Lapses Allowed Suspect to Board Plane (How many other Taliban have they "lost track" of?)

ny times ^ | 5/4/2010 | Scott Shane

[tobyhill]

Why was Faisal Shahzad permitted to board a flight for Dubai some 24 hours after investigators of the Times Square terrorism case learned he might be connected to the attempted bombing?

Though Mr. Shahzad was stopped before he could fly away, there were at least two significant lapses in the security response of the government and the airline that allowed him to come close to making his escape, officials of the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies said on Tuesday.

First, an F.B.I. surveillance team that had found Mr. Shahzad in Connecticut lost track of him — it is not clear for how long — before he drove to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, the officials said. As a result, investigators did not know he was planning to fly abroad until a final passenger list was sent to officials at the federal Customs and Border Protection agency minutes before takeoff.

[mlocher]

Guess there's difference between those that want to defend and those that want to become part of the entrenched and privileged bureaucracy.

One has a definite mission with specific goals. The paper pushers do not get to exert creativity -- just follow the rules and ensure others private folks do to.

‘I'm from the government and I'm here to help.’

I have been hearing it for 30 years and I still get a chuckle every time I read it.

[purplelobster]

Barry fumbles again. Rather than just admit that he screwed up again he gets out the teleprompter and blames the airline. Barry’s need to present himself as infallible is the overriding concern. His bumbling reaction to this is much like his bumbling reaction to the oil spill, where he takes no steps to fix the problem, but simply enjoys pointing the trademark Barry Guilty Finger of Shame.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Congressman Peter King was said on FOX News today that someone in the Obama Administration had leaked the identity of the suspect to the press while he was at large. This probably alerted the suspect and caused him to evade the surveillance. King said the FBI should investigate who leaked this information. Eric Holder has 10 or 12 lawyers he hired who have all represented terrorists. Napalitano—because of the oil spill and Christmas Day bomb plot—is in a political position where she needs to curry favor from the news media.