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CNSNews.com DHS Plans to Catch Only One in Four Travelers Committing ‘Major’ Criminal Violations While Entering U.S. on International Fights in 2010 Monday, January 04, 2010 By Terence P. Jeffrey, Editor-in-Chief Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (CNSNews.com) - Documents produced by the Department of Homeland Security indicate that in fiscal 2010 the department is planning to catch only 26 percent of travelers committing major criminal violations while seeking to enter the United States through international airports. DHS documents also indicate that the department believes it will fail to screen against law enforcement databases 15 percent of travelers entering the United...

Uh-oh. From the Homeland Security system that “worked,” we now have word that Secretary Janet Napolitano is mobilizing a broad response to the underwear bomber. As part of this security “review,” Napolitano is dispatching her deputy, Jane Holl Lute, “on a broad international outreach effort” to review security procedures with “leaders from major international airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.” Who is Jane Holl Lute? Or, more precisely, what kind of hands-on experience is presumed to qualify Lute for the serious responsibility of serving as the #2 official at Homeland Security? Why, the United Nations,...

On the Sunday talk shows, top officials and former officials from both parties expressed strong confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in the aftermath of Napolitano's statement that "the system worked" in the Detroit terrorist incident. Napolitano quickly backed down from her assertion, but the controversy over her remarks fueled questions about whether she is up to the task of running the Department of Homeland Security. Appearing on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee, was asked if Napolitano is the right person for the job. "Yes, she is," Lieberman...

The US Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency today announced that federal funds totaling $200 million has been awarded to assist organizations dedicated to feeding, sheltering, and providing critical resources to our nation's hungry and homeless. Funding was made available by Congress for the National Board of the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) to support social service agencies in more than 2,500 cities and counties across the country... EFSP grant funds are used to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.

On Christmas Day, a gentleman from Nigeria succeeded (effortlessly) in boarding a flight to Detroit with a bomb in his underwear. Pretty funny, huh? But the Pantybomber wasn’t the big joke. The real laugh was the United States government. The global hyperpower spent the next week making itself a laughingstock to the entire planet. First, the bureaucrats at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) swung into action with a whole new range of restrictions. Against radical Yemen-trained Muslims wearing weaponized briefs? Of course not. That would be too obvious. So instead they imposed a slew of constraints against you. At Heathrow...

"It came as no surprise to anyone who knows her that Napolitano handled the incident and its aftermath with aplomb. In the years I have known her, she has managed every challenge that has come her way with the same calm command that she showed in this instance. If there is anyone in the administration who embodies President Obama's preference for quiet competence with "no drama," it is Janet Napolitano."

Political furor over the attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 has thrust national security back to the center of American politics, with Republicans and the White House scrambling to blame each other for intelligence lapses and present themselves to voters as tougher on terrorism. Strategists in both parties believe that terrorism and, more broadly, foreign policy could emerge in the November midterm elections and in President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign as key issues for voters who have been focused primarily on the economy. GOP opinion leaders such as former Vice President Dick Cheney have seized on the attack to...

Congressman Peter King talks to wcbstv about security failures, and says "It would now be absolute insanity for us to be sending Guantanamo detainees, the hardest of the hard core terrorists, to Yemen... "It would be criminal negligence." (Video)

Janet Napolitano — former Arizona governor, now overmatched secretary of homeland security — will forever be remembered for having said of the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit: "The system worked." The attacker's concerned father had warned U.S. authorities about his son's jihadist tendencies. The would-be bomber paid cash and checked no luggage on a transoceanic flight. He was nonetheless allowed to fly, and would have killed 288 people in the air alone, save for a faulty detonator and quick actions by a few passengers. Heck of a job, Brownie. The reason the country is uneasy about the...

The outrage continues to build over a report from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano's department that warned of the danger of right-wing "extremists," and she raised eyebrows again this week when she suggested that the Sept. 11 hijackers entered the United States through Canada. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is under fire for what critics see as a string of gaffes, with a small but vocal group of conservatives calling for her to step down. The outrage continues to build over a report from her department that warned of the danger of right-wing "extremists," and singled out returning war veterans...

