She Said It

In From the Cold ^ | 27 Dec 09 | George Smiley

[LSUfan]

Let's review...a Nigerian man, who studied at a British university, becomes a radicalized Muslim. The "transformation" is so disturbing that the man's father, a prominent Nigerian banker, personally alerts the U.S. Embassy in Lagos, warning that his son may represent a potential terror threat.

Meanwhile, information obtained by the U.K. government seems to confirm the father's fears. When the former student applies for a new visa to visit Britain, his request is declined. At about the same time, the U.S.--for reasons still unclear--grants a visa to the young Nigerian.

Then, a few weeks later, American intelligence services determine that the man has ties to Al Qaida elements in Yemen. The information isn't enough to put the man on a "No Fly" list, but his name does enter a larger database of individuals with known terrorist connections.

[PGalt]

Great post. Thanks to former spook.

[bgill]

From the comments: “One is attacking us from the outside, the other is established at the highest levels of our own government. It is unclear which is the greater threat, but the combination is clearly lethal.”

[browniexyz]

Obviously, someone inside our government thinks it’s politically expedient to have terror attacks on Christmas.

[Eagle Eye]

What EXACTLY should have been done differently?

(I know that this will result in accusations against me that I’m pro terrorist or even worse, pro obama!)

If the guy didn’t meet the No Fly List criteria, should the criteria have been changed?

If so, how many others would have been included by the new criteria?

How exactly should the US ensure that foreigners are ‘properly screened’ while also ensuring that US citizens are not harrassed in foreign airports?

From personal experience, luggage going through Lagos gets a pretty thorough search, but that is probably reserved for white US citizens and not for Nigerians. Especially sons of wealthy Nigerians.

Obviously this guy slipped through the cracks.

But how does that get fixed?

Remember, we can’t even keep cell phones, weapons, and drugs out of our federal prisons, so how are we to keep them out of a free society without surrendering all our freedoms?

Full body scanners with air analyzers to detect explosive traces?

Would that do the trick?