Napolitano concedes aviation security failed to stop attempted jetliner attack
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Seeking to contain any possible political fallout, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano shifted course this morning and agreed that the aviation security system had failed to stop a Christmas Day attempt to bring down a jetliner bound for the United States.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been charged in federal court with trying to detonate an explosive device while Northwest Airlines Flight 253 approached Detroit from Amsterdam. Authorities have said the device ignited and passengers subdued Abdulmutallab.
The plane landed safely, but there were immediate concerns about how Abdulmutallab had smuggled the device aboard the jet. There were also questions about the effectiveness of security watch lists since his father, a prominent Nigerian banker, had told authorities that his son was becoming more radicalized.
Abdulmutallab was placed on a watch list but not on a no-fly list so was able to keep a visa to travel to the United States. President Obama, vacationing in Hawaii, is expected to speak later today about the incident and has ordered an investigation.
On Sunday, Napolitano said: “One thing I’d like to point out is that the system worked.”
This morning, she clarified her comments, saying what worked was the system of notifying other flights as well as law enforcement on the ground about the incident soon after it happened. She then conceded that there had been security problems.
“Our system did not work in this instance,” Napolitano said this morning on NBC’s “Today” show. “No one is happy or satisfied with that. An extensive review is underway.”
Napolitano’s comments today came after Republicans on Sunday questioned her position.
Airport security “failed in every respect,” Rep. Peter King of (R-Long Island) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It’s not reassuring when the secretary of Homeland Security says the system worked.”
Meanwhile, a federal judge in Detroit was expected to decide today whether to grant a request by the government to obtain a DNA sample from Abdulmutallab.
-- Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal
