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Incident

Getting on Flight 253

On Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, arrived at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Eight days earlier at the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines office in Accra, Ghana, he had paid ,831 in cash for his Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit round-trip ticket with a January 8, 2010, return date. Abdulmutallab left Lagos on Christmas Eve at 11:00 p.m. aboard KLM Flight 588, a Boeing 777 bound for Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, on Christmas Day, Abdulmutallab checked in for Northwest Airlines Flight 253 to Detroit with only carry-on luggage.

A couple, Kurt and Lori Haskell, stated that, while waiting at the Amsterdam airport to board Flight 253, they saw the man whom they later learned was Abdulmutallab along with a well-dressed man who was assisting him approach the ticket agent. The other man appeared to be around 50 years old, of Indian descent and was dressed in what appeared to be an expensive suit and shoes. Federal agents later stated that they were trying to find the well-dressed man. According to Lori Haskell, the well-dressed man told the ticket agent: “We need to get this man on the plane. He doesn’t have a passport.” The ticket agent answered that nobody was allowed to board without a passport, to which the well-dressed man replied: “We do this all the time; he’s from Sudan.” Lori Haskell added that both she and her husband believe the man was trying to pass Abdulmutallab off as a Sudanese refugee. Lori Haskell then reported the two being directed down a corridor to talk to a manager. “We never saw him again until he tried to blow up our plane,” Haskell said of Abdulmutallab. Only U.S. citizens are permitted to board international flights to the U.S. without passports and even they may be permitted to do so only if the airline confirms their identity and citizenship, said Chief Ron Smith, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in Detroit, and the allegation that Abdulmutallab was allowed to board without a passport has been called disturbing.

Bombing attempt

Flight 253, a Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-300 twinjet with 279 passengers, 8 flight attendants, and 3 pilots aboard, left Amsterdam around 8:45 am local time. The plane was scheduled to arrive in Detroit at 11:40 a.m. EST, and was painted in Delta Air Lines’ livery, as Northwest was a subsidiary of Delta at the time.

Witnesses reported that as the plane approached Detroit, Abdulmutallab went into the plane’s lavatory for about 20 minutes. After returning to his seat at 19A (near the fuel tanks and wing, and against the skin of the plane), he complained that he had an upset stomach. He was then seen pulling a blanket over himself.

About 20 minutes before the plane landed, he secretly ignited a small explosive device consisting of a mix of plastic explosive powder and liquid acid. Abdulmutallab apparently had a packet of the plastic explosive sewn to his underwear, and injected liquid acid from a syringe into the packet to cause a chemical reaction. While there was an explosion and fire, the device failed to detonate properly. Passengers heard popping noises resembling firecrackers, smelled an odor, and saw the suspect’s trouser leg and the wall of the plane on fire.

“There was smoke and screaming and flames. It was scary.”

Although there were not any air marshals on the flight, several passengers and crew noticed the attack. A passenger seated on the far side of the same row, Jasper Schuringa from the Netherlands, saw Abdulmutallab sitting and shaking, and tackled and overpowered him. Schuringa saw the suspect’s trousers were open, and that he was holding a burning object between his legs. “I pulled the object from him and tried to extinguish the fire with my hands and threw it away,” said Schuringa, who suffered burns to his hands. Meanwhile, flight attendants extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher and blankets, and a passenger removed the partially melted, smoking syringe from Abdulmutallab’s hand.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport is located in the city of Romulus, Michigan

Schuringa grabbed the suspect, and pulled him to the first class area at the front of the plane. A passenger reported that Abdulmutallab, though burned “quite severely” on his leg, seemed “very calm,” and like a “normal individual.” Schuringa stripped off the suspect’s clothes to check for other explosives or weapons, and he and a crew member handcuffed Abdulmutallab with plastic handcuffs. “He was staring into nothing,” Schuringa said, and shaking. Passengers applauded as Schuringa walked back to his seat.

The suspect was isolated from other passengers until after the plane landed. A flight attendant asked Abdulmutallab what he had in his pocket, and the suspect replied: “Explosive device.”

When the attack triggered a fire indicator light within the cockpit, the pilot requested rescue and law enforcement. The plane made an emergency landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the Downriver Detroit community of Romulus, Michigan, just before 1:00 p.m. local time. The airport is about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Detroit and the adjacent international border.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

The Toronto Star reported that the plane’s flight route would have had it over Canadian airspace when the attempted bombing occurred. Representatives of two pilot associations told the Star that Detroit Metro airport would have been the nearest suitable airport at which to attempt an emergency landing.

While the plane itself suffered relatively little damage, the suspect incurred first and second degree burns to his hands, and second degree burns to his right inner thigh and genitalia, and two other passengers were injured. When the plane landed, Abdulmutallab was handed over to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, and taken into custody for questioning and treatment of his injuries in a secured room of the burn unit of the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Schuringa was also taken to the hospital. One other passenger incurred minor injuries.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents arrived at the airport after the plane landed. The aircraft was moved to a remote area so authorities could re-screen the plane, the passengers, and the baggage on-board. A bomb-defusing robot was first used to board the plane, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) interviewed all passengers. Another passenger from the flight was placed in handcuffs after a dog alerted officers to his carry-on luggage, searched, and released.

Analysis of explosives

The substance that the suspect tried to detonate was more than 80 grams (3 oz) of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a crystalline powder that is often the active ingredient of plastic explosives, the high explosive triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and other ingredients. It is among the most powerful of explosives, in the same chemical family as nitroglycerin. The powder was analyzed by the FBI at Quantico, and an FBI affidavit filed in the Eastern District of Michigan reflected preliminary findings that the device contained PETN. The authorities also found the remains of the syringe. The suspect apparently carried the PETN onto the plane in a 6-inch (15 cm)-long soft plastic container, possibly a condom, attached to his underwear. However, much of the container was lost in the fire. ABC News cited a government test indicating that 50 grams (2 oz) of PETN can blow a hole in the side of an airliner, and posted photos of the remains of Abdulmutallab’s underwear and explosive packet. Further chemical analysis showed that TATP, another high explosive, was also present.

Al-Qaeda member Richard Reid (the “Shoe Bomber”) tried to detonate 50 grams of the same explosives in his shoes during an American Airlines flight on December 22, 2001. This attack was near the eighth anniversary of Reid’s attempt. In addition, in August 2009, an al-Qaeda bomber from Yemen with PETN hidden in his underwear (originally thought to have been hidden inside his anal cavity) blew himself up near the Saudi deputy Interior Minister in charge of counter-terrorism, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef.

Verbally disruptive passenger incident

On December 27, 2009, two days after the original incident, the crew of another Flight 253 requested emergency assistance with a Nigerian passenger who they said had become “verbally disruptive”. The crew questioned the passenger after other passengers expressed concern that he had been in the lavatory for over an hour. It was later determined that the man was a businessman who had fallen ill from food poisoning during the flight, and did not pose any security risk.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Main article: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspected bomber

The suspect in the attempted bombing was 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The youngest of 16 children, Abdulmutallab’s father is Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, one of the richest men in Africa, former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, and former Nigerian Federal Commissioner for Economic Development. Abdulmutallab’s mother was born in Yemen and is the second of his father’s two wives. Abdulmutallab was initially raised in Kaduna, in Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated north, a place he returned to on his vacations.

In high school at the British International School in Lom, Togo, Abdulmutallab was known as a devout Muslim who frequently discussed Islam with schoolmates. He visited the U.S. for the first time in 2004. For the 2004-05 academic year, Abdulmutallab studied at the San’a Institute for the Arabic Language in Sana’a, Yemen, and attended lectures at Iman University.

