After receiving the preliminary report he ordered on the “systematic failures” that allowed a suspected terrorist to board a plane with explosives, a vacationing President Obama and the first family yesterday took in a little sci-fi fantasy at a special screening of the blockbuster “Avatar.”
Obama, who is in Hawaii with wife Michelle and their daughters for the holidays, also spoke to security advisor John Brennan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for an update on the investigation into terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
Obama said he will continue getting briefings on the Christmas Day terror attempt in preparation for top-level meetings in DC next week.
“I anticipate receiving assessments from several agencies this evening and will review those tonight and over the course of the weekend,” Obama said.
The preliminary assessment that the president received yesterday, which wasn’t made public, was expected to focus on the failure of intelligence agencies to piece together information about Abdulmutallab, whose father had warned authorities months earlier that his son was becoming radicalized, US officials told The Associated Press.
After talking to his national security team on the progress of the investigations, the first family went to the Windward Mall multiplex in Kaneohe for a 3-D screening of the James Cameron flick “Avatar,” which is No. 1 at the box office.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday they will be sending officials to airports in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America to review security procedures and screening technology on US-bound flights.