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Obama Links Christmas Day Terrorist Attempt to al-Qaida

   VOA News 02 January 2010

   US President Barak Obama (file)

   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama,  for  the  first  time,  has  publicly
   connected  the  suspect  who  tried  to blow up a U.S.-bound passenger
   plane on Christmas Day, December 25, to al-Qaida.
   In  his  weekly  radio and Internet address released early Saturday on
   the  White  House  Web  site,  Mr.  Obama  said  it  appeared a Yemeni
   affiliate  of  al-Qaida  trained  the  suspect, "equipped him with ...
   explosives,  and  directed  him  to  attack"  the  plane  "headed  for
   America."
   Mr.  Obama  said  the  group  had  attacked  American  targets before,
   including  killing  an  American at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen in 2008.
   He  said  the  U.S.  government  is strengthening its partnership with
   Yemen "to strike al-Qaida terrorists."
   The  president,  who has been criticized by opposition Republicans for
   not  taking  strong  enough  action  against militants and terrorists,
   defended  his  administration's  efforts  to  end  the war in Iraq and
   increase  troop levels in Afghanistan.  He said those actions are part
   of  his  strategy  to "disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida and its
   extremist allies."
   Mr.  Obama  said  he  has  received  preliminary results of reviews he
   ordered into air travel screening procedures and a terrorist watchlist
   system, and expected final results in the coming days.
   The president said he is working to ensure branches of security forces
   coordinate  and  are  held  accountable  after  the  latest  terrorist
   attempt.
   In  his  first  weekly address for the new year, Mr. Obama made a plea
   against  partisanship, while allowing for debate, saying unity is what
   "this moment demands."

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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