Pakistan

Feinstein Wants Answers About What Pakistani Officials Knew About OBL

Susan Crabtree | May 10, 2011, 4:00PM

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) isn't relying on U.S. intelligence officials alone to find out whether the Pakistani government was helping harbor Osama bin Laden.

Feinstein, who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, told TPM she has "her own people looking into it" and will hold closed-door classified hearings on the increasingly frayed relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan soon.

Despite her deep concerns about what the Pakistani government knew about bin Laden's compound before a U.S. assault team raided it and killed the notorious al Qaeda leader, Feinstein tempered remarks Monday in which she questioned continuing to send billions of dollars in humanitarian and military aid to the country and said the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan "makes less and less sense."

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Intelligence community

Bond: Blair Was Squeezed Out (VIDEO)

Ben Frumin | May 21, 2010, 11:02AM

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO)

Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) suggested on CNN last night that resigning Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair was "frustrated," "put on the sidelines" and "squeezed out."

"He had to be very frustrated that he was put on the sidelines by the Attorney General who's now running much of the intelligence collection effort, and he got the blame for it," Bond said.

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Intelligence community

Intelligence Chief Dennis Blair Leaving

Christina Bellantoni | May 20, 2010, 6:02PM

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair will be resigning tomorrow from his duties in the Obama administration. A U.S. official told TPMDC that Blair's resignation is expected tomorrow. The White House has been interviewing "several strong candidates" to replace him, the official said.

ABC's Jake Tapper broke the story this afternoon. He writes that Obama for weeks "has been holding serious conversations about whether to ask Blair to step down" while looking for replacements.

Tapper reported that after speaking today in the Oval Office, Blair told Obama he would resign. From the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt to sparring with CIA director Leon Panetta, sources told Tapper that Blair's tenure "has been a rocky one." More details here.

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Flight 253

Flight 253 Fallout: Obama, Congress To Probe National Security Intelligence

Christina Bellantoni | December 31, 2009, 5:22PM

President Obama meets with Denis McDonough from his national security team while on vacation in Hawaii. Official White House photo.

Expect Congressional hearings exploring what happened in the weeks before the attempted terror attack on Flight 253 in the new year.

President Obama returns to Washington next week and plans a private huddle with intelligence officials and his national security team to evaluate the findings of a probe into the communication breakdown that allowed a Nigerian man to board a plane with explosives in his underwear.

Already the administration has put in place new measures and homeland security officials are coordinating with international airports.

Congress will be back mid-January and if the political chatter this week is any indication, Flight 253 will dominate their return.

In the week since the incident, there have been statements from Obama and other top White House officials, a preliminary review and a host of political fundraising attempts and accusations coming from GOP members of Congress and former President Dick Cheney.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kit Bond announced Jan. 21 hearings of their Senate Select Committee on Intelligence but will start the investigation sooner by collecting "all intelligence related to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab held by various intelligence agencies in order to determine who had what, and how the information was handled."

The panel also will review national security policies on sharing information and terrorist watchlisting, they said. The House intelligence panel also is looking into the incident.

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Flight 253

Reyes Asks For 'Blatant Politicization Of National Security' To Stop

Christina Bellantoni | December 31, 2009, 3:44PM

Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX)

House Intelligence panel Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes bemoaned the politics that have taken over the investigation into Flight 253 and said Congress must take a "hard look" into what happened leading up to the failed Christmas Day terror attempt.

Reyes (D-TX) said he is closely following the developments and is being briefed by White House and committee staffers. President Obama received the preliminary review today in Hawaii.

"This incident is an incredibly serious and disturbing reminder that intelligence sharing and U.S. security systems are better than they once were, but they're not where they need to be," Reyes said in a statement. "As soon as Congress returns, the Committee will be taking a hard look at what could have been done better in this case and what changes to our intelligence processes may be necessary."

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