Rep. Connie Mack (FL) wrote an op/ed for Human Events today regarding the Christmas Day terrorist threat in the air. Please read an excerpt here:
On Christmas Day, terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab slipped through the cracks of our nation’s security and attempted to bomb Northwest Flight 253 on its way to Detroit. Because of the bravery and quick actions of the passengers on the Northwest flight, a major tragedy was averted.
President Obama and his administration were slow to react. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, in the first few hours after the attempted bombing, claimed “the system worked.” This sounded a lot like former President Bush in the days after Hurricane Katrina struck and destroyed much of New Orleans when he said, “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.” No one believed President Bush then much as no one believes Secretary Napolitano now.And while President Obama was on vacation in Hawaii and didn’t have a lot to say in the first few days after the event, he recently called the lapses and breakdowns of the federal government and intelligence agencies a “systemic failure.” But as we look back on the first year of the Obama administration, much of what President Obama has attempted and achieved has been a “systemic failure.”