KANEOHE, Hawaii (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has summoned the heads of U.S. intelligence agencies for a meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways of preventing a repeat of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25.
Barack Obama
Seeking to counter criticism of his administration over an intelligence breakdown, Obama on Thursday said he expected to receive assessments from several intelligence agencies Thursday evening and would review them during the weekend.
Obama had ordered an immediate review of what he called "human and systemic failures" that allowed the accused bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian with alleged links to Islamic militants, to board the plane in Amsterdam for a transatlantic flight.
"On Tuesday, in Washington, I will meet personally with relevant agency heads to discuss our ongoing reviews as well as security enhancements and intelligence-sharing improvements in our homeland security and counterterrorism operations," Obama said in a statement issued while on vacation in Hawaii.
The preliminary report is expected to detail the intelligence lapses that allowed Abdulmutallab to board the Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on Christmas Day with what authorities said were explosives sewn into his clothes.
The Nigerian suspect flew from Africa to Amsterdam, where he boarded the Northwest flight to Detroit.
The report will also make recommendations on improving the sharing of information between the United States' 16 intelligence agencies.
The director of national intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, said earlier this week that gaps remained despite dramatic improvements in the sharing of information since the September 11, 2001 hijacked plane attacks on the United States.
Obama, a Democrat, is under pressure from opposition Republicans, who fault his administration for not preventing the attack and the president for keeping silent about it for three days while on vacation in Hawaii.
Republicans portrayed Obama as weak on national security even as he campaigned for last year's presidential election, and have sought to push that point before mid-term elections in November, when they will challenge the Democrats' control of both houses of the U.S. Congress.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, writing by Ross Colvin and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Paul Simao)
Boundaries: Lafayette Ave., Atlantic Ave., Stuyvesant Ave., & Nostrand Ave. Distance: Estimated 5 miles Subway: C to Kingston- Throop Aves.
The tour of Bedford Stuyvesant starts at Fulton Street train station between Stuyvesant & Utica Avenue. Walk up Fulton Street towards Stuyvesant Avenue.Cross the Street at the corner of Stuyvesant Ave. and Fulton St. to find Boys and Girls High School.
Continue to walk up Fulton Street. You’ll know your going the right way when you pass a McDonalds. Go ahead I won’t mind if you stop and eat. Just bring me some fries! On the corner of Tompkins Street and Fulton Street you will find an old nightclub called The Lab. No we are NOT going clubbing, but you will admire the murals found on the surface. Continue walking up Fulton Street. Hey, there is Restoration Plaza. That’s where Sade’s first ballet class was. Bedford Stuyvesant’s Restoration Plaza has been the Center for Arts and Culture since 1967. After you finish taking pics of Restoration Plaza turn on Marcy Avenue past Burger King. No need to stop because you ate already, but I wouldn’t mind you getting me a Slurpee. After all I am your tour guide.
Walk onto Marcy Avenue passing McDonald St. Hey, Grandma Martin lives over here. Phew! We’re finally at Greene Ave. Do you see that park? That is the Von King Recreation Center . On Lafayette Avenue, directly across the street from the park is the Magnolia Tree Earth Center. Go inside to learn all about gardening and going GREEN! Continue to walk up Lafayette Avenue. Have you reached Lewis Avenue yet? Wonderful! That is where your tour guide lives! Lafayette Avenue between Lewis ( my last name) and Stuyvesant.
Now it’s all up to you whether you want to continue down Lafayette and venture on Stuyvesant Avenue, but this is my stop. You are welcome to come by. Nevertheless, thanks for participating with Touring Bed- Stuy by yours truly Sade Lewis.