He began his studies at University College London in September 2005, where he studied Engineering and Business Finance, and earned a degree in mechanical engineering in June 2008. He was president of the school’s Islamic society in 2006 and 2007, during which time he participated in, along with political discussions, such activities as martial arts and paintballing; at least one of the Society’s paintballing trips involved a preacher who reportedly said: “Dying while fighting jihad is one of the surest ways to paradise.” During those years, he “crossed the radar screen” of MI5, the UK’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, for radical links and “multiple communications” with Islamic extremists; none of the information was passed to American officials, due to concerns about breaching his human rights and privacy. His last known address was a 4 million apartment on Mansfield Street, Central London, close to Oxford Street.

On June 12, 2008, Abdulmutallab applied for and received from the U.S. consulate in London a U.S. multiple-entry visa, valid to June 12, 2010, with which he visited Houston, Texas, from August 117, 2008. From January 2009 to July 2009, he attended a master’s of international business degree program at the University of Wollongong in Dubai.

In May 2009 Abdulmutallab tried to return to Britain, ostensibly for a six-month “life coaching” program at what the British authorities concluded was a fictitious school; accordingly, his visa application was denied by the United Kingdom Border Agency. His name was placed on a UK Home Office security watch list, which meant he was not permitted to enter the UK, though he could pass through the country in transit and was not permanently banned. However, the UK did not share the information with other countries.

In July 2009, Abdulmutallab’s father agreed to his request of returning to the San’a Institute for the Arabic Language in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September of that year, and Abdulmutallab arrived in the country in August. “He told me his greatest wish was for sharia and Islam to be the rule of law across the world,” said one of his classmates at the Institute. However, Abdulmutallab ;left the Institute after a month, but remained in Yemen. Earlier, his family had become concerned in August when he called them to say he had dropped the course, but was remaining there. By September, he routinely skipped his classes at the institute and attended lectures at Iman University, which is suspected to have links to terrorism.

The San’a Institute obtained an exit visa for him at his request, and arranged for a car that took him to the airport on September 21, 2009 (the day his student visa expired), but the school’s director said, “After that, we never saw him again, and apparently he did not leave Yemen”. In October, Abdulmutallab sent his father a text message saying that he was no longer interested pursuing an MBA in Dubai, and wanted instead to study sharia and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen. His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon Abdulmutallab said he was “already getting everything for free”. He text-messaged his father, saying “I’ve found a new religion, the real Islam”, and ultimately, “You should just forget about me, I’m never coming back”, “Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you”, and “Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child”. The family was last in contact with Abdulmutallab in October 2009.

On November 11, 2009, British intelligence officials sent the U.S. a message indicating that a man named “Umar Farouk” had spoken to Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim spiritual leader supposedly tied to al-Qaeda, pledging to support jihad, but the notice did not mention Abdulmutallab’s last name. His father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, on November 19 regarding his son’s “extreme religious views”, and told the embassy that Abdulmutallab might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, Abdulmutallab’s name was added in November 2009 to the U.S.’s 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center. It was not added, however, to the FBI’s 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list and the U.S.’s 4,000-name No Fly List. Abdulmutallab’s U.S. visa was not revoked as well.

Yemeni officials said that he left Yemen on December 7 (flying to Ethiopia, and then two days later to Ghana). Ghanaian officials said Abdulmutallab was there from December 9 until December 24, when he flew to Lagos.

Two days after the attack, Abdulmutallab was released from the hospital in which he had been treated for burns sustained during the attempted bombing. He was then taken to the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, a federal prison in Milan, Michigan.

Ties to Anwar al-Awlaki

Main article: Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki, who reportedly had ties to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

A number of sources reported contacts between Abdulmutallab and Anwar al-Awlaki, a Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who is accused of being a senior al-Qaeda talent recruiter and motivator. Al-Awlaki, previously an imam in the U.S. who more recently has lived in Yemen, also has links to three of the 9/11 hijackers, the 2005 London subway bombers, a 2006 Toronto terror cell, a 2007 plot to attack Fort Dix, and the 2009 suspected Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan.

With a blog and a Facebook page, he has been described as the “bin Laden of the internet.”

Despite being banned from entering England in 2006, al-Awlaki spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007-09. He gave a number of video-link lectures at the East London Mosque during this period. In one instance, the mosque provoked the outrage of The Daily Telegraph by hosting a video-teleconference by al-Awlaki in 2008, and former Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve expressed concern over al-Awlaki’s involvement. On New Year’s Day 2009 the mosque played a pre-recorded video lecture by al-Awlaki, with a poster depicting New York in flames. He also gave video-link talks in England to an Islamic student society at the University of Westminster in September 2008, an arts center in East London in April 2009 (after the Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), worshipers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and a dinner of the Cageprisoners organization in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Centre in South London (at which he said “We should make jihad for our brothers and an angel will make the same jihad for you”). On August 23, 2009, al-Awlaki was banned by local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea, London, from speaking at Kensington Town Hall via videolink to a fundraiser dinner for Guantanamo detainees promoted by Cageprisoners. His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have also circulated in England.

Representative Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said on the day of the attack that Obama administration officials and officials with access to law enforcement information told him “there are reports [the suspect] had contact [with al-Awlaki]…. The question we’ll have to raise is was this imam in Yemen influential enough to get some people to attack the U.S. again.” He added: “The suspicion is … that [the suspect] had contact with al-Awlaki. The belief is this is a stronger connection with al-Awlaki” than Hasan had. Hoekstra later said credible sources told him Abdulmutallab “most likely” has ties with al-Awlaki.

The Sunday Times established that Abdulmutallab first met and attended lectures by al-Awlaki in 2005, when he was in Yemen to study Arabic. The two are also “thought to have met” in London, according to The Daily Mail. Fox News reported that evidence collected during searches of “flats or apartments of interest” connected to Abdulmutallab in London showed that he was a “big fan” of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed Awlaki’s blog and website. CBS News and The Daily Telegraph reported that Abdulmutallab attended a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque (which al-Awlaki may have participated in by video teleconference).

University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond wrote that the suspect was “on American security watch-lists because of his links with … Al-Awlaki”.

CBS News said that the two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, and sources say that at a minimum al-Awlaki was providing spiritual support. According to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki. One government source described intercepted “voice-to-voice communication” between the two during the fall of 2009, saying that al-Awlaki “was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]‘s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things.”

Abdulmutallab reportedly told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his trainers when he underwent al-Qaeda training in remote camps in Yemen, and there were “informed reports” that Abdulmutallab met al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack. According to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

“Some of the information … comes from Abdulmutallab, who … said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with “a Nigerian” in preparation for some kind of operation.”

Yemen’s Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe the suspect traveled in October to Shabwa, where he met with suspected al-Qaida members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and that Abdulmutallab was trained and equipped there with his explosives. “If he went to Shabwa, for sure he would have met Anwar al-Awlaki,” al-Alimi said. Al-Alimi also said he believed al-Awlaki is alive. And Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said a healthy al-Awlaki called him on December 28 and said that the Yemeni government’s claims as to his death were “lies”. Shaya declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab. According to Gregory Johnsen, a Yemeni expert at Princeton University, Shaya is generally reliable.

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At the end of January 2010, a Yemeni journalist, Abdulelah Hider Shaa, said he met with al-Awlaki, who said he had met and spoken with Abdulmutallab in Yemen in the fall of 2009. Al-Awlaki also reportedly said Abdulmutallab was one of his students, that he supported what Abdulmutallab did but did not tell him to do it, and that he was proud of Abdulmutallab. A New York Times journalist listened to a digital recording of the meeting, and said that while the tape’s authenticity could not be independently verified, the voice resembled that on other recordings of al-Awlaki.

