December 30, 2009
Hey muslimterroristsReverywhere.
Here’s the video and the transcript of Robert Gibbs on Meet the Press with David Gregory. (27th) Gibbs tries to make it seem like barry is very involved – his national security advisors in Hawaii and conference calls to Situation Room.
Believes it was a potential terror attack but won’t say who and won’t say whether he thinks it’s part of a larger terror plot – just that security precautions were immediately adopted – including adding air marshals.
Priorities for “safety and security of The American People” – barry’s asked for a “listing review and a detection capabilities review”. How folks get on what list and how did this specific muslim terrorist get on two planes with explosives.
They then talk about healthcare, which isn’t on this video segment. Didn’t include that part of the transcript.
TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS
DAVID GREGORY: Joining us now, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. He’s live from the White House this morning.
Robert, good morning. Welcome back to MEET THE PRESS. The president, of course, is vacationing with family on this holiday weekend in Hawaii, and I know that he’s been kept abreast of developments as they’ve occurred over the past several days. What’s his priority now in terms of what he would like to know, what kind of accountability he would like to see as a result of this?
MR. ROBERT GIBBS: Well, David, as you mentioned, he’s been briefed very regularly by national security staffers that are with him in Hawaii and has been involved with conference calls to and from the Situation Room since we first learned of this incident on Christmas Day.
I’d say the two priorities that the president has right now, first and foremost, ensuring the safety and security of the American people and doing everything that we can and continue to do everything that we can to make sure that that’s happening.
And secondly, David, he’s asked for two different reviews to be conducted, which you heard Secretary Napolitano mention. First, digging into this listing–the listing procedures that she talked about, figuring out if the information that the U.S. government had was used properly. But also, to go back and look at the protocols for how listing is done that, as the secretary mentioned, in some cases there are several years old, and ensure that we’re using all the information that we have properly. She mentioned a list of 550,000 people. There’s a smaller list of 400,000 people of which this Selectee list that you mentioned, and the No Fly list, are drawn from. Those two lists encompass about 18,000 people. So you can see there are a series of database universes that list people that are of some concern to several agencies across the government.
[How hard is it to run his name through all databases? Has to take at most five minutes on the computer - if they've been inputted somewhere. And then go from there?]
We want to ensure that information sharing is always happening as it should. And I think secondly, a review to ensure and figure out why a, an individual with the chemical explosive that he had on him could get onto an airliner in Amsterdam and fly into this country.
So a listing review and a detection capabilities review so that we can look, going forward, about what has happened now in the past.
MR. GREGORY: There, there’s obviously an investigation that’s ongoing. But just as after 9/11, then President Bush’s national security team knew that, that the attack had the feel and the look of an al-Qaeda attack. To, to the president’s national security team, does it feel the same way here?
MR. GIBBS: Well, David, I don’t want to get into classified intelligence matters. I think pretty quickly the White House determined, and we told many in the media and you all reported, that we believe this was a potential terrorist attack that, that could have occurred. The president certainly has taken steps in his time in office to reorient our priorities as it comes to fighting that war on terror. We’re drawing down in Iraq and focusing, as the secretary said, on Pakistan and Afghanistan, the place where the attacks of 9/11 originated and where people sit in caves and in houses today planning more attacks in this country, using all elements of American power in places not just like Pakistan, but throughout the world in places like Yemen and Somalia. And you’ve seen already leaders from al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia that have been targeted and eliminated. We’ve increased our capabilities…
[What does it say that in 2009, we are fighting people who live in caves?]
MR. GREGORY: Right.
MR. GIBBS: …and our information sharing, and we want to do the same throughout the federal government.
I would say lastly, David, I think going forward, the president believes strongly that this has to be a nonpartisan issue. This should not be a tug-of-war between the two political parties. I hope that, that, that everyone will resolve in the new year to make protecting our nation a nonpartisan issue rather than what normally happens in Washington, and that is devolving into politics.
[Nobody's making it a partisan issue. The people who have said barry has blown off national security are just saying it again. Imagine if the attack had proceeded as planned - the POTUS was not even on the mainland of the US and it would have taken probably 12 hours to get back to Washington. Camp David has everything.]
MR. GREGORY: Final point on this. Is there any intelligence or information to indicate this was part of a larger plot?
MR. GIBBS: David, I don’t want to get into some of that intelligence, except to say this, that immediately security procedures were reviewed, as the secretary said, capabilities were strengthened at screening facilities in this country and throughout the world. We added air marshals to flights coming in and out of this country. So certainly, steps were taken to assume and plan for the very worst in order to prevent anything from happening in this country.
———–
