Posted on 01/05/2010 12:15:16 PM PST by libh8er
The White House has accused Downing Street of making a mistake over allegations that Britain told American intelligence agents more than a year ago that the Detroit bomber had links to extremists.
The Prime Minister's spokesman had indicated that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was named in a file of people based in Britain who had made contact with radical Muslim preachers. The file was said to have been sent to the US authorities in 2008.
However, White House sources disputed the Downing Street account, stating that it was a mistake and no such intelligence information was passed by Britain before the attempted Christmas Day attacks. The White House declined to respond officially.
The news comes as Barack Obama prepares to unveil plans aimed at thwarting future attacks as he seeks to limit political fallout from the incident.
He will outline an initial series of changes, including enhancements to the much-criticised "watchlists" of terrorism suspects, after he meets with intelligence chiefs and other top security advisers on Tuesday, first full day back from his Hawaii vacation, an administration official said.
The implication that the US failed to act could embarrass President Barack Obama, who is already under pressure after failures by US intelligence to identify the bomber.
A British official also backed claims that there appeared to have been a misunderstanding about what Downing Street had said: “There is nothing to stand up the suggestion that the UK provided information to the US that it could or should have acted upon.”
Diplomatic sources said that the Prime Minister’s spokesman had intended to refer to information gleaned by MI5 after the Christmas Day incident following an exhaustive examination of records going back through Abdulmutallab’s time in Britain up to October 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Not Bush’s Fault? That’d be a new one....
Sorry but the O administration has banned finger-pointing.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421610/posts
I'm sure the Obama WH meant to say that #10 acted "stupidly".
Par for the course: White House calls our closest ally a liar.
WOW if the implications weren’t so severe this would actually be funny. As it is I have to wonder what the body count will be from this group of incompetents.
“White House accuses Downing Street of making ‘a mistake’ over intelligence claim”
These guys sure know how to cultivate better relations with our enemies and put our friends on defense...oh, wait...should it be the other way around?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2421610/posts
What happened to WH: No more Finger Pointing?
Pathetic
So far the no-fly list is working. They’ve banned a 12yo girl from flying because she has the same name as an Irish terrorist member ... Sean Kelly .... more here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Kelly_(Irish_republican)
Just when you think you couldn’t make your friends hate you more...
So everyone in the US government is free to point their fingers at the Brits. It's all their bloody fault that this happened. < /Obama mode>
Yellowcake, anyone? Maybe Obama can send Joe and Valerie to England to investigate!
OBAMA IS AN INCOMPETENT FOOL.
OBAMA IS A LIAR.
NO DETAILS AT 11.
a beer summit’s not gonna heal that breach
Apparently they haven't read the post yet...
The most open administration in history
(C-Span banned.......)
I believe Obama.
not
Obama: when in doubt, insult the Brits.
Early this morning I think I heard a very strange story on NPR, presenting this story as though the Brits had withheld info from the WH --- because the Brits initial info was that the father of Underpantie Bomber had gone to the American Embassey, so MI5 presumed that the U.S. was already totally aware of this jihadist martyr-wannabe loser.
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