Democrats Join Calls for Napolitano to Step Down Following Failed Attack Democrats have joined the ranks of those calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago. Some Democrats have joined in calling for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to step down following the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight a week ago. Though the CIA and an agency under the Director of National Intelligence have been under particular scrutiny in the preliminary review of possible missteps, Napolitano so far has taken the most heat from...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Transportation Security Administration on Thursday dropped its subpoenas it had issued to two Internet writers in its effort to find the leaker of an airline security directive. The subpoenas were criticized by a leading journalism organization. The TSA said the investigation is "nearing a successful conclusion and the subpoenas are no longer in effect."

WASHINGTON -- Janet Napolitano -- former Arizona governor, now overmatched secretary of homeland security -- will forever be remembered for having said of the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit: "The system worked." The attacker's concerned father had warned U.S. authorities about his son's jihadist tendencies. The would-be bomber paid cash and checked no luggage on a transoceanic flight. He was nonetheless allowed to fly, and would have killed 288 people in the air alone, save for a faulty detonator and quick actions by a few passengers. Heck of a job, Brownie. The reason the country is uneasy...

The White House nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration gave Congress misleading information about incidents in which he inappropriately accessed a federal database, possibly in violation of privacy laws, documents obtained by The Washington Post show. The disclosure comes as pressure builds from Democrats on Capitol Hill for quick January confirmation of Erroll Southers, whose nomination has been held up by GOP opponents. In the aftermath of an attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day, calls have intensified for lawmakers to install permanent leadership at the TSA, a critical agency in enforcing airline security. Southers, a former FBI agent, has...

Janet Napolitano -- former Arizona governor, now overmatched secretary of homeland security -- will forever be remembered for having said of the attempt to bring down an airliner over Detroit: "The system worked." The attacker's concerned father had warned U.S. authorities about his son's jihadist tendencies. The would-be bomber paid cash and checked no luggage on a transoceanic flight. He was nonetheless allowed to fly, and would have killed 288 people in the air alone, save for a faulty detonator and quick actions by a few passengers. Heck of a job, Brownie.

The TSA announced Thursday evening that subpoenas issued against bloggers for information they published are no longer in effect. From the TSA: "TSA takes any breach in security very seriously. In light of the posting of sensitive security information on the web, TSA sought to identify where the information came from. The investigation is nearing a successful conclusion and the subpoenas are no longer in effect." Earlier: A Florida based travel-writer, Chris Elliott, is readying a legal challenge to the Transportation Security Administration's efforts to force him to disclose his source for a TSA directive he published on his blog....

Obama summons intel chiefs for Washington talks Photo 8:32pm EST By Jeff Mason KANEOHE, Hawaii (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday summoned U.S. intelligence chiefs to a meeting next week to discuss how to prevent a repeat of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25. Seeking to quell criticism of his administration over an intelligence breakdown, Obama said he was briefed by his top advisers and would get assessments from intelligence agencies later on Thursday and study them over the weekend before returning to Washington from Hawaii. Obama had ordered an immediate review of what he...

Napolitano announces international airport security campaign By Tony Romm - 12/31/09 04:30 PM ET The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it would launch a campaign next week to strengthen security screening procedures at a host of international airports. The effort is part of the White House's heightened response to a Christmas Day attempt to bomb Delta Flight 253 in Detroit, a flight that originated in Amsterdam. “As part of the ongoing review to determine exactly what went wrong leading up to Friday’s attempted terrorist attack, we are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our...

Heads are set to roll in the U.S. intelligence community as an angry Barack Obama fends off criticism over the attempted bombing of a passenger plane on Christmas Day. Publicly the White House is standing by the top spymaster in the U.S., intelligence chief Admiral Dennis Blair. The four-star admiral, who is responsible for coordinating intelligence gathering between 16 agencies, has the full confidence of the president, aides are insisting. But speculation was rife that Blair or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano could be forced to resign after Mr Obama said on Tuesday there had been a systemic failure by...

