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CIA, Counterterrorism Execs Managed Bomb Crisis from Afar
CBS ^ | Thursday January 7, 2010 | Daniel Farber

Posted on 01/07/2010 8:03:37 PM PST by Bigtigermike

It could be said that the U.S. government can run by remote control. On the day that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a Northwest airline flight headed for Detroit, several key government players were on holiday and didn't immediately return to their posts in Washington, D.C.

President Obama was on vacation in Hawaii, golfing and enjoying time with his family. He returned to the White House on Jan. 4.

A source told CBS News that Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, was on holiday in Monterey, Calif. when Abdulmutallab was apprehended, and didn't return to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. until the weekend following Jan. 1.he CIA maintained that Panetta's absence from Langley was not a problem. "While we don't comment on the Director's whereabouts, wherever he is—and at every moment of every day—he has the ability to communicate instantly and securely with anyone he needs to be in touch with," a CIA spokesman said.

In addition, Stephen Kappes, CIA deputy director, reportedly didn't see the need to return to CIA headquarters from his vacation despite the major intelligence community failure. He returned to Washington, D.C. just after the Khost bombing on Dec. 30 that killed seven CIA officers.

And, the White House has been busy today putting its support behind National Counterterrorism Director Michael Leiter, who decided it would be acceptable to go on a six-day vacation with his 7-year-old son the day after Abdulmutallab's attempted bombing.

John Brennan, the president's chief counterterrorism adviser, said he authorized Leiter to take the vacation time after concluding that Leiter had a "full complement" of people and deputies to deal with the situation and that he "deserved" the vacation.

Denis McDonough, National Security Staff Chief of Staff, chimed in that Leiter's vacation "did not affect in any way his ability to remain engaged with all elements of the United States Government."


TOPICS: Breaking News; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 20091230; 201001; 20100104; albalawi; bhochristmas; bhocia; cia; detroit; flight253; khost; khostbombing; nationalsecurityfail; nss; obama; panetta; terrorism; vacations; waronterror
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1 posted on 01/07/2010 8:03:39 PM PST by Bigtigermike
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To: Bigtigermike

What a collection of fools.

God help us all.


2 posted on 01/07/2010 8:08:47 PM PST by Yossarian
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To: Bigtigermike

Man, I wish I had a government gig...raises every year, virtually impossible to get fired, great health plan, terrific retirement...and apparently they close the shop for Christmas!


3 posted on 01/07/2010 8:09:35 PM PST by clintonh8r (Proud member of America's "cadre of prickly conservatives.")
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To: Bigtigermike
He probably left his work shoes at home.

'Smart' would be a good way to describe the way we've been prosecuting this way, as in Get Smart !
4 posted on 01/07/2010 8:10:54 PM PST by jmcenanly
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To: Bigtigermike

While the comments on the CBS site are few, they are not favorable to the One. The tide cannot turn fast enough.


5 posted on 01/07/2010 8:11:57 PM PST by fullchroma (Obama: GET OUT OF MY DOCTOR'S OFFICE!)
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To: Yossarian

A ship of fools....I mind you!


6 posted on 01/07/2010 8:12:32 PM PST by Bigtigermike (Loose lips sink ships, stay away RINO's)
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To: Bigtigermike
The apparatchiks are on a permanent vacation.

If the sheeple had any idea of what the Washingtonians were up to, there would be hell to pay.

Fortunately for the leftists, the propagandists in the press are providing cover.

Mussolini swing time

7 posted on 01/07/2010 8:12:56 PM PST by Rome2000 (OBAMA IS A COMMUNIST CRYPTO-MUSLIM)
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To: Bigtigermike; maggief; onyx; STARWISE

So who is going to ask the question?

Why was everyone avoiding DC that week?
I am not buying the fact that we narrowly escape another terrorist attack and NO ONE returned to DC?????

What are they not telling us?
Was DC a target?
Did we dodge a bigger bullet?