Al-Qaeda involvement

On December 28, 2009, Obama in his first address said the incident “demonstrates that an alert and courageous citizenry are far more effective than anti-terrorist laws which wreak havoc on our basic freedoms.” On the same day, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced that it was responsible for the attempted bombing. AQAP said that the attack, during “their (Christians) celebration of the Christmas holidays”, was to “avenge U.S. attacks on the militants in Yemen”. The NEFA Foundation posted the full al-Qaeda statement.

On January 24, an audio tape said to be from Osama Bin Laden praised the bombing attempt and warned of further attacks against America, but did not explicitly claim responsibility for it. The short recording that was broadcasted on Al Jazeera television, said: “The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the September 11.” An adviser to the U.S. President said he could not confirm whether the voice was actually that of bin Laden. In the past, the CIA has usually confirmed Al Jazeera reports on tapes attributed to bin Laden.

While in custody, Abdulmutallab told authorities he had been directed by al-Qaeda. He said he had obtained the device in Yemen, along with instructions from al-Qaeda as to how to use it and to detonate it when the plane was over U.S. soil. Abdulmutallab said he had contacted al-Qaeda through a radical Yemeni imam (who according to The New York Times on December 26 was not believed to be al-Awlaki) whom he had reached through the internet.

The New York Times reported on December 25 that a counter-terrorism official had told them Abdulmutallab’s claim “may have been aspirational”. But U.S. Representative Jane Harman] (D-Calif.), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, said the following day that a federal official briefed lawmakers about “strong suggestions of a Yemen-al Qaeda connection” with the suspect. On January 2, 2010, President Obama said that AQAP trained, equipped, and dispatched Abdulmutallab, and vowed retribution.

In reaction to suggestions that the U.S. launch a military offensive against the alleged terrorists’ sanctuary in Yemen, The Washington Post noted that Yemeni forces equipped with U.S. weapons and intelligence had carried out two major raids against AQAP shortly before the bombing attempt, and that the terror group may have lost top leaders in a December 24, 2009, airstrike.

Jasper Schuringa

Jasper Schuringa, who was en route to Miami, Florida for a vacation, stopped the attack and got burn injuries in the process. He lives in Amsterdam, and was born in 1971 in Curaao, Netherlands Antilles. Schuringa is a graduate of Leiden University, Leiden. He is a film director of low-budget Dutch films for an Amsterdam-based media company, and was the assistant director for National Lampoon’s Teed Off Too.

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos phoned Schuringa on behalf of the Dutch government the day after the attack, and conveyed the government’s compliments and gratitude for Schuringa’s part in overpowering the suspect. Dutch Member of Parliament Geert Wilders called Schuringa “a national hero” who “deserves a royal honor”, which Wilders said he would ask the Dutch government to award. According to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Queen Beatrix expressed her feelings of gratitude towards Schuringa. The Dutch poet Nico Dijkshoorn compared Schuringa to both Superman and Hans Brinker.

On February 10, 2010 Schuringa announced that Reinout Oerlemans Eyeworks will make a documentary about Schuringa act during the flight. Schuringa, who is a filmmaker himself, will be closely involved in the production.

Reactions and investigations

Governments

United States

Barack Obama discusses the incident with National Security Council chief of staff Denis McDonough at the Kailua Winter White House on December 29, 2009.

The U.S. investigation into the incident is being managed by the Detroit Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is led by the FBI and includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Air Marshal Service, and other law enforcement agencies. Among other questions, they are attempting to answer the following: what training did Abdulmutallab receive, who else (if anyone) was in the training program, are others preparing to launch similar attacks, was the attack part of a larger (possibly worldwide) plot, was it a test run, who assisted him, who gave him the chemicals, who sewed the explosives in his underwear, who further radicalized him, who sent him on his way, and how was he able to smuggle the explosives past airport security.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident by an aide while on a vacation in Kailua, Hawaii, and spoke with officials from the Department of Homeland Security. He instructed that all appropriate measures be taken in response to the incident. While the White House called the attack an act of terrorism, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has not declared the incident an official terrorist act.

Representative Hoekstra said that Detroit may not have been singled out for the attack, but the focus may have simply been to attack a destination with many international travelers. The attack occurred over the city because the plane had not flown over U.S. land prior to that time. In addition, it was suggested that it is possible that the attack was a test to see if such materials could pass through screening, and how much damage the blast would cause. The U.S. is examining what information it had before the attack, why its National Counterterrorism Center did not put together the warning from Abdulmutallab’s father and intercepts by the National Security Agency (NSA) of conversations among Yemeni al-Qaida leaders about a “Nigerian” to be used for an attack (months before the attack took place), and why the suspect’s U.S. visa was not revoked after his father’s warning. Abdulmutallab’s name had come to the attention of intelligence officials many months before that, but no “derogatory information” was recorded about him. A Congressional official said that Abdulmutallab’s name appeared in U.S. reports reflecting that he had connections to both al-Qaeda and Yemen.

One U.S. intelligence officer said on December 30: “Abdulmutallab’s father didn’t say his son was a terrorist” when he visited the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, “let alone planning an attack. Not at all. I’m not aware of some magic piece of intelligence that suddenly would have flagged this guyhose name nobody even had until Novembers a killer en route to America, let alone something that anybody withheld.” Representative Hoekstra questioned, however, why the apparent links were not put together before the attack took place, saying: “You would think if you did a Google search on these different threads, it would bring these things together quickly. There are organizations that deal with massive amounts of data in real time every day. Talk to MasterCard.”

On January 7, 2010, James L. Jones, the national security advisor, said Americans would feel “a certain shock” when a report detailing the intelligence failures that could have prevented the Christmas Day attack were released that day. He said that President Obama would be “legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behavior that were available, were not acted on.”

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that the UK would take “whatever action was necessary”. The day after the attack, British police searched a family-owned flat at which Abdulmutallab had lived while in London.

Netherlands

A Dutch military police spokesperson said that Abdulmutallab did not go through passport control at Schiphol, where large numbers of passengers are processed en-route to North America from Africa, and the Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb said that it had started a probe into where the suspect originated. A preliminary investigation, however, found no security lapses, and despite being listed as having a potential terrorism connection, the suspect had a valid U.S. visa. Dutch officials also said that they will now use 3D full-body scanning X-ray technology on flights departing to the U.S. Body scanners are being implemented despite concerns from privacy advocates. Dutch officials said that security must take priority over the privacy of the individuals being scanned. The developer of the technology said the scanned imagery does not compromise individuals’ privacy, as the imagery resolution is too low to display the body in anatomical detail; but that it would certainly detect non-metallic objects under clothing, such as powdered explosives.

Members of the Second Chamber (Lower House) of the Dutch parliament demanded an explanation from Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin, asking how the suspect managed to smuggle explosives on board, despite Schiphol’s reportedly strict security measures.

Nigeria

The incident raised concern regarding security procedures at Nigeria’s major international airports in Lagos and Abuja, where tests for explosive materials are not conducted on carry-on baggage and shoes, and where bags are allowed to pass quickly through X-ray scanners. In response to strong international criticism, Nigerian civil aviation officer Harold Demuran announced that Nigeria will also set up full-body scanning X-ray machines in Nigerian airports.

Canada

In response to the incident and to comply with new US regulations, the Canadian Government will install full body scanners at major airports. This technology is used in secondary screening of passengers. The first 44 scanners were planned to be installed at airports in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, which owns Northwest, said its Detroit group did not handle security for the flight. It released a statement calling the incident a “disturbance,” and saying that Delta was “cooperating fully with authorities”.

According to an internal communication to employees, Delta’s CEO Richard Anderson was upset that another terrorist incident such as this could reoccur, especially after the September 11 security reinforcements put in place around the globe: “Having this occur again is disappointing to all of us… You can be certain we will make our points very clearly in Washington.”

