Obama: 'Buck Stops With Me'

President faults intelligence 'shortcomings' and promises reform
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 7, 2010 4:04 PM CST
Obama: 'Buck Stops With Me'
President Obama speaks about the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing Thursday.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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.
(More Detroit terror incident stories.)

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