The Attempted Terror Bombing of Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day

As is typical in such incidents, what really happened on board Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit is still taking shape. What started as fire crackers going off on board a jetliner has turned into a sophisticated incendiary device employed by a suspected terrorist designed to bring the jet down over U.S. soil. No doubt, the “facts” surrounding this incident will change as more and better information pours in surrounding this apparent attempted terrorist attack. It is worth noting, however, that the White House almost immediately came out yesterday and asserted the Northwest flight incident was an attempted act of terrorism. This compared to their reluctance in the Fort Hood case, where the Administration has still not officially or unofficially directly called that attack an act of terrorism.

There are so many questions concerning the Northwest flight incident. Key among them is how did the alleged terrorist get his device on board a jumbo jet headed to the U.S.? The terror suspect, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, is apparently in a U.S. intelligence community database, but not on the “No Fly List.” This according to several reports, including from Congressman Peter King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. If true, was DHS given access to that information, and if not, why not? Was Mutallab allowed on the Northwest flight in spite of that information being provided to DHS? In either case, was Mutallab screened before getting on the Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit (he was apparently screened prior to boarding his feeder KLM Airlines flight from Nigeria to Amsterdam)? If so, was he subjected to secondary screening as part of that process?

Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab has apparently claimed to be a member of al-Qaeda who got his explosives and instructions from Yemen. This is suspicious on a number of levels. First, al-Qaeda operatives don’t usually blurt this out so early in the investigation and second, why did he attempt to detonate the device in his seat, as opposed to the bathroom, which was a lesson learned from the Richard Reid shoe bomber case from 2001? In that case, Reid tried to blow up American Airlines Flight 63 over the Atlantic Ocean by detonating a bomb packed in his shoe. He tried to ignite the fuse while in his seat but was tackled by passengers and crew before he could succeed.

By all accounts thus far, two things apparently failed in the Northwest flight case, our aviation security measures and the terrorist’s ability to carry out the final act in his plot. The latter fact should provide little comfort as to the former. As with the shoe bomber case, Mutallab’s alleged attempted detonation of his device in his seat provided an opportunity for the other passengers to do what they did: tackle him and prevent him from exploding his device.

Perhaps Mutallab is an al-Qaeda operative in an intelligence community database, which may explain the White House’s quick assertion that it was an attempted act of terrorism, but he is one who did not want to die, which may explain his choosing to detonate his bomb in his seat as opposed to the bathroom. Whether Mutallab is a trained al-Qaeda operative or a lone wolf inspired by the radical terror movement, one thing is for sure: Thank God for stupid terrorists and brave passengers.