Contrary to a new report, National Counterterrorism Chief Michael Leiter was not shushing down the slopes on Christmas Day when the Nigerian underpants bomber struck on a Detroit-bound flight. “That’s called not-so-friendly fire from the IC [intelligence community] looking for a fall guy,” says one spook at the NCTC, located in Virginia near the beltway. “[Leiter] was here to the very end of the day, like me and many, many others,” says another. The command center is staffed 24 hours 365 days a year. Read the rest of this entry »

In response to what President Obama called a “mix of human and systemic failures” within the intelligence community leading to the failed Christmas Day airline bombing plot, the White House today announced a series of steps to thwart future plots, including revamped screening of overseas airline passengers, revamped procedures for reporting on persons holding visas, and changes to the government’s terrorist watch lists. Read the rest of this entry »

As tax season gets underway, congressional Democrats are facing criticism for their failure to renew the estate tax. The tax, a levy on the wealthiest Americans, expired on the first of the year because Democrats were unable to find support for even a temporary continuation of the tax while they debated a longer-term solution. Despite assurances from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the body will approve a retroactive fix when it returns to work next month, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus called it “embarrassing” that the Democratic-controlled Congress could allow the tax to lapse. Read the rest of this entry »

The failure of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to flag Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab before he took his seat on a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit has prompted several federal reviews to ascertain what went wrong with the post-9/11 procedures specifically designed to spot potential terrorists before they attack. Meanwhile, there is renewed focus on airport security, which critics for years have bemoaned as both cumbersome and incapable of catching crafty and adaptive adversaries. Read the rest of this entry »