Security firms

In January 2010, ICTS International, a security firm that provides security services to Schipol airport, and G4S (Group 4 Securicor Aviation Security B.V.), another security firm, traded blame over the security oversight, as did authorities at Schiphol Airport, the Federal Aviation Authority, and U.S. intelligence officials. According to Haaretz, the failure was two-fold: An intelligence failure, as Obama stated, in the poor handling of information that arrived at the State Department and probably also the CIA from both the father of the would-be bomber and the British security service; and a failure within the security system, including that of ICTS. Abdulmutallab’s “age, name, illogical travel route, high-priced ticket purchased at the last minute, his boarding without luggage (only a carry-on), and many other signs should have been sufficient to alert the security officers and warrant further examination of the suspect. However, the security supervisor allowed him to get on the flight.”

Criminal charges

Prison grounds at Federal Correctional Institution, Milan, where Abdulmutallab is incarcerated

On December 26, a criminal complaint was filed against Abdulmutallab in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, charging him with two counts: placing a destructive device in, and attempting to destroy, a U.S. civil aircraft. The U.S. Attorney’s Office assigned to the case federal prosecutors Jonathan Tukel (chief of the counter-terrorism unit) and Eric Straus (former chief of the same unit). Abdulmutallab was arraigned and officially charged by U.S. District Court Judge Paul D. Borman later the same day at the University of Michigan Hospital.

On January 6, 2010, a federal grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on six criminal counts including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder. “Not guilty” pleas were entered on the behalf of Abdulmutallab at the hearing. If Abdulmutallab is convicted on the charges he could face a life sentence plus 90 years. He faced his first court hearing, a detention hearing, on January 8, 2010. A former federal prosecutor told the Detroit News that “there’s no chance of getting this guy bond in a million years”.

Aftermath

Effect on travel

The U.S. government did not raise the Homeland Security Advisory System terrorist threat level, orange at the time (high risk of terrorist attacks), following the attack. However, the Department of Homeland Security said that additional security measures would be in place for the remainder of the Christmas travel period. The TSA detailed several of the measures, including a restriction on movement and access to personal items during the last hour of flight for planes entering U.S. airspace. The TSA also said that there would be more officers and security dogs at airports.

On December 28 Transport Canada announced that for several days it would not allow passengers flying to the U.S. from Canada a carry-on bag, with some exceptions. British Airways said that passengers flying to the U.S. would only be permitted one carry-on item. Other European countries increased baggage screening, pat-down searches, and random searches for passengers traveling to the U.S. A spokesperson for the Dutch airport used by the attacker said that heightened security would be in place for “an indefinite period”. However, in spite of the extra measures said to have been put in place to prevent a follow-up attack, Stuart Clarke, a photoreporter from the British newspaper Daily Express claimed to have smuggled a syringe containing fluid, and which could have contained a liquid bomb detonator onto another plane. On January 3, 2010, Clarke said he boarded a jet from Schiphol Airport bound for Heathrow Airport just five days after the Christmas Day terror attack, and that the airport appeared to have imposed no additional security, such as precautionary pat-downs which could easily have discovered the syringe which he claimed he kept in his jacket pocket throughout.

On December 27, a Lufthansa flight headed for Detroit was diverted to Iceland when it was discovered to be carrying a bag from a passenger who was not on the plane. In addition, a passenger on a Baltimore-to-New York flight was detained when a firecracker was discovered in the seat he had used.

U.S. political fallout

Beginning on the day of the incident, Obama was kept informed via secure conference calls and follow-up briefings.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said several times on Sunday talk shows that “the system had worked”, a statement that engendered some controversy. The next day they retracted the statement, saying that the system had in fact “failed miserably.” According to Napolitano, her initial statement had referred to the rapid response to the attack that included alerts sent to the 128 other aircraft in U.S. airspace at the time, and new security requirements for the final hour of every flight, rather than the security failures that allowed the attack to happen.

The day after the attack, the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee and Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee both announced that they would hold hearings in January 2010 to investigate how the device passed through security, and whether further restrictions should be placed on air travel; the Senate hearings began on January 21.

Four days after the attack, Obama said publicly that Abdulmutallab’s ability to board the aircraft was the result of a systemic failure that included an inadequate sharing of information among U.S. and foreign government agencies. He called the situation “totally unacceptable.” He ordered that a report be delivered detailing how some government agencies had failed to share or highlight potentially relevant information about the suspect before he allegedly tried to blow up the airliner. Two days later Obama received the briefing, which included statements that information about the suspect had failed to cross agency lines, and that the failures to communicate within the U.S. government had led to the threat posed by Abdulmutallab not being known by certain agencies until the attack. Obama said he would meet with security officials and specifically question why Abdulmutallab was not placed on the U.S. no-fly list, despite the government having received warnings about his potential al-Qaeda links.

Under new rules prompted by the incident, airline passengers travelling to the U.S. from 14 nations would undergo extra screening: Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The inclusion of non-Muslim Cuba on the list was criticized.

Account of pre-boarding event

Kurt Haskell, a U.S. passenger on Flight 253, said he saw two individuals approach the boarding agent at Schiphol, in Amsterdam. One was a “poor-looking black teenager around 16 or 17″ whom Haskell claims was Abdulmutallab. The second man was a “sharp-dressed” Indian man around 50 years old who spoke “in an American accent similar to my own.” According to Haskell, the Indian man attempted to negotiate with the airline employee to allow Abdulmutallab to board without a passport. Haskell claimed that the older man said: “He’s from Sudan. We do this all the time”, to which the employee responded by referring them to management.

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official and spokesman in Detroit confirmed that there were not any Sudanese refugees on the plane. The Dutch counter-terror agency said that Abdulmutallab presented a valid Nigerian passport and U.S. entry visa when he boarded Flight 253, and after reviewing more than 200 hours of security camera recordings, did not find any indication that Abdulmutallab had accomplices at the airport or that he acted suspiciously there. Haskell suggested authorities should, “Put the video out there to prove I’m wrong.”

Federal agents said they were attempting to identify a man who, according to passengers on the flight, helped Abdulmutallab change planes in Amsterdam. U.S. authorities had initially discounted the passenger accounts, but the agents later said there was a growing belief that this man played a role to make sure Abdulmutallab “did not get cold feet”.

See also

Detroit portal

Aviation portal

Yemeni al-Qaeda crackdown

2001 shoe bomb plot

2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot

List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners

List of terrorist incidents, 2009

“Flying while Muslim”

References

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^ “Key dates surrounding the Christmas Day attack”. WTOP Radio. Associated Press. December 30, 2009. http://www.wtop.com/?nid=116&sid=1851004. Retrieved March 2, 2010. 

^ “US plane attacker “sneaked” into Nigeria”. Television New Zealand. Reuters. December 28, 2009. http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/us-plane-attacker-sneaked-into-nigeria-3319224. Retrieved December 28, 2009. 

^ Mason, Jeff (December 31, 2009). “Obama summons intel chiefs for security talks”. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BU3NZ20100101. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ a b c d e Shane, Scott; Lipton, Eric (December 26, 2009). “Passengers’ Quick Action Halted Attack”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27plane.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b Bohn, Kevin; Labott, Elise; Henry, Ed; Streitfeld, Rachel (December 25, 2009). “Explosive device set off aboard airliner”. CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/12/25/airliner.firecrackers/index.html. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ a b Egan, Paul. The Detroit News, 28 December, 2009, “Passenger Says Accused Terrorist Got Help Boarding”

^ ABC News, 22 Jan. 2010, Alert: Female Suicide Bombers May Be Heading Here From Yemen. Retrieved March 2, 2010.

