Obama Orders Review of Airport Screening

Updated 11:45 a.m. ET

President Obama has called for a review of watch lists and screening procedures at airports in the wake of attempted terrorist attack to blow up a Delta/Northwest flight on Christmas Day, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on CBS' "Face The Nation" on Sunday.

"The president has asked for two reviews to take place as a result of this potential terrorist attack," Gibbs said. "The first is a watch listing review… so we want to ensure that all of the information that needs to go to decision makers gets to where it needs to go. The president has asked for a review of the procedures that in some cases are several years old."

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Gibbs also said the suspect was on a list of 550,000 people rather than the selectee or the no-fly lists, which encompass about 18,000 people. Gibbs said although the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was on the larger list, there was not enough information to put him on the smaller lists.

As for the second review, Gibbs said the president has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review detection capabilities at airports in order, "to ensure that someone who might be carrying explosives like this individual can't get through a screening stage like they did in Amsterdam."

"We're gonna go through the capabilities for detecting and we're gonna go through the watch listing procedures again, some of which are older, and evaluate whether or not they are up to date for the types of threats and security concerns that we have," Gibbs added. "I do think though that in many ways this system has worked -- we just have to continue to keep refining it and stay ahead of what terrorists are trying to do."

As for what will happen right now, Gibbs said that although the threat level is remaining the same, "the procedures were enhanced" at airports, including adding more air marshals.

Gibbs said raising the threat level was discussed on the day of the incident.

"Officials felt comfortable with where the threat level was but wanted to ensure that capabilities that are happening at airports, both foreign and domestic, are raised a little bit so we understand and work to prevent this from happening again," he said.

Gibbs also said that Mr. Obama thought it was "absolutely" safe to fly.

Upon questioning from host John Dickerson, Gibbs refused to say whether the president thought someone "dropped" the ball on this attack, saying instead that the administration would wait for results from the review.

"There's a review that's going to take place and an investigation that's certainly ongoing," Gibbs said. "I think the president's posture on our war against those that seek to do us harm has been to focus not on Iraq but to draw down from Iraq and focus our resources on Afghanistan and Pakistan, to increase our cooperation with nations like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. And we've seen al Qaeda targeted there and many of their heads eliminated."

Gibbs also addressed the president's involvement with other federal agencies while he currently is on vacation in Hawaii.

"Obviously the president was briefed on this almost as soon as it took place. He's been involved with national security aides and secure conference calls to and from the situation room in the White House to get information," Gibbs said.