The pilots’ union at American Airlines said Wednesday that the Transportation Security Administration didn’t warn flight crews appropriately during the terrorist attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas, Dow Jones reports. The union, the Allied Pilots Association, wrote to American Airlines that “some pilots were left out of the loop” when TSA told some airlines to notify only pilots on inbound transatlantic flights, Dow Jones said. “The TSA should have mandated that information about this security event be passed on to all airborne flights,” the APA wrote. The letter seems contradict Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s comments that the...

Appearing on Laura Ingraham’s radio show earlier this month, NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd surprised the popular host by saying he believes President Obama could very well nominate Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for the Supreme Court next time a vacancy comes up. I know what you’re thinking. “That has to be a joke, right?” Sadly, I’m afraid it is not: TODD: And not a negative. On a – at the next Supreme Court opening, I betcha she gets the call… INGRAHAM (amazed): Why? TODD: Personally, he likes her probably more than any other cabinet secretary outside of [Robert]...

Two Guantanamo terrorists released in November were behind the Christmas Day attack in Detroit. Our security agencies ignored their own security measures and their own intelligence — including warnings from the terrorist’s father that his son was involved with terrorists. The chief of our Department of Homeland Security is preoccupied with covering her ass, and conferring citizenship rights on enemy combatants. Instead of throwing the enemy in the darkest possible dungeon and extracting information on the next terrorist attack, both she and her president are referring to him as an “alleged” bomber and helping him to lawyer up because after...

PHOENIX — Sen. Jon Kyl said he doesn't "feel totally safe'' with Janet Napolitano at the helm of the Department of Homeland Security, given that agency's handling of the attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner. At a press conference Tuesday, Kyl and fellow Sen. John McCain, both Republicans, detailed what they said was a breakdown of security that allowed Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab not only to board the plane but to be carrying explosives. Kyl said it was bad enough that the Nigerian got on the plane in the first place given what should have been warning signals. But in...

Some Obama defenders are sending around new articles from the Huffington Post and the Politico arguing that President Obama is being subjected to a double standard of criticism for his handling of the Detroit terrorism incident.In "Obama takes the heat President Bush did not," the Politico's Josh Gerstein writes that when shoe-bomber Richard Reid struck on December 22, 2001, "it was six days before President George W. Bush, then on vacation, made any public remarks…and there were virtually no complaints from the press or any opposition Democrats that his response was sluggish or inadequate." Now, Gerstein continues, despite "striking" similarities...

Obama seems to care more about his golf game than he does about keeping Americans safe!Let's set the table. First, a reminder of what Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (dubbed "Janet Incompetano" by Mark Steyn) said in a March interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel titled "Away from the Politics of Fear": SPIEGEL: Madame Secretary, in your first testimony to the US Congress as Homeland Security Secretary you never mentioned the word "terrorism." Does Islamist terrorism suddenly no longer pose a threat to your country?Napolitano: Of course it does. I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In...

It seems that among the many tribulations faced by our president was the matter of finding time away from the golf course to fill top positions in two federal agencies responsible for keeping terrorists off of airplanes. As in all important national security matters, Obama dithered for months before nominating prospective heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Customs and Border Protection Agency. Our senate has been far too preoccupied with its abominable health crimes legislation to bother itself with national security; an issue liberals never take seriously. Eight months into his administration, Obama at last got around...

CHUCK TODD{NBC WH correspondent}: The other one I would bet on is Janet Napolitano – INGRAHAM (with sarcasm): She’s been effective. TODD: And not a negative. On a – at the next Supreme Court opening, I betcha she gets the call. INGRAHAM: (Pause, then a low voice) Oh wait a sec. I just lost my breath. What did you say? TODD: Sorry. I know. Sorry. I’m just sayin’ -- INGRAHAM: Janet Napolitano? TODD: You asked me to bet. You asked me to bet. I would say this. She’ll get the next opening. INGRAHAM (amazed): Why? TODD : Personally, he likes...

