Congressman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, is hoping the foiled attack on Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 will help President Barack Obama "connect the dots."
To what, specifically, he's not yet explained.
"People have got to start connecting the dots here and maybe this is the thing that will connect the dots for the Obama administration," he told Freep.com.
At the time of his comment the Congressman had not been briefed on the incident, Think Progress pointed out.
In a follow-up post to his Twitter account, Hoekstra explained: "Administration says attempted terrorist attack. No. It was a terrorist attack! Just not as successful as they (AQ) planned."
The primary suspect, 23-year-old Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, was badly burned when he ignited a sophisticated explosive device Friday on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, witnesses said.
After his arrest, Abdulmutallab told the authorities that he had used a syringe filled with chemicals to mix with powder taped to his leg, according to senior officials quoted anonymously by US media.
"This guy claims he is tied to al Qaeda, specifically in Yemen," one official said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "He claims he was on orders from al Qaeda in Yemen. Who knows if that's true?"
Speaking to The Hill, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) claimed that the man's name does not appear on the national no-fly list, but it does appear on a list of individuals with "significant terrorist connections."
White House officials and US lawmakers called the incident a terror attack and President Obama ordered security measures to be stepped up at airports. The airline threat level has not been raised, according to the Associated Press.
With AFP.
