Obama: System Failed in 'Potentially Disastrous Way'

Jan. 5, 2010— -- President Obama said today that the nation's security and intelligence system "failed in a potentially disastrous way" when a passenger was able to board a U.S.-bound flight with explosives strapped to his underwear.

"When a suspected terrorist is able to board a plane with explosives on Christmas Day, the system has failed in a potentially disastrous way," the president said after meeting with his national security team for nearly two hours at the White House.

"And it's my responsibility to find out why and to correct that failure so we can prevent such attacks in the future."

Obama said the security and intelligence breakdown was not because of insufficient information, but rather a failure to connect the dots.

"This was not a failure to collect intelligence. It was a failure to integrate and understand the intelligence that we already have," he said. "The information was there."

Obama had tougher words behind closed doors. He told members of his national security team this afternoon that the intelligence failure around the attempted Christmas day attack was a "screw-up" and that they only dodged a bullet because of brave individuals of Flight 253.

"This was a screw-up that could have been disastrous. We dodged a bullet but just barely. It was averted by brave individuals, not because the system worked, and that is not acceptable. While there will be a tendency for finger pointing, I will not tolerate it," the president said in the Situation Room, according to a White House official.

An administration official said there was no finger pointing in the meeting today and that the leaders of each agency and department took responsibility for failures at their respective organizations.

Each agency brought to the table steps they've already taken to improve their systems and increase the safety of the American people safer, which the president outlined today.

Obama said he would accept that intelligence is "imperfect" but that was not the case with the security lapse on Northwest Flight 253 last month.

"It is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged. That's not acceptable, and I will not tolerate it," he said.

The president reiterated that his administration will not back off its plan to shut down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, but said that detainees will not be sent to Yemen because of the "ongoing security situation" there.

"Make no mistake. We will close Guantanamo prison, which has damaged our national security interests and become a tremendous recruiting tool for al Qaeda," Obama said. "In fact, that was an explicit rationale for the formation of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula."

The president said that it was the administration's intent to transfer to detainees to other countries "only under conditions that provide assurances that our security is being protected."

As a result, "We will not be transferring additional detainees back to Yemen at this time," he said.