Top Terror Official Remained On Ski Slopes After Attempted Bombing Until Several Days After Christmas
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, January 7, 2010, 5:23 AM
The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats remained on the ski slopes after the attempted Christmas terror bombing over Detroit. He didn’t return to work until several days after Christmas.
The New York Daily News reported:
The top official in charge of analyzing terror threats did not cut short his ski vacation after the underwear bomber nearly blew up an airliner on Christmas Day, the Daily News has learned.
Michael Leiter, director of the National Counterterrorism Center since 2007, decided not to return to his agency’s “bat cave” nerve center in McLean, Va., until several days after Christmas, two U.S. officials said.
“People have been grumbling that he didn’t let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation,” said one of the sources.
The NCTC, the post-9/11 clearinghouse for intelligence to detect terror plots against the U.S., is under intense scrutiny for failing to “connect the dots” on Nigerian bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
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Published May 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm - 59 Comments
daryl commented:
Why shouldn’t he stay on vacation? You didn’t see Obama getting excited and coming back to Washington, did you?
Guy on a plane sets his shorts on fire, burns his who-ha. So what’s the big deal?
Corporal Vere commented:
What’s wrong with that?
President Ramadan H. Obama’s was playing golf in Hamasaii until yesterday.
I bet prez NAMBLA hasn’t even read one the man’s terrorist analyses or acted on one recommendation. Not important!
Why bother when your job isn’t considerd useful?
daryl commented:
One more thing;
Leiter wasn’t needed to read the guy his Miranda warning…………
mike191 commented:
This person will be the fall guy for President44.Moreover, he is a Bush appointment and the” Blame Bush” narrative will be the template for Obama and the press .
Betsy Ross commented:
Oooooh No……let’s not point fingers or make anyone accountable……we’ll just keep people who don’t know what they are doing in charge….yeah, that’s the ticket.
PS, wake me up when this nightmare is over : (
Huey commented:
I wasn’t a big fan of Bush bashing when he went on (stayed on/didn’t interrupt/whatever) his vacation when something happened.
Something always happens.
Few things happen which require the hands-on control of the big boss, whether it’s Bush, Obama, or Leiter, and fewer things happen which, if some “leadership” is required, can’t be handled via electronic communications.
If this is true (that most of today’s “emergencies” can be handled without interrupting one’s vacation), then why the “outrage” (from both sides)? Is it a style versus substance thing, where Leiter (or Obama or Bush) must APPEAR to be “in charge” for the consumption of the rubes?
TaSS commented:
Huey writes:
“Something always happens.”
I might agree with you BUT how was the U.S. sure this was an isolated incident and not a string of coordinated attacks? Were they SURE we could wait several days for reaction in the height of the Christmas travel season?
daryl commented:
Huey said
“Few things happen which require the hands-on control of the big boss,”
Then why pay those guys those huge salarys and bonuses?
Dante commented:
Its grounds for a resignation. Is he so out of touch that powder is more important than the safety of Americans? Apparently so.
Baxter Greene commented:
“People have been grumbling that he didn’t let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation,” said one of the sources.
……
……..and neither did Obama,smart power in action.
….But they snapped administration officials and their enablers in the press to action within hours after Cheney made his comments about Obama “not acting like we were at war”……..
………..Priorities you know……priorities….
olm commented:
There is no one concerned about terror threats except us little guys who will be the ones killed when one of these Islamic idiots succeed.
Little Johnny commented:
TaSS #9
You’re all around it. The thing is he WASN’T sure it was an isolated incident. Since he was on vacation with his family, he was probably flying commercial rather than on a Gov’t plane. He waited a few days to see if anything else happened before he flew HIS family home. It was safe for YOUR family to fly, but not HIS family.
Betsy Ross commented:
To Huey,
It was EPIC failure for NCTC not to connect dots that were SO huge even a blind person could spot them. It doesn’t matter if Leiter was on vacay or sitting at his desk, he didn’t do his job. But, Oh Nooo, we can’t point fingers or make anyone accountable, they will keep the same ineffective people in charge….
oldguy commented:
We elect people to ride herd on the bureaucracys but it appears the reverse has happened.
narciso commented:
It comes from the Daily News, so of course they want to throw him under the bus, but as has been pointed Obama, didn’t discontinue his vacation, they sent Brennan and Napolitano to say the system worked
jim from cleveland commented:
Who would have thought that seven years after 9/11, Americans would believe that a platitude-spouting blowhard with all sorts of anti-American, left-wing connections should be the leader and commander-in-chief of the country? I can see the ACORN parasites voting for him. I can see dopey college students and their even dopier professors voting for him. I can see the lamebrains of Hollywood voting for him. But that leaves millions of voters who stupidly thought that this manufactured persona had the makings of a real leader. Scary.
rumcrook commented:
oooh thiers a bus coming for this guy.
and now that obummer is tanned ready and rested hes gonna be driving that bus.
the irony and hypocrisy that they both stayed on thier vacations makes me laugh
Sojourner commented:
Leitner’s gonna have tread marks all over soon, no doubt.. BHO’s gonna skin some scapegoats publically to exude that tufffff-ness on terror ‘continual campaign image’ he pantywaists once the cameras stop rolling..he’ll, in true form, ‘make it perfectly clear’ that the screw up was a Bushhhhh appointee and thus, hopelessly flawed from the get-go.. some rubes will buy his swill but increasingly Americans are becoming wide awake to an inconvenient truth for Obama: that the man who occupies 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ultimately is our Homeland Security Chief and HE’s the guy who should’ve been sending down orders for holiday travel security updates long before the undie bomber bought his ticket to ride and that HE’s the system ‘catastrophe’ that failed us on Christmas Day.
