“The terrorist plot to bring down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 exposed a near-catastrophic failure at every level of our government.  News reports suggest our government had intelligence in hand that this attack was coming, yet did not piece together all the information and take the necessary actions to prevent it.  The system clearly did not work, and I’m glad the President finally acknowledged that yesterday.

“Just as troubling is the Administration’s treatment of this matter as a mere law enforcement issue.  We’re fighting a war on terror, and this was a terrorist act.  Our first priority should be gaining intelligence to help prevent the next attack.  The threat we face is real, and we don’t need to downplay it.  We need to do a better job of connecting the dots and putting in place a homeland security and intelligence plan that helps prevent future attacks before they ever get off the ground.  We know al Qaeda is plotting more attacks, and our security depends on gaining critical intelligence and connecting those dots.

“The Administration’s response following this attempted attack is consistent with its dangerous decision to close the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay and bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 terrorists to trial in the United States through civilian courts, rather than the military commissions already in place.  We know the decision to close this prison has not stopped al Qaeda from plotting attacks on Americans, turning these terrorists over to other countries is not working, and we shouldn’t import them into the United States.  It’s time for the President to halt terrorist transfers to other countries, including Yemen, and to reevaluate his decision to close the prison at Guantanamo.

“All year long, Republicans have asked the question: what is this Administration’s overarching strategy to confront the terrorist threat and keep America safe?  The American people deserve answers to this question, and Republicans will push for the type of aggressive oversight to give them confidence that their government is doing everything it can to detect and stop future attacks, rather than just responding to them after they happen.”

####

“The details surrounding Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s attempt to kill hundreds of Americans on Northwest Flight 253 amount to what is a phenomenal breach of security.  This al Qaeda operative offered no shortage of red flags, but none caught the eye of intelligence and security officials.  Reports indicated that the laundry list of warning signs includes Mr. Abdulmutallab, who was on the terrorist watch list, buying a one-way ticket with cash, not checking any luggage, and boarding the flight without a passport.   Most shocking, his father told the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, weeks ago, that his son had been radicalized and is dangerous.

“The fact that this security breach occurred in such a brazen way means that there was a level of significant incompetence involved, and I believe that rests solely on the shoulders of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.  After serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee for the last 25 years, I can say with certainty that Secretary Napolitano does not have the background or experience necessary to execute her responsibilities.  Her bizarre remarks on Sunday were the final straw in a series of embarrassing and incompetent comments this year.   By saying ‘the system worked,’ Secretary Napolitano has undermined the confidence of Americans.

“The ‘system’ most assuredly did not work. This is the second time in two months that obvious warning signs were ignored, enabling an attack. The system is broken and regardless of the White House forcing Secretary Napolitano to go on an apology tour, I believe the only course of action is for the Secretary to either resign or be replaced with someone competent and able to protect the lives of the American people.  The American people must have confidence in their government’s ability to combat the constant threat of terrorism.

“Finally, I have learned from Republicans on the relevant committees that the Obama Administration has once again stonewalled them from information about the attack on Flight 253.  With the Administration also excluding Republicans from information about the Ft. Hood shooting, a dangerous pattern of politicizing intelligence information has emerged.  This is an irresponsible and petty tactic, which has prevented the whole Congress from working to augment our national security efforts.”

###

Full implementation of common sense immigration polices are vital to ensuring the safety of not only air passengers, but of all U.S. citizens. However, instead of strengthening identification requirements, the Department of Homeland Security recently extended the deadline for states to comply with REAL ID. REAL ID is the federal law requiring that driver’s licenses and other government issued identity documents meet certain security standards to ensure that they are not abused by terrorists and other criminals. This postponement effectively terminates implementation indefinitely and is the direct result of DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s support of PASS ID, which would repeal many of the key national security and immigration enforcement provisions established by REAL ID and recommended by the 9-11 Commission.

PASS ID will essentially re-establish many of the security and immigration loopholes that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to carry out their attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

New Asylum Detention Policy Jeopardizes National Security

On Wednesday, December 16, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that it will stop detaining aliens seeking asylum as “part of ICE’s ongoing immigration detention reform efforts.” Under the new policy, aliens who show up at the U.S. border without proper documentation but claim asylum will immediately be eligible for parole into the U.S. if they have a credible fear of persecution or torture and are not considered a danger or flight risk.

Under current ICE policy, aliens who come to United States without documentation and request asylum are detained until immigration officials have determined whether the alien’s asylum claim is legitimate. This process sought to promote national security by giving federal officials time to screen asylum applications before releasing applicants into the general public.

Federal officials began to take detention of asylum applicants more seriously after discovering that immigration officers cleared Ramzi Yousef into the country after he entered the United States at JFK airport on September 1, 1992, without travel documents and applied for asylum. He then began organizing the first attack on the World Trade Center and fled the country after the blast.

According to FAIR Director of Special Projects Jack Martin, the policy is “irresponsible because it rewards illegal entry” and “dangerous because there is no check on the identity of the traveler.” Martin concluded that the revisions would serve as “a green light to Al Qaeda.”

