In such a case, an immediate appearance by the U.S. president is not necessarily wise. He did address the public soon after the Christmas incident, forcefully noting that senior administration officials had two days to put a comprehensive analysis of what went wrong on his desk.
By contrast, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has so far been notably ineffective, misguidedly trying to reassure the public by stating that our security system worked. The reverse was, in fact, the case.
Terrorist agent Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has a history of increasingly radical activity, and authorities had been warned about him by his own father. Yet, the would-be killer secured a U.S. visa, and bought a one-way ticket with cash and without luggage.
The jetliner was saved only because alert and courageous passengers prevented the aspiring murderer from detonating explosives concealed on his body, and undetected during pro forma passenger screening at the Amsterdam airport. In the aftermath, full-body scans and other thorough security procedures are being implemented.
By contrast, eliminating Abdulmutallab's sponsors in Yemen will take time with both covert intelligence and overt military efforts. As this latest chapter of the struggle against terrorists unfolds, be attentive to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. By experience and temperament, as well as current position, he may prove to be our most crucial leader.
Appointed Pentagon head by George W. Bush, Gates was asked and agreed to remain in place by Barack Obama. His principal and most important mentor has been former President George H.W. Bush. Gates has become steadily more influential in the still-new Obama regime. So far, he has shown himself to be a man for all political seasons.
In his notably candid memoirs, "From the Shadows,"� Gates is blunt in his criticism of the Carter administration for his hostility to intelligence agencies and general ineffectiveness. His tenure as deputy to Carter's CIA chief, Admiral Stansfield Turner, was clearly one of the most painful experiences of Gates' working life. By keeping Gates in place, Obama was shrewdly constructing continuity with the more generally conservative and Republican sectors of Washington and the wider American population.
Throughout his long career, Gates has demonstrated top professional competence combined with shrewd political calculation. He is one of very few CIA career professionals to rise to the top of the agency. He was both Director of Central Intelligence and Deputy National Security Adviser to President George H.W. Bush, who generally receives high marks in foreign and defense policies.
One of the most important of many recent books on U.S. national intelligence is "Legacy of Ashes"� by Tim Weiner. Weiner is notably positive about Robert Gates. He also provides persuasive evidence the CIA was providing strident warnings about an impending terrorist attack to an indifferent Bush White House just before 9/11. Gates played an influential role in shaping the very professional contemporary agency.
However, to succeed in Yemen and elsewhere, U.S. counterterrorist efforts must have full White House support. This includes willingness to use the sort of ruthless methods essential in war, but sometimes publicly condemned by other Obama administration officials.
Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College in Wisconsin and author of "After the Cold War."� He can be reached at acyr@carthage.edu.Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click hereSharePrintEmailWrite a CommentEnter your comments - 3000 characters maxType in image codeSubmit Receive China Post promos Respond to this email Also in Arthur CyrUpdated Sunday, December 27, 2009 12:38 am TWN▪Pondering war and peace at Christmas▪Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke "” TIME's Man For This Season▪North Korea negotiations key to U.S. security▪Vietnam vital context for Afghanistan▪Afghanistan requires some careful decisionsMoreMost Read▪Biggest blast in Taipei opens 2010▪President Ma's New Year's Day Message - I▪TAIEX in record rally▪Free-trade agreement between China, ASEAN grouping comes into force▪How to break cell phone security shownSponsors▪Get Car Hire Asia, Thailand, Middle East, Cyprus, Dubai, USA▪ Business Directory
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