Opinion

Undie-bomb blabbering: No way to fight terror

The Issue: Whether the administration is too publicly forthcoming with its terror-fighting intelligence.

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News about the latest “undie” bomber suggests that al Qaeda’s ability to slip an underwear bomb through airport security is something novel (“‘Undie’ Indiscretions,” Michael A. Walsh, PostOpinion, May 10).

In fact, it is nothing new. The original underwear-bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, evaded detection and was only thwarted when he tried to detonate the bomb on an airplane.

Our luck, in that case and in the case of shoe bomber Richard Reid, has made us forgetful that our security did fail, repeatedly, and has to be strengthened all the more to counter the new and more sophisticated devices our enemies will inevitably create.

Paul Rooney

Glen Ridge,NJ

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Does Michael Walsh or anyone else think that President Obama or his administration cares about anything but his re-election?

Does anyone think that he cares at all about undercover agents who risk their lives, day in and day out?

We went through a similar problem when the SEALs took out Osama bin Laden.

Back then, the administration couldn’t contain itself and blabbed about all of the intelligence it found. That in itself hindered the War on Terror.

But advertising information about the underwear bomber has endangered people’s lives.

Not that it matters to people like White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan, safely ensconced in Washington.

If I were a US covert operator, I would step down until a new president took office — one with a grown-up set of morals and ethics.

Charles Honadel

Staten Island

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Al Qaeda recently came dangerously close to blowing up another airplane bound for the United States, which is very frightening, to say the least.

The bomb was nonmetallic, which could escape detection by metal detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.

Al Qaeda is becoming very determined, sophisticated, ingenious, clever, flexible and unpredictable, which is bad news for the United States. One of these days, they are going to be successful in one of their bombing attempts.

Though some discount al Qaeda and say that it has been gravely weakened, I still think it poses a dangerous threat.

K. Zimmerman

Huntington Beach, Calif.

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“‘Undie’ Indiscretions” sums up the issue of security leaks by the current administration perfectly, asking, “Why do we even know about this?”

It is often necessary for military and intelligence operations to go unreported for months, even years, for the safety of those working in secrecy.

The double agent who infiltrated al Qaeda had value as an informant and a human being. He and his loved ones are now in greater danger, thanks to our political leaders’ “spiking the football” to celebrate an intelligence triumph in which they risked nothing more than political capital.

The public has no business knowing the details of covert operations while good people are in harm’s way protecting us.

The more time our enemies spend looking over their shoulders, experiencing paranoia at their own shadows, the safer we and those who aid us will be in the long run.

Paul Dwyer

Nesconset

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The information provided by the authorities about another underwear-bomb plot presumes that the person will be wearing this garment when going through security checkpoints.

The reality is that the person might just as easily acquire the garment past security from one of the many retail establishments, hence bypassing most security.

Michael Lefkowitz

East Meadow

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The foiling of the attack by the underwear bomber is just what we need — another excuse for Obama to spike the football.

I’m just glad that the War on Terror is over.

November can’t come soon enough.

Tommy DeJulio

New Rochelle