Posted on 01/04/2010 3:05:19 PM PST by Maggie Maggie Maggie
Britain told American intelligence agents more than a year ago that the Detroit bomber had links to extremists, Downing Street has announced.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named in a file of people based in Britain who had made contact with radical Muslim preachers. The file was sent to the US authorities in 2008.
The disclosure will embarrass President Barack Obama, who is already under pressure after failures by US intelligence to identify the bomber.
It will also add to concern over the state of the “special relationship” between Downing Street and the White House following last year’s dispute over the early release of the Lockerbie bomber.
It is extremely unusual for the Prime Minister’s office to comment on intelligence matters. The move could be seen as an attempt to rebuff criticism from senior American figures who claimed that Britain had nurtured Islamic extremism.
At first it was thought that MI5 gathered only limited information on Abdulmutallab and had therefore not alerted the US.
However, in an official briefing, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said that British intelligence was shared with the Americans.
He said: “Clearly there was security information about this individual’s activities and that was information that was shared with the US authorities. That is the key point.”
The spokesman added: “We are pretty certain that he was radicalised outside the UK. He [Abdulmutallab] left the UK in October 2008.
“But it is also clear that while he was here he was attempting to make contact with people and that is the intelligence we were able to secure from the intelligence services.”
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Hmm. Drip, drip, drip, drip. First we heard that MI5 knew about it. Now we’re told that they informed Washington.
There’s some talk that the intelligence people in Paris and London may get together with the CIA to embarrass Obama. They are all coming around to viewing him as the enemy—even the leftists at the CIA.
It seems that everyone knew about this guy. The difference is what was done with that info. The UK took action as they should. Our administration,,, provided a good lawyer to the guy.. Telling isn’t it?
Isn’t that strange...I was watching the news this morning & all I heard was that MI5 new about the bomber & never told the US. This was on FNC this morning.
To my post prior to this one, I would have to say that quite possibly our guys knew, but like everything else under this administration...was ignored.
The dominant left-wing media isn`t touching this with a 10ft pole.
Obama was undoubtedly informed, knew all about it and did NOTHING !
Not only nothing, less than nothing. He went snorkeling.
AHA! Bush's fault!! /s/
Oh, that's right, as the Detroit incident shows, they haven't.
In fact, it's entirely possible that the expanded intelligence bureaucracy has dissipated, not narrowed, the focus that was needed.
But the mantra “Bush’s Fault” will be the order of the day.
Cross thread reference on duplicate , good comments there
locked thread, especially post #15:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421059/posts
To: All; Rome2000; Steelfish
This might interest you:
Dr. Jack Wheeler is editor of ToThePointNews “an online geopolitical intelligence service”. He has had two parallel careers: one in the field of adventure and exploration as the owner of Jack Wheeler Expeditions; the other in the field of political and economic freedom as president of the Freedom Research Foundation. Wheeler’s articles are also published by WebNetDaily.
Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler Thursday, 30 April 2009
Paris, France. It is very cool to be a French intel guy.
A spectacular meal at a Parisian bistro with $90 entrées and a $200 bottle of Bordeaux? No problem. I’d known this fellow since he got me out of a jam in Sudan years ago. His James Bond days are over, but still, riding a desk for the DGSE – Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure (General Directorate for External Security), France’s military intel agency – in Paris has its decided benefits. One of them is not being infected with Obamamania. “My agency considers him a joke,” he confides. “Every day there is some fresh lunacy that we cannot believe.
Mr. Bush would often make us angry. But at this man we just laugh.” “In truth, it also makes us sad,” he continued. “French resentment towards America is strong, so being able to laugh at your country feels good. But it is such a sad and strange thing to see America – America The Great! – do something so crazy as to elect this ridiculous man.” “There are many people in America who think he isn’t a legitimate president as he wasn’t born in the US and isn’t a natural citizen. What do you think?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had reason to make an inquiry.” “There are a lot of people convinced he is a traitor who hates America and is actively determined to destroy it. Any opinion on that?” He didn’t shrug at this. After a long slow sip of wine, he mused, “I would not go that far. Many of his actions, however, are very puzzling because they are so counter-productive regarding America’s best interests. There seems to be a consistent pattern in that direction.”
