Wednesday
Jan202010
Spelling Error Allowed Would-Be Bomber to Board Flight
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 5:10PM
By Monique Cala- University of New Mexico/ Talk Radio News Service
Weeks before the attempted attack over Detroit on Christmas Day, the father of the alleged terrorist held responsible, went to the U.S. Embassy with concerns of his son. Yet due to a spelling error, Umar Farouk Abdumutallab was not matched through the FBI's terrorist watchlist program, according to a number of members who testified during a Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday.
“We don’t have enough of a testing regime so that we do the ‘what if’s’ before we have one of these incidents,” said the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair. “Put partial information in, and see where it goes, fix those and find those for ourselves."
According to Michael Leiter, the Director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, new technology would allow updated search engines to recognize partial or even misspelled names
“It’s not enough to put it on the same board,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). “We have to create systems to find out how to connect the information.”
Blair said that before the Christmas Day attack, the public was pressing for a smaller no-fly list of only people of immediate concern.
“The pressure was in the other direction, shame on us for giving in to that pressure,” said Blair. “We have now greatly expanded the no-fly list. I should not have given into that pressure.”
“Who's been held accountable? Has anyone been fired? Has anyone been put on leave?” asked Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
Blair and Leiter both agreed that information is being evaluated in an extensive investigation, but no one has been fired at this moment. Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano accepted partial blame for the attack.
“I am the Secretary of Homeland Security, I share responsibility for the enterprise that has to happen to prevent this from happening again,” she said.
Weeks before the attempted attack over Detroit on Christmas Day, the father of the alleged terrorist held responsible, went to the U.S. Embassy with concerns of his son. Yet due to a spelling error, Umar Farouk Abdumutallab was not matched through the FBI's terrorist watchlist program, according to a number of members who testified during a Homeland Security hearing on Wednesday.
“We don’t have enough of a testing regime so that we do the ‘what if’s’ before we have one of these incidents,” said the Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair. “Put partial information in, and see where it goes, fix those and find those for ourselves."
According to Michael Leiter, the Director of the United States National Counterterrorism Center, new technology would allow updated search engines to recognize partial or even misspelled names
“It’s not enough to put it on the same board,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). “We have to create systems to find out how to connect the information.”
Blair said that before the Christmas Day attack, the public was pressing for a smaller no-fly list of only people of immediate concern.
“The pressure was in the other direction, shame on us for giving in to that pressure,” said Blair. “We have now greatly expanded the no-fly list. I should not have given into that pressure.”
“Who's been held accountable? Has anyone been fired? Has anyone been put on leave?” asked Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
Blair and Leiter both agreed that information is being evaluated in an extensive investigation, but no one has been fired at this moment. Department of Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano accepted partial blame for the attack.
“I am the Secretary of Homeland Security, I share responsibility for the enterprise that has to happen to prevent this from happening again,” she said.
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