Posted on 05/07/2012 10:30:31 PM PDT by lbryce
The U.S. thwarted a bomb plot by al Qaeda's Yemeni branch aimed at bringing down a jetliner with a more advanced version of an underwear bomb used in a failed 2009 Christmas Day attempt, officials said Monday.
The Central Intelligence Agency, working with foreign security services, was able to seize the bombwhich they believed was intended for a U.S.-bound flightbefore the would-be suicide bomber was able to move ahead with his plot, officials said. Because the plot was headed off in its early stages, officials said the effort never represented a threat to Americans or to U.S. allies, nor did airlines face a direct threat.
The bomb was "viable," a senior U.S. counterterrorism official said. The official added that it probably would have gone off but it did have some flaws that may have impacted its ability to detonate properly. The Federal Bureau of Investigation now has the bomb and is analyzing its makeup. The agency hopes to better understand tactics being employed by the al Qaeda affiliate that U.S. officials say poses the greatest danger to the U.S.
The CIA thwarted a plot by al Qaeda to bomb a U.S.-bound plane last week around the one-year anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta refused to comment on the specifics of the operation, but said the U.S. must remain vigilant in the face of terror.
It wasn't clear late Monday whether federal authorities had the alleged plotter in custody and U.S. officials wouldn't say whether the suspect is still alive.
A senior administration official suggested that intelligence gathered during the investigation helped lead to what Yemeni officials have described as an apparent U.S. drone strike Sunday that killed a top al Qaeda operative, Fahd al-Quso.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
The dark lord would not lead us astray now would he? I thought the Overseas Contingency Operation was successful and we are now terror free.
Never, ever, give government power not described in detail by the US Constitution and the Federalist Papers as once given to them they will never relinquish it.
Electing this POS has proved once and for all diversity will be our demise and certainly not our strength. You cannot add millions of weak minds in some cases from countries with no knowledge of flush toilets and expect the country to advance.
It is like introducing weeds into a garden and expecting the garden to do better. We need some serious weeding out of our diversity.
Superbama does it again! Wait until he goes on tv to thank himself.
His magic underwear didn’t set the world on fire.
I wonder what the over/under is for terror plots foiled by the bho administration between now and November. Not that I’m a jaded cynic about these things...I’m just wondering.
CAN NONE OF THOSE FOOLS KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT AND STOP LEAKING INTEL??? Or is this an official “unofficial” leak to alter the news cycle?
What if that “underwear bomb” was created by the same guy that created the fake birth certificate? I don’t think it’s real. And I think a lot of fake BS is in the wings being readied to scare stupid people into voting for this communist. This is just the first of many fakes that will be exposed but unable to be vetted.
I guess I'm cynical too because that idea doesn't even make the needle on my skeptical meter twitch. In fact with 0baMao it makes more sense than not having "plots" on ice.
The kind of bomb that the FBI sells to OWS knuckleheads isn’t a threat to anyone. For one.
“This is just the first of many fakes that will be exposed but unable to be vetted.”
Expect them at regular intervals until the election.
As it turns out this story is false- it's not a CIA op it was a british & Saudi op involving a Yemeni man with dual citizenship. The WH apparently leaked it shortly after the Brits informmed the US and the agent barely got out of Yemen in time.
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