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Press Release of Intelligence Committee

Title

Statement of Senators Feinstein and Bond on Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing into Christmas Day Attempted Terror Attack
Press Contact: 
Phil LaVelle or
Gil Duran (Feinstein) 202-224-9629
Shana Marchio (Bond) 202-224-0309

Created date

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Body

Washington, DC – The Senate Intelligence Committee today held a closed hearing into the attempted Christmas Day attack aboard Northwest Flight 253. Following is a joint statement bySenator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the committee, and Senator Kit Bond (R-Mo.), Vice Chairman:  

“The attempted Christmas Day attack on a United States airliner over a populated area of our country thankfully failed. But it only failed because the bomb didn’t explode. Otherwise, the event was a major intelligence failure:
 
·        Intelligence dots were not connected.
·        There was CIA material and signals intelligence that never reached the proper places.
·        A parent’s warning was disregarded.
·        The no-fly list is too limited.
·        The Administration has recently created the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), but it is not yet operative.
·        There was no process in place for Intelligence Community officials to be consulted before the individual was Mirandized.
 
Today the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had a hearing into this attempted attack.

The witnesses were Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair; Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency; and Steve Kappes, Deputy Director of the CIA.
 
The Committee staff has prepared a report, which has now been delivered to members. We will be discussing, on a bipartisan basis, conclusions and recommendations that we will be making in the near future.”