Kathianne
12-28-2009, 04:31 PM
Really this should come as no surprise:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091228/ts_nm/us_security_airline_intelligence
Attempted bombing spotlights al Qaeda growth in Yemen
By Adam Entous
Mon Dec 28, 12:39 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) An attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. passenger jet has put a spotlight on the growing prominence of al Qaeda in Yemen and the expanding role of the U.S. military and spy agencies in fighting the group.
Civil war and lawlessness have turned the Arab world's poorest state into an attractive alternative base for al Qaeda, which U.S. officials say has been largely pushed out of Afghanistan and is under growing military pressure from the Pakistani army in bordering tribal areas.
Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is charged with attempting to blow up a Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board.
Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators that al Qaeda operatives in Yemen supplied him with an explosive device and trained him on how to detonate it, officials said....
What's really scary is the administrations plans regarding Gitmo prisoners:
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/dem-suggests-suspected-bomber-complicate-gitmo-plan/
A Key Democrat suggests suspected bomber complicates Gitmo plan | Raw Story
A key Democrat believes that the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas day could complicate the Obama administration's plans to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
"I'd, at a minimum, say that whatever we were about to do we€™d at least have to scrub it again from top to bottom," House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson told Politico Saturday.
The Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up flight Northwest 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit reportedly visited Yemen prior to the failed bombing attempt. Almost half of the remaining Guantanamo prisoners are from Yemen, so Thompson anticipates problems with plans to to move them to Thompson Correctional Center in Illinois, according to Politico.
Thompson, who said he plans to convene hearings in January about the bombing attempt, said the reported Yemen links to the incident could even lead some members to question whether Yemenis at Guantanamo should be transferred to the new terror prison the administration wants to set up in Thomson, Ill. €œIt€™s something that€™s going to be of interest to everybody€We ought to look at everything we have underway to make sure that something hasn€™t been overlooked,€ the congressman said.
Other complications could arise as the U.S. attempts to transfer some prisoners back to Yemin. "In terms of sending more of them to return to Yemen, it would be a bit of a reach," said Thompson...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091228/ts_nm/us_security_airline_intelligence
Attempted bombing spotlights al Qaeda growth in Yemen
By Adam Entous
Mon Dec 28, 12:39 pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) An attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. passenger jet has put a spotlight on the growing prominence of al Qaeda in Yemen and the expanding role of the U.S. military and spy agencies in fighting the group.
Civil war and lawlessness have turned the Arab world's poorest state into an attractive alternative base for al Qaeda, which U.S. officials say has been largely pushed out of Afghanistan and is under growing military pressure from the Pakistani army in bordering tribal areas.
Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is charged with attempting to blow up a Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board.
Abdulmutallab has told U.S. investigators that al Qaeda operatives in Yemen supplied him with an explosive device and trained him on how to detonate it, officials said....
What's really scary is the administrations plans regarding Gitmo prisoners:
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/dem-suggests-suspected-bomber-complicate-gitmo-plan/
A Key Democrat suggests suspected bomber complicates Gitmo plan | Raw Story
A key Democrat believes that the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas day could complicate the Obama administration's plans to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.
"I'd, at a minimum, say that whatever we were about to do we€™d at least have to scrub it again from top to bottom," House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson told Politico Saturday.
The Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up flight Northwest 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit reportedly visited Yemen prior to the failed bombing attempt. Almost half of the remaining Guantanamo prisoners are from Yemen, so Thompson anticipates problems with plans to to move them to Thompson Correctional Center in Illinois, according to Politico.
Thompson, who said he plans to convene hearings in January about the bombing attempt, said the reported Yemen links to the incident could even lead some members to question whether Yemenis at Guantanamo should be transferred to the new terror prison the administration wants to set up in Thomson, Ill. €œIt€™s something that€™s going to be of interest to everybody€We ought to look at everything we have underway to make sure that something hasn€™t been overlooked,€ the congressman said.
Other complications could arise as the U.S. attempts to transfer some prisoners back to Yemin. "In terms of sending more of them to return to Yemen, it would be a bit of a reach," said Thompson...