December 29, 2009 7:24 AM

Hoekstra: We Need to be on Offense

By
Sean Alfano
Topics
Terrorism
(AP Photo/Al Goldis)
The ranking Republican of the House Intelligence Committee said the U.S. needs to take more initiative against preventing terrorist attacks in the wake of a near-fatal attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day.

"This threat is real," Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., told "CBS' "The Early Show" Tuesday. "We need to be on offense."

Terrorist suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian who spent time in Yemen, brought an explosive device aboard a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, but the device's failure to work properly prevented an aviation catastrophe.

Hoekstra said that the systems in place to track and prevent possible terrorist suspects from entering the country failed at three points, most notably at the U.S. embassy in Nigeria where Abdulmutallab's father told officials he was concerned that his son had been radicalized after spending time in Yemen.

"You would have thought this would go right to the top of the list," Hoekstra said.

On Monday, President Barack Obama said "every element of our national power" would be used to keep Americans safe, calling the attempted explosion a "serious reminder" that national security must adapt to evolving terrorist threats.

Watch "The Early Show's" full interview with Rep. Hoekstra


Watch CBS News Videos Online

More Coverage from CBSNews.com:

Christmas Incident Renews Scanner Debate
Al Qaeda: We Planned Flight 253 Bombing
Officials: In-Flight Restrictions Eased
Tracing Bomb Suspect's Journey to Detroit
Expert: New Security Steps a Smokescreen
Al Qaeda's Yemen Branch Rising in Stature
Many Questions, Few Answers in Terror Case
U.S. Failed to Catch Suspect's Active Visa
Abdulmutallab Shocks Family, Friends
Would-Be Bomber Used Powerful Explosive
Who Is Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab?
Tightening Security in U.S.

Add a Comment See all 19 Comments
by nearl451 December 29, 2009 11:03 PM EST
Good one Peter.

Go bomb Yemen then. Or yeah,send CIA on Yemeni flights to terrorize them? OK Honestly, I don't get what Peter is suggesting at all. Doesn't seem actionable, does it?.......but good Politics, though.

AND by all means let us continue to make this a military struggle (War on Terror) and not a International Police or Enforcement activity.
Reply to this comment
by pnut134 December 29, 2009 5:40 PM EST
This guy is truly pathetic. Obama has already stated that he will not rest on defense and will be going after Al Queda. This guy and Lieberman are so transparent in their search for the lime light. Obama has killed more Al Queda leaders in his short time in office than Bush did in eight years.
Reply to this comment
by nearl451 December 29, 2009 11:17 PM EST
That depends on your definition of Al Quaeda.

Bushies called almost anyone they killed Al Quaeda (AQ inIraq, Anwar el Isalm,AQ inthe kitchen, AQ in the backyard, whatever) whether they were or not.
by ramos1129 December 29, 2009 4:47 PM EST
Peter Hoekstra is trying to exploit this incident for his own political gain. Since the incident, he has been on the air critisizing the administration for a tardy response and not briefing Congressional leaders. Now it turns out that a WH Staffer named Peter Breemer did give Hoekstra a briefing the day after the incident. Hoekstra is trying to say that that did not happen but WH transcipts prove otherwise. Turns out that Hoekstra is running for NY Govenor and wants to turn this to his own political adgenda.
Reply to this comment
by hologram5 December 29, 2009 4:42 PM EST
These retards that are calling for a pre-emptive strike can either pull the money for another war out of their a**es or they can ****. I, for one, cannot afford another front, can anyone else here?
Reply to this comment
by didserve December 29, 2009 3:32 PM EST
give hogstra and liberman guns and send them to war!
Reply to this comment
by info-hunter December 29, 2009 12:08 PM EST
Are the retardlican talking heads trying to say we should take the initiative to be on the lookout for the terrorists like the Quick Draw George and Darth Cheney did befor 9/11. I hope this is not the case as we don't want a repeat of the lack of reguard for the safety of the American citizans shown by the last administration. We also don't need the government to rob our bank accounts, retirement accounts and the working families of their futures in order to purchase more arms while giveing the rich huge tax brakes and tax loop holes big eneough to drive their limos through. Trickel down
" the urine trickeling down the faces of the working class and their families faces from the rich and well placed ". God bless America and good luck to us all in the future.
Reply to this comment
by Mark_Montgomery December 29, 2009 11:15 AM EST
We have been working on this problem for 15 years. I invented a holistic system that is far superior to what the U.S. Government is using -- in the words of many of their own specialists, and leading scientists in multiple disciplines, but to date we have had no luck in overcoming the adoption barriers facing small and emerging technology ventures, which I now see as one of the primary barriers to many of our challenges.

I was briefly a board member of the U.S. Gov CIO workgroup on related issues, resigning after it became obvious that internal reform was impossible. I have also communicated on these issues with many agency heads, members of Congress, and now 3 admins. Most people believe wrongly that our U.S. systems are the best in the world.

The problem is systemic, meaning by definition that it requires new system design to overcome the problem. Due to the fragmented nature of the problem and the complexity, holistic systems design was necessary in order to overcome the challenge. It has not been a trivial task.

One recent blog post of mine might be of interest:

How to prevent the Fort Hood tragedy, by design.
http://kyield.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/preventing-the-next-fort-hood-tragedy-by-design/

Another paper written in laymen's language is a use case scenario developed specifically for the DHS:
http://www.kyield.com/images/SCENARIO_3-_Roger_the_maintenance_man_at_the_hydro_dam.pdf


We've invented the solution, but it has yet to be adopted.


Mark Montgomery
Santa Fe, NM
Founder - Kyield
http://www.kyield.com
http://kyield.wordpress.com
Reply to this comment
by drew4321 December 29, 2009 10:37 AM EST
When I listen to that clip it seems to me that when the congressmen used the term "being on the offensive", he was speaking directly to the utlization of better technology and communication. I agree with infrantryman, the use of profiling along with innovative technology is critical to stopping the terrorists' efforts. Being on the offensive is being a step ahead of the bad guys, not being reactive.

No matter how much you hate and blame Bush it won't slow the terrorist down from trying to blow us up.
Reply to this comment
by hologram5 December 29, 2009 4:46 PM EST
Dude, it is that type of delusional attitude that got us into this mess in the first place. Ever hear of live and let live? If the CIA would leave these nation's gov't alone and quit interfering in their actions, these other countries wouldn't hate us so much.
by confused2byu December 29, 2009 9:27 AM EST
Uh I'm not a big football expert but should we not be on the defense to defend our country? Doesn't offense mean you are the aggressor? Isn't being the offense what got us to this point to begin with? Word checks showed offense as crime, wrongdoing, and evil doing? What does this guy want us to do?
Reply to this comment
by endurorob_5 December 29, 2009 9:39 AM EST
Well, if you want to use football analogies the best one is "The best defense is a good offense". It is the ultimate in stupidity to sit around and let them bring the fight to us on their terms. WWII was not one by being defensive. Vietnam was lost by being defensive.
by endurorob_5 December 29, 2009 8:41 AM EST
What safe haven are you talking about?
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