^ McClatchy Newspapers, 29 Dec. 2010, Agents Question Whether Airliner-Bomb Suspect Had Help

^ Roberts, Soraya (December 26, 2009). “Jasper Schuringa subdued alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Airlines 253″. New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/12/26/2009-12-26_jasper_schuringa_helped_subdue_alleged_terrorist_umar_farouk_abdulmutallab_on_no.html?print=1&page=all. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (December 26, 2009). “US v. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Criminal Complaint” (PDF). The New York Times. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20091226ComplaintAffidavit.pdf. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b Levine, Mike; Herridge, Catherine; Wolff, Sarah (December 26, 2009). “Congress to Probe Attempted Airline Attack, Consider Added Security Precautions”. FOX News Network. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/26/lawmakers-attempted-airline-attack-disturbing-pledge-hold-hearings/. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

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^ O’Connor, Anahad; Schmitt, Eric (December 26, 2009). “U.S. Says Plane Passenger Tried to Detonate Device”. The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E7D61731F935A15751C1A96F9C8B63. 

^ a b c Jakes, Lara; Berris, Randi; Adler, Shelley (December 25, 2009). “Terror suspected in plot to blow up Northwest jet”. Houston Chronicle. Associated Press. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6787142.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

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^ “Heldenrol voor Nederlander bij aanslagpoging”, de Volkskrant, (in Dutch)

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^ a b Wheaton, Sarah (December 26, 2009). “From a “Pop” to a Headlock, Passengers Recall Flight 253″. The New York Times. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/from-pop-to-headlock-passengers-recall-flight-253/. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

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^ “Plane terror suspect set pants on fire”. 9 News (Australia). AFP. December 25, 2009. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=987938. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ “Bomb uncovered on U.S. passenger plane”. Beijing News.Net. December 25, 2009. http://www.beijingnews.net/story/581758. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ “Detroit Metro Airport”. World Travel Guide. http://www.worldtravelguide.net/airport/312/airport_guide/North-America/Detroit-Metro-Airport.html. Retrieved December 29, 2009. 

^ “Airliner drama played out over Ontario”. The Toronto Star. December 27, 2009.

^ Temple-Raston, Dina (December 26, 2009). “Suspect Charged In Airplane Attack”. NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121931792&ps=cprs. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ “Wayne County EMS Run Report 11/4981″. NEFA Foundation (Metro Airport Fire Department). December 25, 2009. http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/Abdulmutallab_emsreport.pdf. Retrieved February 7, 2010. 

^ a b “Detroit airliner incident ‘was failed bomb attack’”. BBC News. December 25, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8430612.stm. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ a b “US says explosion on plane was terrorism attempt”. Reuters. December 25, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2513625920091226?type=marketsNews. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ Boudette, Neal E; Pasztor, Andy; Spiegel, Peter (December 26, 2009). “Bomb Attempt Made on U.S.-Bound Flight”. The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126178158688405369.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b c Swickard, Joe; Patton, Naomi R. (December 25, 2009). “Reports: NWA passenger was trying to blow up flight into Detroit”. Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/article/20091225/NEWS05/91225022/1318/Reports-NWA-passenger-was-trying-to-blow-up-flight-into-Detroit. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ a b c “Passenger Ignites Explosive on Delta Flight, Al Qaeda Connection Reported”. FOX News. December 25, 2009. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581153,00.html. Retrieved December 25, 2009. 

^ “2nd passenger questioned in terror attempt”. United Press International. January 1, 2010. http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/01/2nd-passenger-questioned-in-terror-attempt/UPI-53241262404709/. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ Chambers, Jennifer; Egan, Paul (January 1, 2010). “Customs official confirms report of 2nd man held from Flight 253″. The Detroit News. http://www.detnews.com/article/20100101/NATION/1010405/1410/METRO01/Customs-official-confirms-report-of-2nd-man-held-from-Flight-253. Retrieved January 1, 2010. 

^ Cizio, Rene (January 2, 2010). “Attorney who was passenger on Flight 253 critical of how situation handled on ground”. The News-Herald (Southgate, Michigan). http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2010/01/02/news/doc4b3cf12370898024670269.txt. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ Stobart, Janet; and Semuels, Alama. “Nigerian man, 23, charged with attempting to destroy plane”, American Chronicle, December 28, 2009. Accessed December 28, 2009.

^ Temple-Raston, Dina (December 26, 2009). “Terrorism Links Uncertain In Airplane Attack”. NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121927036&ps=cprs. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b c D. Shear, Michael; Johnson, Carrie; Hsu, Spencer S. (December 26, 2009). “Airports intensify security measures worldwide in wake of failed bomb attack aboard U.S.-bound jetliner”. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/25/AR2009122501355.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ Barrett, Devlin (December 26, 2009). “Christmas Day terrorism suspect is charged”. KATU. The Associated Press. http://www.katu.com/news/national/80140857.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b “Official: Explosive PETN Used in Attack”. CBS News. December 26, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/26/national/main6024409.shtml. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ a b c Schmitt, Ben; Ashenfelter, David (January 7, 2010). “Abdulmutallab faces life in prison for Flight 253 plot”. Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/article/20100107/NEWS06/1070452/Abdulmutallab-faces-life-in-prison-for-Flight-253-plot. 

^ Chang, Kenneth. “Explosive on Flight 253 Is Among Most Powerful”, The New York Times, December 27, 2009. Accessed December 28, 2009.

^ “Shoe bomber: Tale of another failed terrorist attack”, CNN, December 26, 2009, accessed January 2, 2010.

^ “Saudi suicide bomber hid IED in his anal cavity”, Homeland Security Newswire, September 9, 2009, http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/saudi-suicide-bomber-hid-ied-his-anal-cavity 

^ Kennedy, Dominic. “Passengers face security crackdown after failed airliner bomb plot”, The Times, December 28, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2009.

^ Donna Abu-Nasr (December 27, 2009 3:22 pm ET). “Airliner plot raises fears about al-Qaida in Yemen”. Associated Press. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_yemen_us_airliner_attack. [dead link]

^ Tapper, Jake.”The August Attempt on Saudi Prince Mohammed – and the Link to Flight 253″ ABC News Blogs, January 3, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2010.

^ Devlin, Barrett. AP Source: Man on Sunday Flight Posed No Threat. December 27, 2009.

^ Wong, Kristina and Pierre Thomas. “Christmas Day Terror Suspect Moved to Prison; Air Security Measures Questioned.” ABC News. December 27, 2009. 1. Retrieved on February 12, 2010.

^ “Incident on Another Amsterdam-to-Detroit Flight”. The New York Times. December 27, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/politics/w28talk.html?hp. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 

^ “Angry Nigerian removed Sunday from same Detroit-bound plane as in Christmas attack”". Associated Press. December 27, 2009. http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/dec/27/angry-nigerian-removed-sunday-same-detroit-bound-p/. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 

^ Margasak, Larry; Williams, Corey (December 26, 2009). “Nigerian man charged in Christmas airliner attack”. Associated Press. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1398788.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. [dead link]

^ a b c d e f g h i DeYoung, Karen and Leahy, Michael (December 28, 2009). “Uninvestigated terrorism warning about Detroit suspect called not unusual”. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/27/AR2009122700279.html. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 

^ Sengupta, Kim and Usborne, David. “Nigerian in aircraft attack linked to London mosque”, The Independent, December 28, 2009. Accessed December 28, 2009.

^ “Lonely Trek to Radicalism for Terror Suspect”, Nossiter, Adam. (January 16, 2010). The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2010.