Not a surprise, but still noteworthy: a heavy MSM hitter is now strongly suggesting that, post-NWA 253, a senior Obama admin official will be walking the plank. Say what we will of her, but Andrea Mitchell has her sources. So when the NBC correspondent declared on Morning Joe today that she suspects "somebody is either going to be resigning or forced to resign," we can pretty much take it to the [Federal Reserve?] bank. View video here.

Snips: Two federal agencies charged with keeping potential terrorists off airplanes and out of the country have been without their top leaders for nearly a year. It took the Obama administration more than eight months to nominate anyone to lead the Transportation Security Administration and the Customs and Border Protection agency. Bogged down with health care reform, the Senate has yet to set a date to hold hearings for the Customs position. And Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has placed a hold on the president's choice to head the TSA over the senator's concern that the new leader would let TSA...

If Barack Obama wants to convince America he takes the “protect and defend” portion of his oath of office seriously, it’s well past time for Janet Napolitano to go. Given the lowlights of Janet Napolitano’s brief — though perhaps too long — career at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), she appears to be a woman-caused disaster in the making for Obama. Recent statements by Napolitano on the Sunday news talk shows are at least the third strike for the secretary. One has to wonder how many strikes she’ll be given before her politics and focus, if not her actual...

Today, DHS's Napolitano's response to the crotchbomber: "We're looking to make sure that this sort of incident cannot recur." But the TSA's response to Abdulmutalib's attempt makes one thing clear: We must stop pretending the TSA is making us safer. Security expert Bruce Schneier nails the core incompetency: "For years I've been saying 'Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11]: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.'" So what has the TSA done in response to the attempted attack? They've told airlines to make passengers stay in their seats during...

On Sunday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano claimed that the attempt to blow up the Amsterdam to Detroit flight last week demonstrated that "the system worked." On NBC's "Today" show on Monday, she claimed that her comment was taken out of context, and that she agrees that the system "failed miserably." Ms. Napolitano's second attempt at honesty was just as disingenuous as the first. In her interview on Monday morning, she claimed that her reference to the system working just dealt with how security responded after the attack had been thwarted. . . .

Then says Napolitano is "totally unqualified" for the position she has,.. Homeland Securtiy Expert on Foxnews blasts the Obama Adm. and Napolitano on Hannity/Tucker Carlson tonight (Video)

I believe the terrorists must know this. They pick the flights from Amsterdam for a reason. It’s no coincidence that two different Nigerians chose to cause a ruckus on the exact same flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on two different days. Hmmm . . . did the system work? Sure doesn’t sound like it if she can’t even insist on U.S. Air Marshals on flights from Amsterdam. If they had any cojones–and even though she looks like she’s of that gender, she doesn’t–the Obama administration would have told the Dutch, “No air marshals, no flights from Amsterdam to anywhere near...

First she said "the system worked". Now, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano admits the system failed miserably, but repeatedly points out it was a system put in place while George W. Bush was President. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs made similar statements...

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...

What if Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had succeeded in detonating his bomb and had brought down Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas day? There are a few things we know:

A leaked memo sent by an oil industry group reveals a plan to create astroturf rallies at which industry employees posing as "citizens" will urge Congress to oppose climate change legislation. The memo -- sent by the American Petroleum Institute and obtained by Greenpeace, which sent it to reporters -- urges oil companies to recruit their employees for events that will "put a human face on the impacts of unsound energy policy," and will urge senators to "avoid the mistakes embodied in the House climate bill."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that airline security failed in allowing a Nigerian on a terror watch list and allegedly armed with explosives onto a Detroit-bound flight, a turnaround from her declaration a day day earlier that "the system worked." The secretary's comment Sunday was widely criticized, given that suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was foiled because his explosive mixture did not properly detonate and he was stopped in his tracks by vigilant passengers. The suspect, who carried the explosive in his underwear, passed through security at two airports -- in Nigeria and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Plus he was not...

When the interview becomes available, I'll include a link to it in this thread. The questions were excellent. See my comments below.

