al-Awlaki, an extremist cleric with ties to al-Qaida, Major Hasan of the Fort Hood shooting, and Abdulmutallab, who recently tried to blow up a plane on a flight to Detroit. Islam Channel is said to have advertised a box set…
MI5 failed to alert US intelligence about the extremist links of the Detroit plane bomber because of concerns about breaching his human rights and privacy. The spy agency withheld its files on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from Washington until after the near-catastrophic Christmas Day attack because of guidance from its legal department. Asked why the information…
