President Obama harshly criticized U.S. intelligence services yesterday after a meeting among top security advisers for failing to “connect the dots” on information that revealed a plot existed to bring down a commercial jetliner over Detroit on Christmas day. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair admitted that U.S. intelligence agencies knew that the Yemen branch of Al Qaeda was planning an attack against America and that this group was working with the alleged bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, before Christmas. Blair admitted that the overlook marked a failure on the part of the intelligence community, but noted that “considerable progress” has already been made in strengthening antiterrorist tactics, including the creation of an improved “watch list” and the selection of 14 countries that will be required to heighten airport security screenings. Nigeria, which is among the countries singled out for more stringent security, has given the United States seven days to revoke its placement on the list, and has called the move "discriminatory." Cuba has also rejected its inclusion on the list, arguing it plays an active role in the fight against terrorism. Meanwhile, President Obama has also suspended the transport of Guantanamo detainees to Yemen, where several former inmates are known to have joined Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the cell connected to the December 25 attempted bombing.
For further reading on Yemen, see the latest blog posting at the World Policy Blog and "The Big Question" that focuses on the threat of a southern Yemen secessionist movement.
The United Nations World Food Program (UNWFP) suspended aid to approximately one million Somalis yesterday after several months of threats and demands that it pay a $20,000 “security fee” twice a year to an extremist Islamic group, Shabab, and dismiss all female workers. Shabab also demanded that UN aid workers not import foreign entities and ideas—such as alcohol, films, holidays like New Years, the concept of a weekend, even the agency’s flag. The Shabab have argued that by importing food, particularly during the harvest season, the UNWFP is establishing dependence on relief agencies and inhibiting future local growth and development. But Peter Smerdon, spokesman for the UNWFP, countered that “people will go hungry” and that “you could see malnutrition rates rising.” As it stands, even in years of bumper crops, Somali farmers are only able to produce 40 percent of the country’s annual food requirements. Recently, this figure has dropped to 30 percent. In an attempt to circumvent Shabab’s threats and demands, the UNWFP is distributing supplies along the Kenyan border, anticipating that Somalis will seek food relief there.
Israeli military officials delayed a visit to London after British authorities confirmed their inability to guarantee the protection of the group from arrest. In 2009, a British court, operating under the principle of universal jurisdiction, issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s former prime minister, Tzipi Livni, who held office during the month-long Israeli siege on Gaza that began in late December 2008. In the aftermath of the Livni warrant, the Israeli government has expressed concern that other Israeli officials might be targeted for arrest during their stay in Britain. According to Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Avalon, “These officials were invited by Great Britain, but they will stay in Israel as long as we do not have a 100% guarantee that they will not become objects of criminal lawsuits in that country.” Though the initial arrest warrant for Livni was eventually withdrawn, the incident has continued to serve as a source of diplomatic embarrassment for Britain, whose government is reviewing the universal jurisdiction law under question, with an eye to its possible revocation. In related news, protesters in Gaza clashed with Egyptian border police on Wednesday, after Egypt delayed an aid shipment. At least one border policeman was killed and 35 Palestinian protesters were wounded.
China rejected calls for increased sanctions on Iran, thwarting the efforts of Western members of the UN Security Council to tighten their grip on the regime. The United States, France, and Britain have been lobbying for a fourth round of targeted sanctions against the Islamic Republic in response to the Iranian government’s ongoing pursuit of a uranium enrichment program. However, in a statement on Tuesday, Chinese envoy Zhang Yesui said, “the efforts aimed at diplomatic negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue still need some time and patience. Trying to bridge differences and finding a settlement through diplomatic efforts—there’s still space for such efforts.” Observers suspect that China’s resistance may be motivated by its growing commercial ties to Iran. Upon taking office, the Obama administration offered Iran the opportunity for increased engagement with the United States in return for opening its nuclear sites to UN inspectors. The internal administration deadline for Iran to take advantage of this offer was December 31, 2009, a date that came and went without action on the part of Tehran. The United States has subsequently been preparing a variety of sanctions that would target key officials and holding companies associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. While the United States had hoped to apply these sanctions through the Security Council, sources indicate that the Obama administration and other Western allies are willing to engage in sanctions outside the apparatus of the United Nations.