^ a b c Schapiro, Rich (December 27, 2009). “Flight 253 terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab led life of luxury in London before attempted attack”. Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/12/27/2009-12-27_untitled__2london27m.html. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 

^ Johnson, Carrie. “Explosive in Detroit terror case could have blown hole in airplane, sources say”, The Washington Post, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ al Qadhi, Mohammed. “Detroit bomb suspect ‘smart but introverted’ says Yemen classmate”, The National, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ “Plane Attack Highlights Yemen Al-Qaeda Threat to U.S.”[dead link] Business Week, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ “Web posts suggest lonely, depressed terror suspect”, The Toronto Star, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ England, Andrew, Antonya, Allen, and Wallis, William, “Quiet charm of student linked to airliner plot”, Financial Times, January 2, 2010. Accessed January 2, 2010.

^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Newell, Claire; Lamb, Christina; Ungoed-Thomas, Jon; Gourlay, Chris; Dowling, Kevin; Tobin, Dominic (January 3, 2010). “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: one boy’s journey to jihad”. The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6974073.ece. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ “Statement update on attempted act of terrorism on Northwest Airlines Flight 253″, UCL News, December 27, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ a b Lipton, Eric and Shane, Scott (December 27, 2009). “More Questions on Why Terror Suspect Was Not Stopped”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/28/us/28terror.html. Retrieved December 27, 2009. 

^ Adams, Guy. “Bomber warns: there are more like me in Yemen; Al-Qa’ida claims responsibility as inquest into airport security begins”, The Independent, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ Chazan, Guy. “Posts Reveal Lonely, Devout Man”, The Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ “From shoes to soft drinks to underpants”, The Economist, December 30, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ a b Leppard, David (January 3, 2010). “MI5 knew of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s UK extremist links”. The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6973954.ece. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 

^ Leppard, David; Jaber, Hala (January 10, 2009). “Human rights gagged MI5 over Abdulmutallab: Intelligence on Muslim radicals cannot be passed to the US because of privacy fears”. The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6982393.ece. Retrieved January 10, 2009. 

^ Lewis, Jason, and Churcher, Sharon, “Obama demands security overhaul into syringe bomb fiasco as it emerges Al Qaeda had warned of terror attack just six days ago”, The Daily Mail, December 27, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ Margasak, Corey; Williams (December 26, 2009). “Nigerian man charged in Christmas airliner attack”. Houston Chronicle. The Associated Press. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6787865.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. [dead link]

^ a b c Shane, Scott, Schmitt, Eric and Lipton, Eric (December 26, 2009). “U.S. Charges Suspect, Eyeing Link to Qaeda in Yemen”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/27/us/27terror.html. Retrieved December 26, 2009. 

^ McGinley, Shane. “Christmas Day bomber studied in Dubai”, Arabian Business, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ Afshan, Ahmed; and Amira, Agarib. “US bomb suspect studied briefly in Dubai”, Khaleej Times, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ Gilmore, Heath, and Sharp, Ari. “Would-be bomber had ‘terror’ conference”, The Sydney Morning Herald, December 31, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ “Bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on UK watch-list”. BBC News. December 28, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8432180.stm. Retrieved December 28, 2009. 

^ Rayner, Gordon. “Detroit terror attack: timeline”, The Telegraph, December 30, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ a b “Abdulmutallab Visited Yemen This Year; Airline Terror Suspect Spent More than Four Months There, Yemeni Government Confirms”, CBS News, December 28, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ a b c Yemen: Abdulmutallab Had Expired Visa; Suspected Terrorist Should Have Left Country in September, but Remained Illegally until December, Officials Say”, CBS News, December 31, 2009. Accessed January 1, 2010.

^ Elliott, Philip; and Baldor, Lolita C. “Obama: US Intel Had Info Ahead of Airliner Attack”, ABC News, December 29, 2009. Accessed December 30, 2009.

^ “Was Yemen course cover for terror suspect?”, UPI, December 31, 2009. Accessed January 2, 2010.

^ “Abdulmutallab Visited Yemen This Year; Airline Terror Suspect Spent More than Four Months There”, CBS News, December 28, 2009. Accessed December 29, 2009.

^ “Questions Emerge Over Suspect’s Path”, The Wall Street Journal, January 4, 2010. Accessed January 4, 2010.

^ Gregory, Anthony, “Syringe bomber Umar Abdulmutallab chilling text messages to dad”, Daily Mirror, January 1, 2010, accessed January 2, 2010.

^ Kennedy, Dominic. “Abdulmutallab’s bomb plans began with classroom defence of 9/11″, The Times, December 28, 2009. Accessed December 28, 2009.

^ “Alleged Christmas Bomber Said To Flip On Cleric; Official: Umar Farouk Abdullmutallab Says U.S.-Born Yemeni Cleric Anwar al-Awlaki Instructed Him In Explosives Plot,” CBS News, February 5, 2010, accessed February 5, 2010

^ “Abdulmutallab Shocks Family, Friends”. CBS News. Dece…

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Christian Dating Sites Central Related Info

What does it mean when you search the net and see these words “free Philippine ladies“?  Does it mean that you get them literally for free? This is not about human trafficking or anything of that sort. It refers to online dating wherein you can get their web addresses for free. Online dating has become more popular these days because almost everybody can have access to the internet. You can see internet café’s sprouting almost everywhere like weeds in a garden, in a good way of course. Almost every home has a computer in their house with access to the internet.

 

Online dating and social networking sites are open to members most especially the women. While you can avail of free membership for some sites it will last for only a certain time duration. After that you have to pay for a fee to continue availing of their services. Other dating sites give you the addresses of their women members for free. You may be wondering why this is so. Well, there are reasons behind this and you will find out later on.

 

When you come across free Philippine ladies internet you might be a bit pessimistic about it but if you search real well there are sites that do not ask for anything in return. No strings attached whatsoever. The owners of these sites may have met their partner for life through this process and want to give other Filipinas the same opportunity they had. There are dating sites owned by Christians who welcome people from all congregations in the hope to make change when it comes to online dating. This allows Christians to meet other believers from all over the world in the hope of creating online relationships and the chance to meet and nurture it to another level.

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Like night and day there is also negative things that come out of dating sites just like everything else has a balance. There are dating sites that offer free addresses of its members but if you scroll down you will find that they ask for donations to foundations that they support or maybe own themselves. Of course they tell you that they are nit forcing you to donate but if you can you can help a lot of lives in the process. This method is an indirect approach to asking you for money. By playing around with your conscience or make you feel guilty. If one could develop a healthy relationship with a member of that site by any chance you will feel guilty not giving to the foundation the site supports. Other dating sites attach links to travel tour agencies or other services that entices you to avail of with a certain fee.

 

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Birth of Jesus

A nativity scene takes its inspiration from the accounts of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Luke’s narrative describes an angel announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds who then visit the humble site where Jesus is found in a manger. Matthew’s narrative tells of Magi who follow a star to the place where Jesus dwells, and indicates that the Magi found Jesus around two years after his birth rather than on the exact day. Matthew’s account does not mention the angels and shepherds, while Luke’s narrative is silent on the Magi and the star. With no basis in scripture, however, three dimensional nativity scenes (whether static or living) usually bring the shepherds and the angels of Luke together at the manger with Matthew’s Magi and the star. Further, and without scriptural basis, the ox and the ass are present at the manger as well as other animals such as sheep, goats, and camels.

Origins and early history

St. Francis at Greccio by Giotto

St. Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first nativity scene in 1223 at Greccio, Italy, in an attempt to place the emphasis of Christmas upon the worship of Christ rather than upon secular materialism and gift giving. Staged in a cave near Greccio, St. Francis’ nativity scene was a living one with humans and animals cast in the Biblical roles. Pope Honorius III gave his blessing to the exhibit. Such pantomimes became hugely popular and spread throughout Christendom. Within a hundred years every church in Italy was expected to have a nativity scene at Christmastime. Eventually, statues replaced human and animal participants, and static scenes grew to elaborate affairs with richly robed figurines placed in intricate landscape settings. Charles III, King of the Two Sicilies, collected such elaborate scenes, and his enthusiasm encouraged others to do the same.