“What does Sarkozy think of him?” “Nothing but contempt.” After a pause he asked, “And Langley?” “Well, if you thought the war they waged against Bush was intense, it was nothing compared to how they’re going to screw Obama. He has tried to gut them with the ‘torture memo’ release and slashing their budgets. The morale is depressed, sullen, and enraged. You know what a left-wing outfit Langley is.
They thought he was their boy and they feel betrayed. All kinds of damaging stuff on him will be appearing via their media friends.” He nodded. “And in Tel Aviv City?” He was referring to the huge underground city complex of Langley’s underneath the US Embassy in the Israeli capital. “That’s an interesting question. You know how vast and deep the relationship is there.
Langley is making every effort to overcome the total and massive distrust their Israeli colleagues have for Obama, whom they know is selling them down the Jordan River. So far though this effort is in words. The Israelis are waiting to see what Langley does.” He said nothing. I smiled. “You guys wouldn’t be Langley’s cutout for thwarting BO regarding Israel, would you? I’d never suspect that…” He continued to say nothing, gave me only a slight smile in return, and poured me another glass of wine.
“The Bordeaux is good, yes?” I nodded. “You know, the French media worships this man the same as yours in the US. All of this ‘100 days’ talk, it is impossibly stupid. Most anyone in the French elite, the business leaders, Sarko’s people, they all know this.
They all think this is some crazy joke of the Americans. But it is a very, very dangerous joke. For 100 days your president has been a laughingstock among the tout le monde of Paris. No one may be laughing 100 days or 10 months from now.”
He leaned forward. “The world can go – how do you say – sideways with this man very quickly. No one he has working for him knows what they are doing – possibly excepting Mrs. Clinton – and he certainly does not. All of us in our little community are worried – us, our friends in Berlin, London, Tel Aviv, and Langley too as you say. It is not like the barbarians at the gates. It is every barbarian horde in the world being told there are no gates. The Somalis, Chavez, Iran, Putin, Beijing, the ‘Norks” as you call them, the list is long and it is growing.
We are not sure what to do.” It took me a moment to respond. “The best thing that has happened now is Obama making Langley his enemy. They will be cooperating with you more, be more a part of your worried community. Working together, you can undermine his efforts more effectively, block and maybe even repair the damage.”
It was my turn to lean forward. “Then again, all together you could be more pro-active. The man is a mystery. Nobody can make public his actual birth certificate, or even the particular hospital he was born in, or his college grades, or how he got into Harvard, or how he made editor of the Harvard Law Review and never wrote a single article for it. It goes on and on. He really is a Zero. I think all of you guys should find all of this out and make it known.” I added, “The quicker the better, before the laughing stops and the real dangers begin.”
“What is that phrase you use?” he asked. “Something to consider?” I laughed. “Yes, there is much to consider – and much that you can do. I mean, really, if the Soviet Union could be dismantled, so can this presidency.”
It was a beautiful April afternoon in Paris. He walked me back to my hotel. It could be that the times we live in may get even more interesting.
15 posted on Monday, January 04, 2010 9:41:06 PM by 2ndDivisionVet (I will raise $2 million for Sarah Palin: What will you do?)
MI5 has clearly had enough of this assclown in the White House.
I'm guessing that DVD selection didn't impress.
*bookmark*
Mmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmm.
Our ‘intelligence’ could learn a thing or five about terrorism from MI5.....
BUSH’s FAULT!!
LOL...just ruined my computer screen...thanks :)
IF it is true, then why was this person not on the NO FLY list?
If it is untrue, OR if it is TRUE, why would MI5 ever leak to the press about it?
WHAT, pray tell, is your take on this story?
I mean... this is really worrisome, if you take the story simply at face value, then it seems to infer that ... they .... wanted???? this to occur, as they obviously should have known all about it..
HUH?
Payback. Obama has really pissed off the people in the UK.
Do they have the power to do anything other than mildly embarress him?
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