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Obama: 'Buck Stops With Me'

President faults intelligence 'shortcomings' and promises reform

By the Associated Press

Posted Jan 7, 2010 4:04 PM CST

(AP) – President Obama says when it comes to terror threats against the US, he is ultimately responsible. And he is ordering changes in the way information on potential threats is handled. "The buck stops with me," said Obama in a brief address to the nation. He is ordering the intelligence community to assign "clear lines of responsibility" for immediately pursuing leads on threats. "We are at war," he said. "We are at war with al-Qaeda."

In response to the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt over Detroit, Obama also wants to strengthen the way people are added to the terror watch list and the no-fly list. And he is calling for intelligence reports—especially those that deal with threats—to be distributed more quickly and widely. He said no single individual is to blame but again faulted a systemic breakdown and promised that internal reviews are under way.

President Obama speaks about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing Thursday.
President Obama speaks about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing Thursday.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Obama speaks about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing Thursday.
President Obama speaks about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing Thursday.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
This Dec. 2009 photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Milan, Mich.  A grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 on charges accusing him of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day by trying to use a...
This Dec. 2009 photo released by the U.S. Marshal's Service shows Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in Milan, Mich. A grand jury indicted Abdulmutallab on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010 on charges accusing him of attempting...   (Anonymous)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 47 comments
DontLikeYou___
Jan 9, 2010 10:31 AM CST
Does my affection for Mrs. Palin hurt your feelings?
DontLikeYou___
Jan 9, 2010 10:30 AM CST
@RP. It seems that only a small minority of Americans agree with you. The rest are living in reality.
thekeepitrealman
Jan 8, 2010 12:37 PM CST
It's called manning up. Respect, Mr. President.

Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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