A tradition in England, United Kingdom involved baking a mince pie in the shape of a manger to hold the Christ child until dinnertime when the pie was eaten. When the Puritans banned Christmas celebrations in the seventeenth century, they also passed specific legislation to outlaw such pies, calling them “Idolaterie in crust”.

Components

Static nativity scenes

Whimsical rubber ducky set featuring the Magi, a lamb, and the Holy Family

A static nativity scene is erected in homes and churches during the Christmas season, and is composed of figurines depicting the infant Jesus resting in a manger, Mary, and Joseph. Other figures in the scene may include angels, shepherds, and animals. The figures may be made of any material, and arranged in a stable or cave. The Magi may also appear, and are sometimes not placed in the scene until the week following Christmas to account for their travel time to the event. After World War I, large, lighted manger scenes in churches and public buildings grew in popularity, and, by the 1950s, many companies were selling lawn ornaments of non-fading, long-lasting, weather resistant materials telling the nativity story. While most home nativity scenes are packed away at Christmas or shortly thereafter, nativity scenes in churches usually remain on display until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.

Variants on the standard nativity scene are many and include ethnic dioramas. In Colombia, for example, the pesebre may feature a town and its surrounding countryside with shepherds and animals. Mary and Joseph are often depicted as rural Boyac people with Mary clad in a countrywoman’s shawl and fedora hat, and Joseph garbed in a poncho. The infant Jesus is depicted as European with Italianate features. Visitors bringing gifts to the Christ child are depicted as Colombian natives.

The traditional nativity scene has never been an attempt to accurately depict a gospel event. With no basis in the gospels, for example, the shepherds, the Magi, and the ox and ass are displayed together at the manger. Some traditions bring other scriptural characters to the nativity scene such as Adam and Eve and the serpent, Noah and his animals, the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve prophets and the twelve apostles. Mundane activities such as Mary washing diapers in the River Jordan, or a dove descending on the newborn infant may be depicted.

Living nativity scenes

Living nativity at St. Wojciech Church, Wyszkw, Poland, 2006

Living nativity in Sicily, which also contains a mock rural 19th-century village. A young artisan is drawing water from an authentically reconstructed fountain

Pantomimes similar to the scene staged by St. Francis at Greccio became an annual event throughout Christendom. Abuses and exaggerations in the presentation of mystery plays during the Middles Ages, however, forced the church to prohibit performances during the fifteenth century. The plays survived outside church walls, however, and three hundred years after the prohibition, German immigrants brought simple forms of the nativity play to America. Some features of the dramas became part of both Catholic and Protestant Christmas services with children often taking the parts of characters in the nativity story. Nativity plays and pageants, culminating in living nativity scenes, eventually entered public schools. Today, such exhibitions are challenged on the grounds of separation of church and state.

In some countries, the nativity scene took to the streets with human performers costumed as Joseph and Mary traveling from house to house seeking shelter and being told by the houses’ occupants to move on. The couple’s journey culminated in an outdoor tableau at a designated place with the shepherds and the Magi then traveling the streets in parade fashion looking for the Christ child.

Living nativity scenes are not without their problems. In 2008, for example, vandals destroyed all eight scenes and backdrops at Mount Carmel Christian Church drive-through living nativity scene in Georgia. About 120 of the church 500 members were involved in the construction of the scenes or playing roles in the production. The damage was estimated at more than US,000. Additionally, the use of real animals in living nativity scenes has provoked complaint.

In southern Italy, especially Sicily, living nativity scenes (called presepe vivente in Italian), are extremely popular, and are rather elaborate affairs, which feature the classic nativity scene as well as a mock rural 19th-century village, complete with artisans in traditional costumes working at their particular trades. These attract many visitors and have been televised by Italy’s national station Rai.

Animals in nativity scenes

With no basis in the canonical narratives of the birth of Jesus, an ox and ass are usually part of the nativity scene. The tradition may arise from an extracanonical text, the Pseudo-Matthew gospel of the eighth century:

“And on the third day after the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Mary went out of the cave, and, entering a stable, placed the child in a manger, and an ox and an ass adored him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by the prophet Isaiah, “The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib.” Therefore, the animals, the ox and the ass, with him in their midst incessantly adored him. Then was fulfilled that which was said by Habakkuk the prophet, saying, “Between two animals you are made manifest.”

The ox, the ass, and the infant Jesus in one of the earliest depictions of the nativity, (Ancient Roman Christian sarcophagus, 4th century)

Considerable symbolism is attached to the ox and the ass. The ox traditionally represents patience, the nation of Israel, and Old Testament sacrificial worship while the ass represents humility, readiness to serve, and the Gentiles.

The ox and the ass, as well as other animals, became a part of nativity scene tradition. In a 1415 ,Corpus Christi celebration, the Ordo paginarum notes that Jesus was lying between an ox and an ass. Other animals introduced to nativity scenes include elephants and camels.

By the 1970s, churches and other communities began using zoo animals in their nativity pageants in an attempt to create some authenticity. “Drive-by” or “drive-through” scenes with rented animals such as sheep and donkeys have become popular in California with walking tours also available at outdoor nativities.

Some complaint surrounds the use of live animals in nativity scenes. In 2008, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) noted the animals in living nativity scenes lacked adequate exercise and space, suffered exposure to temperature extremes, and were transported to and from displays by substandard means. Tragedies involving animals were noted by PETA, including the rape of a sheep in a West Virginia nativity display, and the death of a donkey in Richmond, Virginia traffic after dogs chased the animal into the road. PETA recommended churches and other organizations promoting live nativity displays spend their funds on relieving the plight of the poor rather renting animals for such displays, and suggested that children dressed as animals participate in such scenes as the humane alternative.

Selection of distinctive scenes

Vatican nativity scenes

In 1982, Pope John Paul II inaugurated the annual tradition of placing a nativity scene on display in the Vatican City in the Piazza San Pietro before the Christmas Tree.

In 2006, the nativity scene featured seventeen new figures of spruce on loan to the Vatican from sculptors and wood sawyers of the town of Tesero, Italy in the Italian Alps. The figures included peasants, a flutist, a bagpipe player and a shepherd named Titaoca. Twelve nativity scenes created before 1800 from Tesero were put on display in the Vatican audience hall.

The Vatican nativity scene for 2007 placed the birth of Jesus in Nazareth (rather than in Bethlehem), based upon an interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. Mary was shown with the newborn infant Jesus in a room in Joseph’s house. To the left of the room was Joseph’s workshop while to the right was a busy inn – a comment on materialism versus spirituality. The Vatican’s written description of the diorama said, “The scene for this year’s Nativity recalls the painting style of the Flemish School of the 1500s.” The scene was unveiled on December 24 and remained in place until February 2, 2008 for The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Ten new figures were exhibited with seven on loan from the town of Tesero and three – a baker, a woman, and a child – donated to the Vatican.

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In 2008, the province of Trento, Italy provided sculpted wooden figures and animals as well as utensils to create depictions of daily life. The scene featured seventeen figures with nine depicting the Holy Family, the Magi, and the shepherds. The nine figures were originally donated by Saint Vincent Pallotti for the nativity at Rome’s Church of Sant’Andrea della Valle in 1842 and eventually found their way to the Vatican. They are dressed anew each year for the scene. The 2008 scene was set in Bethlehem with a fountain and a hearth representing regeneration and light. The same year, the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall exhibited a nativity designed by Mexican artists.

Since 1968, the Pope has officiated at a special ceremony in St. Peter’s Square on the last Sunday before Christmas that involves blessing hundreds of mangers and Babies Jesus for the children of Rome, Italy. In 1978, 50,000 schoolchildren attended the ceremony.

