With Another Security Failure; It is Now Time To Demand Security Measures Be Re-Assessed

On December 25th, 23 year old Nigerian, Umaru Farouk Abdul Mutallab attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members flying from Amsterdam to Detroit. Mr. Mutallab was not on any "no-fly" list, but was placed on a US intelligence database; the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment list, which is maintained by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. This list includes about 550,000 names. includes people with known or suspected contact and/or ties to a terrorist or terrorist organization. People on that list are not necessarily on the no-fly list. Mr. Mutallab had not been placed on a U.S. watch list or a no-fly list, in spite of:

Mr. Mutallab's father Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former minister and chairman of First Bank in Nigeriahad and was said to have reported his activities to the US embassy in Abuja as well as Nigerian security agencies due to his son's extreme Islamic views.

Mr. Mutallab was barred from entering the U.K. in May after he reportedly tried to dupe officials into letting him in the country to study at a bogus college.

Mr. Mutallab's ticket, which cost $2,831, paid in cash and left no contact information.

Mr. Mutallab checked no bags and carried only a shoulder bag.

How many more red flags did Mr. Mutallab need to set off for the DHS, the CIA and the FBI to have taken this suspect seriously?

For whatever reason, Mr. Mutallab was in possession of a valid U.S. visa. What in the world does it take to have a U.S. visa pulled, anyway?

Oh, and by the way, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano considers this all a great big success; saying that “the system worked.” In what twisted logic is this horrendous near miss that came so frighteningly close to being pulled off, any sort of a validation of our present system? Just stunning.

With our country's security being led by such dimwits as Napolitano, it is time that the citizens of the U.S. demand that our representatives move to call for more stringent security measures. Whole body imaging scanners are now being used in some airports throughout the U.S. in 20 cities. What is needed, obviously would be scanners placed in all international terminals whose final destinations are the United States. What we found out on Christmas Day in Detroit was that the terrorists have found a way around all other scanning methods. And while we are at it, how about armed U.S. Marshals on all incoming international flights.

It is time for all of us to demand these changes now. With the pathetic Napolitano heading Homeland Security, it is only a matter of time until the enemy achieves a successful attack. The terrorists have found our Achilles's heel; we are all at risk.