Calvin Gruneck – The CIA says “Our failures are known, our successes are not.” This is a story about a failure that was successful.
After the October 28th 2010 cargo bomb plots, I began thinking that something was not right. This plot was prevented by Saudi Intel given to our intelligence agencies. Farouk Abdulmutallab was the underwear bomber and his plot was prevented by his father making a report to 2 CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria on November 19th 2009. He said that his son Farouk had “extreme religious views” and told the embassy that Farouk might be in Yemen. On November 11th 2009, British intelligence officials sent the U.S. a cable indicating that a man named Umar Farouk had spoken to al-Awlaki, pledging support to jihad. Farouk’s name was not added to the FBI’s 400,000 name Terrorist Screening Database, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000 name
Secondary Screening Selective list and the U.S.’s 4,000 name No Fly List, nor was his U.S. visa revoked. U.S. State Department officials said in Congressional testimony that the State Department had wanted to revoke Farouk Abdulmutallab’s visa, but U.S. intelligence officials requested that his visa not be revoked. They said revoking Farouk’s visa could have foiled a larger investigation.
Although some people call Farouk a spook, I believe that he was used as the fall guy by western intelligence agencies. On Christmas day 2009, Farouk traveled to Amsterdam from Ghana, where he had purchased his ticket with cash. In Amsterdam he had trouble at first when he attempted to board the Northwest flight 253 to Detroit. A ticket agent refused to allow Farouk on the plane, because
he did not have his own passport. He finally got on the plane without a passport by impersonating a refugee from Sudan with a well-dressed man assisting him. Mysteriously a passport turned up later.
There is a report that multiple witnesses confirmed that someone videotaped the entire flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, even before Farouk tried to set his bomb off. The videographer knew that a terror attempt was imminent and they wanted a record. Also they knew that the terror attempt would not destroy the aircraft, because the bomb required a detonator to explode. Farouk’s bomb didn’t have a detonator.
In summary, I would say that the Amsterdam accomplish was CIA. The videographer was also with the CIA and that’s why the media left him alone. The CIA has a heavy presence in Yemen and allowed Farouk to make his journey onto Amsterdam and then to Detroit. This would help to make their case.
In February 2010, congress renewed the Patriot Act without debate. The CIA motto: “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” You can sure agree with their motto with this story.
Calvin Gruneck worked through an International Law Firm from 1988 to 1997 in Thailand.Calvin Gruneck loves traveling and is a big fan of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, INXS, Tom Petty and U2.