Al Qaeda’s leader claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an American civilian jet in an audiotape broadcast today on Arab television.
In the clip, Osama bin Laden said his group was behind the failed attempt, allegedly carried out by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight.
Speaking directly to President Obama, he vowed to continue launching terrorist attacks against the United States as long as Washington supported what he described as Israel’s unjust treatment of Palestinians.
Somebody somewhere might want to pass this information on to Homeland Security — apparently they are unaware of any intell in this connection.
[blockquote]U.S. intelligence officials on Sunday did not cast doubt on the authenticity of the tape. But they expressed skepticism that Bin Laden or his lieutenants, believed to be based in Pakistan, played a meaningful role in conceiving or executing the Christmas Day plot.[/blockquote]
I am not reassured by U.S. intelligence skepticism that (the incredibly wealthy) Osama Bin Laden, is directing terrorist activities in Yemen from his base in Pakistan.
The only thing I can conclude from this article is that U.S. intelligence officials must be unfamiliar with public information about Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda that has been available since the 9-11 attack. I hope that they have not overlooked the fact that Bin Laden (and al-Qaeda) is probably wealthy enough to finance or direct any terrorist activity that he wants to from his al-Qaeda base in Pakistan.
According to Lawrence Wright’s book “The Looming Tower” Osama Bin Laden’s father, Mohammed Bin Laden, came from Yemen to Saudi Arabia where he made a huge fortune as a road builder so It does not seem far fetched that Osama Bin Laden would have dealings with terrorists in Yemen.