Santons

Main article: Santon (figurine)

A santon produce seller

A santon (Provenal: “little saint”) is a small hand-painted, terracotta nativity scene figurine produced in the Provence region of southeastern France. In a traditional Provenal crche, the santons represent various characters from Provenal village life such as the scissors grinder, the fishwife, and the chestnut seller. The figurines were first created during the French Revolution when churches were forcibly closed and large nativity scenes prohibited. Today, their production is a family affair passed from parents to children. During the Christmas season, santon makers gather in Marseille and other locales in southeastern France to display and sell their wares.

Krakw szopka

Main article: Krakow szopka

Szopka are traditional Polish nativity scenes dating to thirteenth century Krakw, Poland. Their modern construction incorporates elements of Krakow’s historic architecture including Gothic spires, Renaissance facades, and Baroque domes, and utilizes everyday materials such as colored tinfoils, cardboard, and wood. Some are mechanized. Prizes are awarded for the most elaborately designed and decorated pieces in an annual competition held in Krakw’s main square beside the statue of Adam Mickiewicz. Some of the best are then displayed in Krakw’s Museum of History. Szopka were traditionally carried from door-to-door in the nativity plays (Jaselka) by performing groups.

Three nativity scenes in the United States

White House nativity scene, 2008

One of the oldest nativity scenes in the United States is the Moravian Church Putz displayed by the Moravian Congregation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, since the 18th century.[citation needed] The German name “Putz” comes from the word “to decorate.” The Putz tells the entire story of Jesus’ birth from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Similar Putzes are traditionally displayed in Moravian homes and churches in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

In 2005, President of the United States of America, George W. Bush and his wife, First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush displayed an eighteenth century Italian presepio in the East Room of the White House, Washington, D.C., United States. The presepio was donated to the White House in the last decades of the twentieth century.

On her Christmas Day 2007 television show, Martha Stewart exhibited the nativity scene she sculpted in pottery class at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia while serving a 2005 sentence. She remarked, “Even though every inmate was only allowed to do one a month, and I was only there for five months, I begged because I said I was an expert potter – ceramicist actually – and could I please make the entire nativity scene.” She supplemented her nativity figurines on the show with tiny artificial palm trees imported from Germany.

Controversies

United States of America

Nativity scenes have provoked controversies and lawsuits. In federal court pleadings in the United States, for example, the New York City, New York, school system defended its ban on nativity scenes by indicating the historicity of the birth of Jesus was not actual fact. The judge in the case upheld the ban, noting that the ban on nativity scenes is not discriminatory while permitting Jewish menorahs and Islamic star and crescent displays because the latter two have secular components while nativity scenes are purely religious. In another instance, a suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States school banned a nativity scene while permitting a menorah display. The school’s principal stated, “Judaism is not just a religion, it’s a culture.”

A static outdoor nativity scene in the United States, (Christkindlmarket, Chicago, Illinois)

In 1969, the American Civil Liberties Union (representing three clergymen, an atheist, and a leader of the American Ethical Society), tried to block the construction of a nativity scene on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., United States. When the ACLU claimed the government sponsorship of a distinctly Christian symbol violated separation of church and state, the sponsors of the fifty year old Christmas celebration, Pageant of Peace (who had an exclusive permit from the Interior Department for all events on the Ellipse), responded that the nativity scene was a reminder of America’s spiritual heritage. The United States Court of Appeals ruled on December 12, 1969 that the crche be allowed that year. The case dragged on for four more years until September 26, 1973 when the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and found the involvement of the Interior Department and the National Park Service in the Pageant of Peace amounted to government support for religion. The court ruled that the nativity scene should be dropped from the pageant or the government end its participation in the event in order to avoid “excessive entanglements” between government and religion. In 1973, the nativity scene vanished.

In 1985, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ACLU vs Scarsdale, New York that nativity scenes on public lands violate separation of church and state statutes unless they comply with “The Reindeer Rule” – a regulation calling for equal opportunity for non-religious symbols such as reindeer.

In 1994, the Christmas in the Park Board of San Jose, California, United States removed a statue of the infant Jesus from Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park and replaced it with a statue of the plumed Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl commissioned with US0,000 of public funds. In response, protestors staged a living nativity scene in the park.

In 2006, a lawsuit was brought against the state of Washington in the United States when it permitted a public display of a “holiday” tree and a menorah but not a nativity scene. As a result of the lawsuit, the decision was made to permit a nativity scene to be displayed in the Rotunda of the state Capitol in Olympia.

Byron Babione, a senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group in the United States, led the legal battle to display the scene after a private citizen was denied permission to erect the scene. Babione said:

It’s incredible to think that Americans have to think twice about whether it is okay to celebrate Christmas in public. Just as it is constitutional for officials to display a menorah and a holiday tree, it is also constitutional to include a Nativity scene… Ninety-five percent of Americans celebrate Christmas. In light of that fact, the inclusion of a Nativity scene by a private citizen is entirely appropriate. More importantly, it does not violate any facet of the law. In fact, the state capitol rotunda is open for displays and exhibits during the holiday season. The state cannot bar a Christmas Nativity because of its religious viewpoint and allow other displays like a menorah and [a] ‘holiday tree.’”

Baby Jesus theft

In the United States, nativity figurines are sometimes stolen from outdoor public and private displays during the Christmas season in an act that is generally called Baby Jesus theft. The thefts are generally pranks with figurines recovered within a few hours or days of their disappearances. Some have been damaged beyond repair or have been defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols. It is unclear if Baby Jesus theft is on the rise as United States federal law enforcement officials do not track such theft. Some communities protect outdoor nativity scenes with surveillance cameras or GPS devices concealed within the figurines. Some wonder if an Anti-Christian sentiment lurks behind the thefts.

United Kingdom

In December 2004, Madame Tussaud’s London, England, United Kingdom nativity scene featured waxwork models of soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham as Joseph and Mary, and Kylie Minogue as the Angel. Tony Blair, George W. Bush, and the Duke of Edinburgh were cast as the Magi while actors Hugh Grant, Samuel L. Jackson and comedian Graham Norton were cast as shepherds. The celebrities were chosen for the roles by 300 people who visited the Madame Tussaud’s in October 2004 and voted on the display. The Archbishop of Canterbury was not impressed, and a Vatican spokesperson said the display was in very poor taste. Other officials reacted angrily, with one noting it was “a nativity stunt too far”. “We’re sorry if we have offended people,” said Diane Moon, a spokesperson for the museum. She said the display was intended in the spirit of fun.

The Vatican

In a case similar to that of Madame Tussaud’s, the Vatican waived the traditional Bethlehem manger setting of Luke’s account in its 2007 nativity scene and placed the event in Joseph’s house in Nazareth with his workshop and a busy inn on either side. The display was based on an interpretation of the account in Matthew with the overall theme being materialism versus spirituality. The decision for the atypical setting was believed to be part of a crackdown on fanciful scenes erected in various cities around Italy. In Naples, Italy, for example, Elvis Presley and Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi, were depicted among the shepherds and angels worshiping at the manger.

Spain

El caganer

In 2005, the city council of Barcelona, Spain commissioned a nativity scene which did not include the region’s traditional nativity figure, el caganer, a red-capped defecating character which is not a part of the nativity narrative but simply an expression of the irreverent scatological humour of southwestern Europe. The council claimed the character set a bad example as sanitation laws against public elimination had recently been passed. The council’s decision was viewed as an attack on Catalonian tradition, and, following a campaign against it, el caganer was restored to the nativity scene in 2006. In addition to the traditional caganer, other characters have appeared assuming the caganer position. In 2008, a “pooper” of Barack Obama was made available just days after his election as the President of the United States of America.

References

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