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CIA reportedly thwarted new al-Qaida underwear bomb plot

By Olivier Knox | The Ticket – 18 hrs ago

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was convicted of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound plane in 2009 with a bomb in …

The CIA thwarted a suicide plot by al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen to bring down a U.S.-bound airliner near last week's one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death with an upgraded "underwear bomb," the Associated Press reported Monday. The White House quickly released a statement insisting "the device did not pose a threat to the public."

"We had no specific, credible information about active terrorist plots timed to coincide with the anniversary and reiterate that this device never represented a threat to the public," a senior Obama aide told Yahoo News Monday on condition of anonymity.

The AP, citing unnamed U.S. officials, said the CIA seized the explosive, an improved version of the weapon used in the failed Christmas 2009 plan to bring down a commercial airplane over Detroit.

The device did not contain metal, making it likely that it could have eluded detection by traditional airport security. But it was unclear whether controversial new full-body scanners would have located it. The FBI is examining the bomb to see whether it would have been detected and whether it was powerful enough to bring down an airplane, the AP reported. The agency said the CIA seized the bomb before the bomber, whose fate was unclear, had chosen a target or bought a plane ticket.

President Barack Obama first learned about the plot in April from his top counter-terrorism adviser at the White House, John Brennan, and was kept up-to-date as efforts to foil it unfolded, according to Deputy NSC Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.

"While the President was assured that the device did not pose a threat to the public, he directed the Department of Homeland Security and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to take whatever steps necessary to guard against this type of attack," Hayden said in a statement.

"The disruption of this IED plot underscores the necessity of remaining vigilant against terrorism here and abroad. The President thanks all intelligence and counterterrorism professionals involved for their outstanding work and for serving with the extraordinary skill and commitment that their enormous responsibilities demand," she said.

The AP reported that the CIA acted even as the White House sought to reassure Americans as the one-year anniversary of the bin Laden raid loomed. "We have no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the anniversary of bin Laden's death," Obama spokesman Jay Carney told reporters April 26.

The FBI labeled the bomb an "improvised explosive device" — a term often associated with roadside bombs used to attack American troops in Iraq or Afghanistan — and said it was "conducting technical and forensics analysis on it."

"The device is very similar to IEDs that have been used previously by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in attempted terrorist attacks, including against aircraft and for targeted assassinations," the FBI said in a statement, referring to the arm of the terrorist network in Yemen.

The Department of Homeland Security also weighed in, saying it had "no specific, credible information regarding an active terrorist plot against the U.S. at this time, although we continue to monitor efforts by al-Qa'ida and its affiliates to carry out terrorist attacks, both in the Homeland and abroad."

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Shoking Photos: Endangered Wildlife Killed By BP Oil Spill

• by Beth Buczynski
• May 7, 2012

It’s been said many times that will be many years before we know the true extent of the environmental damage caused by the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Trying to wrap one’s head around the consequences of introducing 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into a fragile ocean ecosystem is difficult, especially when BP and its corporate partners did their best to keep the public from getting a good look at the worst of it.

In August of 2010, Greenpeace filed a Freedom of Information Act request [PDF] to see any communication related to the oil spill and endangered or threatened Gulf species. It took two long years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to fill the request, and when you take a look at some of the pictures they were hiding, it’s not hard to see why.

“Critically endangered” Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle

“The White House was sitting on this stuff for over two years, at the same time they were saying everything was fine, that the oil was gone, and while they were rushing ahead with plans for new drilling in the Gulf, the Arctic, elsewhere,” said John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace in a recent release. ”It’s just not okay. This is not an acceptable type of collateral damage.”

As Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard points out, most of the photos are missing dates and descriptions, so some, like the one above featuring dozens of garbage bags presumably full of dead wildlife, are hard to decipher. Regardless, they confirm the worst fears of many around the United States: the BP oil spill had a direct and immediate impact on the many protected and endangered species that call the Gulf Coast home.

Although BP and the government made sure to circulate lots of pictures of turtles and pelicans being saved from the oil, they purposefully hoarded images showing the public the deadly consequences of Big Oil’s “lack of a safety culture.” Maybe if more people had to look at pictures like this splashed across the headlines, they’d be less likely to support “drill, baby, drill” politicians.