It took a tough question from Matt Lauer, but after having laughably claimed that "the system worked," Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano has now conceded the obvious: that the security system that permitted Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to board NWA 253 with explosives "failed miserably." On Today and in other interviews this morning, Napolitano attempted to use her own ignorance as a shield. Each time she was hit with a hard question, her response was to the effect "yeah, we're wondering about that ourselves." She also continued to point the finger back at the Bush administration, repeatedly mentioning that the security procedures...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed when a young man on a watchlist with a U.S. visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The Obama administration has ordered investigations into the two areas of aviation security — how travelers are placed on watch lists and how passengers are screened — as critics questioned how the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged in the airliner attack was allowed to board the Dec. 25 flight. A day after saying...

An al Qaeda bomber stashing explosives in his underwear cakewalked onto a US-bound airliner after averting scans on two continents -- but the federal Homeland Security chief incredibly claimed yesterday that "everything happened that should have." "This was one individual literally of thousands that fly and thousands of flights every year," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who called flying "very, very safe." "And he was stopped before any damage could be done . . . Once this incident occurred, everything happened that should have."

In post-Bush blame assignment operations. Obama-era lefties show a marked lack of cohesion and consistency on whether trying to ignite your explosive-laden underwear on a plane is a big deal or not, whether heads need to roll or not, and in which part of the fish the rots starts. News first. ABC: top Yemeni AQ bombmaker’s work. It was bigger than the shoe bomb. But this underwear bomb’s detonator failed. Apparently, this means they’ll need to see us with our pants off, one way or another. ABC again. The Times of London has more on the other way of detecting...

Goes to show Ms.Nepolitano had no idea what was going on. These two bites, from NBC and ABC are as much an indictment of the tenacity of the media as it is of the arrogance of this administration. The appearance on Meet The Press, I think, is the best of the three sound bites this morning, because she continues to step in it on multiple occasions. The Director of Homeland Security taking credit for the fast thinking and brave acting of the passengers and crew. First she claims the system that let this suspected terrorist not only on the plane...

Homeland Jan sez: "The system worked!" So in the wake of the terrorists running amok again, there's talk of new rules requiring passengers to stay seated during the last hour of the flight. This could cause some problems, though, for passengers with . . . let's say, a certain pressing need to get up and go. Things are all wee-wee'd up! The ineptitude of Team Incompetent is affecting the incontinent! And the DUmmies are not pleased, as we see in this THREAD, "I cannot stay in my seat the final hour before a flight lands!" So fasten your seat belt,...

Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, said on Sunday that there was so far no evidence of a wider terrorist plot in what federal authorities said was an attempt by a 23-year-old Nigerian man to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight on Christmas Day. But speaking on CNN’S “State of the Union,” Ms. Napolitano said that the suspect’s claimed ties to Al Qaeda were “part of the criminal justice investigation that is ongoing.” Although Ms. Napolitano said it would be “inappropriate to speculate” on such ties, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation over the weekend said that...

Well we got off easy this week at Sonoran Weekly Review. Our good buddy Angry White Dude did all the work for us, and well we agree so here it is: AWD / SWR understands the importance Hussein Hopenchange places on diversity in his administration. He has every kooky group just about covered. He checked “Incompetent Lesbian” off the list when he selected Janet Napolitano. She has been a disaster zone as Secretary of Homeland Security. Of course, she had no training or job experience that would qualify her for that position. The only thing I believe she is qualified...

WASHINGTON — Some airlines are telling passengers that new security regulations prohibit them from leaving their seats beginning an hour before landing. Air Canada said in a statement Saturday that new rules imposed by the Transportation Security Administration limit on-board activities by passengers and crew in U.S. airspace. The airline said that during the final hour of flight passengers must remain seated. They won't be allowed access to carry-on baggage or to have any items on their laps.

By now everyone knows about the attempt by a Jihadist from Nigeria to set off a bomb in an airliner above Detroit. But what many of us may not have been aware of is the fact that our nation’s transportation security systems worked just fine to prevent the terrorist from completing his Islamikaze mission. Or so says already-disgraced Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano This is just the latest in a series of incredibly stupid policies and mistakes made by this woman since she took office.