Detroit Bomber 'Singing Like a Canary' Before Arrest
Obama must be a complete fool to insist on treating this disgusting character as an ordinary criminal; further, Americans have done themselves a complete disservice to elect this greenhorn President into office. – © Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama is under fire over claims that the Christmas Day underwear bomber was "singing like a canary" until he was treated as an ordinary criminal and advised of his right to silence.

The chance to secure crucial information about al-Qaeda operations in Yemen was lost because the Obama administration decided to charge and prosecute Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as an ordinary criminal, critics say. He is said to have reduced his co-operation with FBI interrogators on the advice of his government-appointed defence counsel.

The potential significance became chillingly clear this weekend when it was reported that shortly after his detention, he boasted that 20 more young Muslim men were being prepared for similar murderous missions in the Yemen.

The lawyer for the 23-year-old Nigerian entered a formal not guilty plea on Friday to charges that he tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25 – even though he reportedly admitted earlier that he was trained and supplied with the explosives sewn into his underwear by al-Qaeda in the Arab state.

"He was singing like a canary, then we charged him in civilian proceedings, he got a lawyer and shut up," Slade Gorton, a member of the 9/11 Commission that investigated the Sept 2001 terror attacks on the US, told The Sunday Telegraph.

"I find it incomprehensible that this administration is treating terrorism as a law enforcement issue. The president has finally said that we are at war with al-Qaeda. Well, if this is a war, then Abdulmutallab should be treated as a combatant not a criminal." >>> Philip Sherwell in New York | Saturday, January 09, 2010

Pressure on Barack Obama to Reveal What Britain Said about Detroit Bomber
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama is under pressure to disclose what information MI5 passed to the American authorities about the Detroit bomber after Downing Street disclosed that a file had been "shared" with the CIA in 2008.

After initially denying that they had received British intelligence, senior American sources confirmed last night that they were "reviewing" what British information had been received on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

The admission is embarrassing for the White House and threatens to provoke a rift with Gordon Brown. The conflicting briefing over the shared intelligence also suggests that the transatlantic relationship may have weakened in recent months.

Confirmation that Abdulmutallab's name was passed to the US in 2008 would be a major blow to Mr Obama, although it could also open up accusations that George W Bush's administration failed to collate intelligence properly.

The Prime Minister's spokesman disclosed on Monday that MI5 information had been shared with the Americans more than a year ago. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, confirmed this in the House of Commons yesterday. The information is understood to have detailed Abdulmutallab's contacts with radical preachers but did not give warning that he might be a terrorist threat.

White House sources are thought to be furious over the British intervention, with Mr Obama already under pressure over intelligence failures concerning the thwarted attempt to blow up the US airliner. >>> Robert Winnett, Toby Harnden and Duncan Gardham | Tuesday, Januar 05, 2010