Act of Terror or Overseas Contingency Act? Nigerian National Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab Arrested Attempted Terrorist Act

Barack Obama, so there is no war on terror, huh? I suppose the following would be classified as an “Overseas Contingency Operation?”

From firecracker to act of terrorism …

Oh but wait, the White House says that today’s event was an attempted act of terrorism. The suspect was arrested, let’s hope he was read his rights.

The FBI is investigating the incident. President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was informed about it, a spokesman said, and he asked his aides to ensure that all measures are in place to provide security for air travel.

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The suspect, Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, is a Nigerian national who claims to have ties to al-Qaida tried to detonate an explosive aboard a Northwest Airbus 330 on a flight carrying 278 passengers. The flight originated in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit.

Passengers subdued the man and may have prevented him from detonating the explosives. Thankfully, passengers know now to get involved and prevent terrorists from committing these cowardly acts. This has all the similarities of Richard Reid, the shoe bomber.

The man said he was directed by al Qaeda to explode a small device in flight, over U.S. soil, ABC News has learned. Authorities have no corroboration of that information, and the credibility of the suspect’s statements are being questioned, officials said.

The suspect was identified as Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, who according to federal documents is an engineering student at University College of London.

He was flying from Nigeria to the United States for a religious seminar, according to his entry visa, which was issued June 16, 2008 and was good until June 12, 2010.

From Hot Air, the back and forth media reporting as to whether this nut/terrorist really has al-Qaida ties.  Also, they bring up an important point. How did this nut get a powdery substance through airport security?

According to US Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) , “Airline bombing suspect had ‘significant terrorist connections”

King, the top Republican member of the House Homeland Security Committee, described the suspect in the attempted bombing of a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit as a 23-year-old Nigerian national with potential ties to al-Qaeda.

A senior Obama administration official told ABC News Christmas evening that the Northwest airlines incident “was an attempted act of terrorism. We’re taking increased steps to mitigate any threats.”

The official said that earlier reports that the explosives lit were firecrackers were not true, but did not comment further on the nature of the devices. The official added that the administration as for now does not believe that the attack was part of a broader effort.

King provided the earliest confirmation that the suspect, whose name King said he had, might have been affiliated with terrorists.

“His name was in a database indicating significant terrorist connections,” King said.