Visit Greenpeace.org to view more of the recently released images.

Related Reading:

Legacy of Lies: The BP Oil Spill Two Years Later

Gulf Coast Residents Still Sick From BP Oil Spill

BP Engineer Arrested For Destroying Gulf Oil Spill Evidence

Read more: bp, deepwater horizon, endangered species, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil spill, NOAA, oil spill, turtles, wildlife

All images via NOAA

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/shocking-photos-endangered-wildlife-killed-by-bp-oil-spill.html#ixzz1uIVKZQoB

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It is tragic that the spill happened. But should not ask, who, what, when , where and how this disaster occurred? Instead of casting blame on an industry we all depend on as a whole. Let's ask what EPA rules were adopted in the time prior that would cause these pioneers of industry to have to reduce their costs, to compete with government sponsored foreign oil? Did we over regulate an industry that was dangerous but had operated safely for years prior to this disaster? Probably part of the reason these various folks decided to test different ways to keep their costs in hand and still produce the sustenance we ALL depend on? Possibly

We truly must consider these and the sources of our information. Heck without oil all thos Greenpeacers couldn't travel the globe, could they?

Before preaching to the masses should you(GreenPeace, Cares and all the other such groups) not be the example? What powers your vessels and globetrotting?

Why don't all government owned buildings INCLUDING the White House practice what they preach?

How many solar panels do you see on the White House?

The Pentagon?

Your local Libraries and Government offices?

Would it not create jobs and commerce by retrofitting these buildings to use solar as part of their own energy plans and future development. As they decry we should.

How many windmills do you see operating in the green spaces of government owned property much of which sits idle waiting for funds? DUH!!!!

Luis, I love ya like a step brother, ;-) keep doing your thing, but don't misinterpret my contentions as malice. As none is meant.

With Respect,

Jim

Quote:

Shoking Photos: Endangered Wildlife Killed By BP Oil Spill

• by Beth Buczynski
• May 7, 2012

It’s been said many times that will be many years before we know the true extent of the environmental damage caused by the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Trying to wrap one’s head around the consequences of introducing 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into a fragile ocean ecosystem is difficult, especially when BP and its corporate partners did their best to keep the public from getting a good look at the worst of it.

In August of 2010, Greenpeace filed a Freedom of Information Act request [PDF] to see any communication related to the oil spill and endangered or threatened Gulf species. It took two long years for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to fill the request, and when you take a look at some of the pictures they were hiding, it’s not hard to see why.

“Critically endangered” Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle

“The White House was sitting on this stuff for over two years, at the same time they were saying everything was fine, that the oil was gone, and while they were rushing ahead with plans for new drilling in the Gulf, the Arctic, elsewhere,” said John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace in a recent release. ”It’s just not okay. This is not an acceptable type of collateral damage.”

As Mother Jones’ Kate Sheppard points out, most of the photos are missing dates and descriptions, so some, like the one above featuring dozens of garbage bags presumably full of dead wildlife, are hard to decipher. Regardless, they confirm the worst fears of many around the United States: the BP oil spill had a direct and immediate impact on the many protected and endangered species that call the Gulf Coast home.

Although BP and the government made sure to circulate lots of pictures of turtles and pelicans being saved from the oil, they purposefully hoarded images showing the public the deadly consequences of Big Oil’s “lack of a safety culture.” Maybe if more people had to look at pictures like this splashed across the headlines, they’d be less likely to support “drill, baby, drill” politicians.

Visit Greenpeace.org to view more of the recently released images.

Related Reading:

Legacy of Lies: The BP Oil Spill Two Years Later

Gulf Coast Residents Still Sick From BP Oil Spill

BP Engineer Arrested For Destroying Gulf Oil Spill Evidence

Read more: bp, deepwater horizon, endangered species, Gulf of Mexico, gulf oil spill, NOAA, oil spill, turtles, wildlife

All images via NOAA

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/shocking-photos-endangered-wildlife-killed-by-bp-oil-spill.html#ixzz1uIVKZQoB