Robert commented:
In my opinion, this whole blame-the-intelligence-community game is absurd. While I’m OK with lookin at intelligence lapses, there were plenty of red flags rights there at the gate which should have led to denial of boarding, nothing at all to do with intelligence.
We had a guy paying cash, one-way, no luggage, without a passport. 4 reasons right there for extra screening, and denial in the case of no passport. Yet we will hear of no remedial or punitive action being taken at that location.
This is just more smoke and mirrors, watch over here for a while until something else outrageous happens next week then we’ll worry about that.
As an example, isn’t the fabled “shocker” report on the whole affair supposed to be released on Thursday? Well it’s 1 in the afternoon, what are they going to wait until 5 PM so it misses the evening news cycle?
Joanne commented:
“People have been grumbling that he didn’t let a little terrorism interrupt his vacation,” said one of the sources.
Neither did the President of the United States, and Leiter even returned earlier than the President. Maybe the so-called President should lead by example.
Joanne commented:
Robert – you are correct, there were many red flags, and the terrorist received little if any extra screening. My sons have been through the puffers looking for explosives in some capacity or other – I’m sure a little puff or two near the groin would have come up positive for explosives onboard the terrorist’s underwear. Are the border security agents afraid to profile a black man or something, but have no problem profiling white men?
Huey commented:
I agree that this was an EPIC failure of the “system.”
I’m just saying that bashing the boss for not ending his vacation early is just as valid today as it was when Bush was being bashed for the same thing.
And, what we pay these guys for is (hopefully) their knowledge of the area and (hopefully) their leadership of the troops under their command.
Leitner ending his vacation early would have achieved nothing substantially that he couldn’t (and we have no evidence that he didn’t) have achieved via electronic communications. Any such termination of his vacation early would have been for appearances only.
I can conceive of no compelling argument which can convince me that Leitner’s ending his vacation early and returning to his workplace would have done anything to make us safer. He is much less the “expert” in terrorism and counter-terrorism than those he employs. Is there some argument that those who actually did the screwing up (or might potentially screw up and let this happen again before his vacation ended naturally) would perform better now that Leitner was at “work” rather than on the slopes? (I could craft an argument that having the “big boss” hovering over my shoulder could CAUSE mistakes if for no other reason than his employees know MORE about their jobs than HE does — as noted above.)
So, ultimately, the only reason to terminate his vacation is to provide solace to the PUBLIC, i.e., to US.
Now, I certainly understand that there are times where the APPEARANCE of a calm hand at the helm can do wonders. (Compare Bush’s reaction to events to Obama’s dithering and inattention…)
I just don’t think that this time was one of those times. Opinions, of course, may vary.
Scott commented:
Obama-mao and this guy are typical…They never miss a meal, a paycheck or a vacation…Why let anything like accomplishment or doing your job get in the way???
One Way commented:
Ace is reporting it looks like Leiter is being set up to take the fall for this. As noted here, he’s a Bush appointee.
I’m far more bothered that this administration got the kid lawyered up so we can’t learn a thing from him. I put nothing past this administration. I smell a rat every time they make a move.
They’re a bunch of ruthless, evil men who belong behind bars — not sitting in positions of power plotting to destroy our country. And that’s precisely what they’re determined to do.
The women they’ve brought on board are no better, btw. We’re far less safe with this crew in charge.
DANEgerus commented:
Obama was on vacation longer… but “Look it’s Bush” appointee will do for the lynching.
bg commented:
++
sure could use Liberal Limousine’s help
with this.. but here you go anyways..
Obama to Michael Leiter..
do not come into the office..
you will not out-stage me..
i’m still on vacation..
ergo, so are you..
enjoy!!
==
Deanna commented:
There’s more to this story then we’ve read so far.
From Jake Tapper…
The story says that Leiter “remained on ski slopes” after Christmas, but Denis McDonough, National Security Staff Chief of Staff, refutes that, saying that “Leiter was — throughout the events of December 25, 2009 — indeed at the National Counterterrorism Center in McLean, Virginia, and intimately involved in all aspects of the nation’s response to the attempted terrorist attack — to include coordinating intelligence, examining terrorist watch-listing, and briefing Members of Congress.”
Leiter stayed late at the NCTC on December 25, an intelligence official tells ABC News, and the next morning he held secure communications working the issue with many in the U.S. government.
He did go on vacation the day after the attempted attack, but a close associate of Leiter says that the leave was quite different than the carefree “ski trip” being depicted.
Leiter is divorced, and the purpose of the ski trip was to take “his seven-year-old son for his birthday to meet his grandparents,” both of whom are in their late 70s, the close associate tells ABC News.
He did so only “after explicit consultations with both the White House and the Director of National Intelligence,” McDonough said, adding it “did not affect in any way his ability to remain engaged with all elements of the United States Government. “
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/01/wagons-circle-around-nctc-director-leiter-under-fire.html
bg commented:
++
Deanna @ 3:51 pm #32
thanks for the info..
here’s hoping it can either be confirmed & the NY Daily
News makes a retraction.. or exposed as a cover-up..
could be they’re playing with words
par their course via their headline:
NCTC director Michael Leiter remained on ski slopes
after Christmas Day airline bombing attempt
==
bg commented:
++
re: bg @ 4:18 pm #33
clarifying:
or exposed as a cover-up..
==