Terror Chief Michael Leiter Wasn't Vacationing Through Attack

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Why doesn't our country and airlines copy the way El-Al airlines of Israel? The last I heard it was the safest airlines in the world and they are flying in the most dangerous skies on the planet!

Lee Hansen of MI 10:02AM January 10, 2010

When I was in the Navy (45 years ago, I knew I couldn't get home for Christmas.. and most likely not for New Years or Thanksgiving etc. I signed up to be on my job for 4 years.. with vacation when I was least needed. Government workers.. specially the bosses, should also realize they are needed on the job during stress times... and capable stand-ins when they figure vacation is ok. Christmas/New Years is stress time, now thanks to terrorists.. as are other special 'times'..and should be dealt with accordingly.. the boss & surrounding mini bosses should be on the job. Vacation comes when pressures ease up provided competent (in government?) stand-ins are pressed into service.

PetRockGal of GA 10:27PM January 09, 2010

Nobody I heard is saying that Leiter was skiing the day of the attack. Actually that would not have been a problem until he was notified and they he would need to come into work. The problem is his boss gave him permission to take 6 days off for a good job which was a terrible decision. Both men needed to be on the job. This pants bomber may have been the 1st of a series of incidents to come. Who know? I can't imagine having a fun time skiing know my country may be targeted again in the near term. Remember they had closed down the US embassy in Yemen and I would imagine that wasn't for house cleaning.
Brennan admitted he let the president down, but actually I am his boss and I want him fired. I want Janet to move on as well, and Leiter should never have asked for those 6 days off. If the job is taking up too much time in their lives, which I certainly understand, then quit. We need somebody that is married to those jobs.

Susan Kachmar of WI 9:29PM January 08, 2010

I'm sure that Al Qaeda sees Obama for what he is - a weak, bowing and scraping incompetent who doesn't understand that there really is a "war on terror" going on. Someone, please, ask this bozo to resign.

s of VA 3:36PM January 08, 2010

Why is Napolitano not under attack here? She is the one who said the system is operating as it should. We need a person who cares about the country as head of Homeland Securty, and not just another political hack.
I think she is a major weak link in our security and was sickened that Obama had such poor judgment as to appoint her.

Joan Dalton of AL 2:14PM January 08, 2010

Obama and Pelosi go after the CIA, letting Holder investigate and Pelosi lie about what she was told and then accuse the them of lying... these pros don't feel that the Pres has their back. Rather they feel any independent action not pre-approved by a lawyer may find them in hot water. These people are NOT stupid. They are some of our best and brightest... they know enough to hunker down and not stick out their necks when the new Administration is whirling axee. i.e follow all the "rules" to a fault an let the chips fall where they may!

David Ippolito of OH 1:57PM January 08, 2010

To Nikos Retsos of IL:
THANK GOD my son is out of college and can't be "professed" by you. READ, "Professor" Retsos, read the article BEFORE you let your fingers do your talking!! You're an idiot!!

DCH of TX 1:28PM January 08, 2010

hey Nikos, engage the brain before opening the mouth please.You were at work on Christmas day like HE was right? So who is to blame?

madame48 of NH 12:52PM January 08, 2010

"Mr. Leiter is certainly the epitome of a worthless and unscrupulous bureaucrat"
Nikos--you apparently did not read the article. Mr. Leitner was in the office.
Furthermore, he was appointed as the head of NCTC under Pres. Bush, he is not an Obama appointee, so perhaps your opinion there is misplaced. Perhaps your point should be "why did we hold on to Bush appointees?"
Also, he is not a bureaucrat, he was an attorney before taking the deputy, then leadership position of NCTC.
So, Professor, perhaps you have homework to do?

Adriana of VA 10:18AM January 08, 2010

People whithout military training may not understand this, but when the NCTC director leaves his post after a botched terrorist attack, it is not only galling, but it is also a dereliction of duty. And that tells me how politically connected people get plum jobs, and they don't give a hoot about any responsibility because the clout that gave them the job will also protect it.
I expect the white house press secretary Robert Gibbs at some point to express the president's confidence in Mr. Leiter, because in politics you must protect your friends first. Sure, Obama said "The buck stops here," but nobody stopped Mr. Leiter from going skiing, and sliding down a slope, when our national security system was sliding down to failure, and the jaws of the American public have dropped to the floor. And now we learned that the Security Chief just walked out the door almost as soon as the airplane landed, and told his underlings "call me if you need something!"
Mr. Leiter is certainly the epitome of a worthless and unscrupulous bureaucrat, one that shuffle papers in a plump job that is politically connected -and hence protected, and he doesn't give a damn about the security of Americans. And that is why some reports in the press quoted him as telling his staff
something like "I am not going to let a little terrorist spoil my vacation." And if Obama's people see Al Qaeda bombers as little unworthy terrorists, why the hell we are fighting a 9-year bloody war in Afghanistan?
Now. The "buck may stop at the white house," but if the terrorists are not stopped from entering airplanes with explosives, and if security people are walking out the door and go skiing during a national crisis, then Obama's "the buck stops here" bravado is just rhetorical nonsense. And the American people deserve accountability, not irresponsibility that is swept under the rug by the president when exposed in the headlines! Obama campaigned on a platform of "change." But as the adage goes: "The more things change in Washington, the more they remain the same."
I hope that on the next presidential election the Americans will remember Obama with this adage: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me!" Nikos Retsos, retired professor

Nikos Retsos of IL 8:22AM January 08, 2010