Democratic Support for Amnesty Bill Grows

As the Obama administration continues to dismantle meaningful immigration enforcement, Democrats in Congress are flocking to Rep. Louis Gutierrez’s mass amnesty legislation. The recent breaches in our national security call into question the feasibility of doing background checks on 13 million illegal aliens. It’s a shear impossibility and would dilute valuable law enforcement resources from the mission of homeland security.

See if your congressman is co-sponsoring the House Democrats amnesty bill H.R. 4321 by going to www.steinreport.com/archives/013052.html

To arrange an interview with FAIR spokespersons Bob Dane or Ira Mehlman please contact: Dustin Carnevale 202-328-7004.

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the oldest and largest immigration reform group in America. FAIR fights for immigration policies that enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs and wages and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

“I implore you again to immediately halt these releases and answer the questions of the American people about your policies and who you are releasing.  They deserve to know,” Wolf wrote in a letter dated today to President Obama.  “It is inconceivable that you would release terrorist detainees to Yemen and Afghanistan at the same time you are launching missiles at terrorist targets.  Please stop these releases.”

Wolf, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 omnibus appropriations legislation that would have required unclassified notifications about impending detainee releases, but the measure was defeated along party lines at the urging of the White House.

“Your administration has a moral obligation to release the names and information – including threat analyses – about those your administration has released,” Wolf wrote.

Wolf also has called on the administration to publicly release the updated Defense Intelligence Agency report on terrorist recidivism following former Guantanamo detainees.

“I have read the classified biographies of the detainees to be released.  They are dangerous people.  I am troubled by every one of the detainees who is being sent back,” Wolf said.

Below is the complete text of Wolf’s letter to the president today.  Copies of earlier letters are attached and can also be found online wolf.house.gov/oversight.

December 29, 2009

The Honorable Barack H. Obama

The President

The White House

Washington DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I have sent you and your administration the five enclosed letters since October 1 urging you not to release additional detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Yemen and other dangerously unstable countries.  In light of U.S. attacks against al Qaeda in Yemen on December 17 and 24 that reportedly targeted at least one former Guantanamo detainee, I again implore you to immediately halt these releases.

The Washington Post on December 27 reported that “Yemeni al Qaeda branch is [a] magnet for jihadists.” On the same day, the New York Times stated, “Al Qaeda’s profile in Yemen rose sharply a year ago, when a former Guantanamo Bay detainee from Saudi Arabia, Said Ali al-Shihri, fled to Yemen to join Al Qaeda and appeared in a video posted online.  Several other former Guantanamo detainees have also joined the group.”  Al Qaeda agents in Yemen also have played pivotal roles in attacks against the U.S., including the radicalization of alleged Northwest Airlines terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, alleged Fort Hood terrorist Major Nidal Hasan, and the June 1 killing of a soldier in Little Rock, Arkansas.  How many other Westerners or dual passport holders are currently in Yemen that may be exposed to similar radicalization?

It is unconscionable that your administration would release terrorist detainees back into the clutches of al Qaeda in Yemen, Somaliland and Afghanistan as was done earlier this month.  These dangerous detainees were released under a cloak of secrecy and the American people were not informed until these individuals walked free.  Your administration still has not provided information on their past terrorist activities.  These releases are reckless and the administration’s continued concealment is a danger to the security of America.

According to published reports, at least one detainee released to Somaliland (which the U.S. does not formally recognize), Mohammed Soliman Barre, has a close personal relationship with Osama bin Laden and another released to Afghanistan, Abdul Hafiz, was implicated in a brutal murder of a Red Cross worker in 2003.  Additionally, ABC News reported that “two of the four leaders behind the al Qaeda plot to blow up a Northwest Airlines passenger jet over Detroit were released from Guantanamo prison in November 2007.”  The detainees that were released during the Bush Administration were considered to be a lower security risk than the detainees that have been released this year.  If lower threat detainees have returned to terrorist activities in such high numbers, one must assume that the remaining detainees, if released, pose a significant security threat to the U.S.

Earlier this month, I offered an amendment to the fiscal year 2010 omnibus appropriations legislation that would have required unclassified notifications about impending detainee releases.  Unfortunately, my amendment was defeated along party lines at the urging of the White House.  Your administration has a moral obligation to release the names and information — including threat analyses — about those your administration has released. Your administration also should publicly release the updated Defense Intelligence Agency report on terrorist recidivism following former Guantanamo detainees.  I have read the classified biographies of the detainees to be released.  They are dangerous people.  I am troubled by every one of the detainees who is being sent back.

I implore you again to immediately halt these releases and answer the questions of the American people about your policies and who you are releasing.  They deserve to know.  It is inconceivable that you would release terrorist detainees to Yemen and Afghanistan at the same time you are launching missiles at terrorist targets.  Please stop these releases.

Sincerely,

Frank R. Wolf

Member of Congress

For Immediate Release

December 29, 2009

Contact: Dan Scandling

Jennifer Allen

(202) 225-5136

###

When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was placed on the British government’s watch list in May 2009 and banned from entering the country, the U.S. embassy in London (and by extension the U.S. State Department), as well as U.S. intelligence agencies, were notified of this move as part of information-sharing agreements entered into by a number of Western governments after the September 11, 2001 attacks, says a U.S. State Department employee on the condition of anonymity because of concern that by speaking about the situation, their job could be endangered.  Get full story here from the American Spectator.