Facing page image: 9/11 hijacker's President is myopic because he refuses “...the Obama
notebook found on board United Airlines to see the broader questions of border
Flight 93 (Pennsylvania) and aviation security that flow from administration has
the Christmas Day suicide bomber’s
spirit, the Christmas Day Plot of 2009 significant breach of both systems. never acknowledged
would never have gotten off the The President’s answer is politically
ground, literally or figuratively. convenient because if he acknowledges the 9/11 Commission
Watch-lists, visa adjudication and pre- a weakness in U.S. border security,
boarding vetting were all discussed in the chance of the amnesty President recommendations
the 9/11 Final Report. While many new Obama has pledged his supporters for
programmes and procedures have been nearly 11 million illegal aliens currently as a continuing
put in place, some of the most important in the United States could be defeated
9/11 Commission recommendations when the issue arises for Congressional government goal;
in these areas have been ignored consideration this spring. The majority
because they are complex, were not of Americans have made clear that only instead, it has sought
politically prioritised, or have been if border security is achieved first will
indefinitely delayed due to arguments the country consider such a massive - to reverse some key
claiming civil liberty violations. The and inevitably insecure - amnesty.
programmes and policies that are in The Obama administration also recommendations...”
place are a tremendous improvement has never acknowledged the 9/11
over the pre-9/11 border and aviation Commission recommendations as a President to step back and embrace
screening processes, but without all the continuing government goal; instead, the Commission’s recommendations.
recommendations fulfilled, the gaps it has sought to reverse some key Instead, Obama has side-stepped
remain. President Obama has stated recommendations, including a driver these recommendations with a series
more than once that the gaps were license law known as REAL ID that would of broad statements and narrow fixes
huge - both an inaccurate statement help assure identity security for domestic aimed at the next al Qaeda attempt
as well as an unfortunate message to air travel. Despite making its repeal that mimics the Christmas plot; but
send around the world, as it indicates a legislative priority, the administration such narrow fixes may not stop a
that the U.S. is weak on security. What failed. Yet in so doing, tightening different type of attack which al Qaeda
is accurate is that due to the nature of domestic aviation identity security is tries based on their lessons learned
the plot, the ramifications of these gaps significantly delayed. Not an admission about adjusted U.S. security measures.
were huge, but not the gaps themselves. any administration would own up to. Blaming the intelligence community
It is these small gaps that add up to a Nor has President Obama dealt - something the Obama administration
huge failure, and a potentially tragic directly with issues stemming from has done more than once - is simply
event. Filling these gaps will never the government’s inability to get up a convenient hook on which to hang
100 percent assure against another and running a new aviation watch- these failures, but curing only those
successful terrorist event, but it will list, called Secure Flight, which failures will not provide the efficiency
edge aviation security closer to that his supporters have opposed for and security the government needs
assurance, and it is doable. years. Reversing 9/11 Commission to protect against terrorist travel. To
recommendations such as these, and be clear, the role of intelligence in
The Role of Intelligence ignoring others described in more preventing terrorist plots is absolutely
The role of intelligence in preventing detail below, have not enabled this essential, but when teamed with
terrorist travel is essential, but secondary. border and aviation security, it is only
At base, what matters the most to stop relevant under three circumstances:
a plotter such as the 2009 Christmas (1) the intelligence community has
Day bomber is a robust, dot-connected prior information on the individual;
border and aviation security architecture. (2) aviation and border systems have
President Obama marked this event sufficient access to the intelligence
as primarily an intelligence failure, and in real time; and (3) the decision
the global media continue to focus authority within these systems is
on the intelligence failures. Yet from sufficient to stop the traveller. If any
the perspective of a former 9/11 of these circumstances is lacking and
Commission counsel – whose profession an in-flight terrorist event is planned,
focuses on how terrorists exploit the risk of success is high.
travel and what governments need to
do to curb such activity – President Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, alleged
Obama’s answer is both too myopic perpetrator of the attack against Northwest
and too politically convenient. The flight 253 on 25th December 2009.
February 2010 Aviationsecurityinternational www.asi-mag.com 55
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