8 posted on 01/07/2010 8:15:14 PM PST by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Bigtigermike

Not a problem because Obama & Co. are democrats. President Bush was critcized every time he went to his own home in Texas. That’s different.


9 posted on 01/07/2010 8:16:52 PM PST by jennyjenny
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To: Bigtigermike
I just posted this:

Eager young recruit, a father to be and man in charge among CIA dead ( Afghanistan bombing )

10 posted on 01/07/2010 8:17:02 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

I didn’t think of that like that!! You might be on to something!


11 posted on 01/07/2010 8:21:24 PM PST by Bigtigermike (Loose lips sink ships, stay away RINO's)
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To: NormsRevenge; Grampa Dave; SierraWasp; Marine_Uncle; BIGLOOK; onyx; SunkenCiv; blam; ...

This should count as the third strike on Obama!


12 posted on 01/07/2010 8:22:04 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Bigtigermike

And in California, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, had over ten agents out in force on XMAS Day writting citations to homeowners for lighting their fireplaces on a no-burn day.


13 posted on 01/07/2010 8:23:33 PM PST by umgud (I couldn't understand why the ball kept getting bigger......... then it hit me.)
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To: All

CIA bomb in Afghanistan counts as one of the strikes.


14 posted on 01/07/2010 8:23:41 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights; maggief; SE Mom; STARWISE

It was Christmas Day and Christmas week.

All of obama’s deeply religious department heads were solemnly celebrating the birth of our Savior, either at home or in Church with their families or on ski slopes or in the warm Hawaiian surf.

How could we possibly expect these people to abandon their vacations to tend to our nation’s security in time of war when the punk-in-chief would 3 days later claim it was an “isolated failed attack by an extremist” and his homeland security chieftan, assured us that “all systems worked”?

Personally, I think punk-in-chief was all set to blame DOS (Hillary) and CIA (Panetta) today, but Bill Clinton interceded to warn him that he’d better not or all hell would break loose.


15 posted on 01/07/2010 8:26:21 PM PST by onyx
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To: Bigtigermike

Bigtigermike Am I going crazy? Was this thread once named
“ CIA Panetta Was Also on Vacation”?

It does some serious damage to my brain when the title is change when I am posting a comment...


16 posted on 01/07/2010 8:26:52 PM PST by Protect the Bill of Rights
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

So who is going to ask the question?

Why was everyone avoiding DC that week?

I am not buying the fact that we narrowly escape another terrorist attack and NO ONE returned to DC?????

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Good questions. And why are Senators and Reps resigning en masse? They know DC is a target, and it’s only a matter of time before we get hit there again. The muzzies have to avenge the failure of Flight 73, the one that was taken down by passengers in Pennsylvania. They will take another shot at the Capitol and the WH, and soon.


17 posted on 01/07/2010 8:28:12 PM PST by Palladin (Obama as President? "Totally unacceptable.")
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights

Yes it was...I’m sure a moderator changed it...


18 posted on 01/07/2010 8:28:36 PM PST by Bigtigermike (Loose lips sink ships, stay away RINO's)
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights
What are they not telling us? Was DC a target? Did we dodge a bigger bullet?

I think you give them too much credit for actually having a plan. The simpler, and more likely explanation can be drawn from simple observation of how these people operate. They're arrogant and clueless. They figured it would all be contained under the "isolated, failed incident" banner, and it wouldn't be a big deal. It was only when they were blindsided by the reaction (and I think they truly were)did they finally start trickling back in to DC. They really are that inept and clueless. They have tin ears and no innate grasp of how America sees things. The only thing they really know how to do is campaign and feel important.

Since none of them know what they're doing at their posts anyway, and are totally reliant on the career drones to just keep things going, there's a certain perverse logic to their rationale of finishing out the vacation.

19 posted on 01/07/2010 8:29:07 PM PST by Eroteme
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To: Protect the Bill of Rights
Why was everyone avoiding DC that week?

That's a very interesting question...

20 posted on 01/07/2010 8:30:12 PM PST by mplsconservative
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