Obama Orders Review of Security Measures

President Barack Obama said it appears the would-be bomber of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 received training from an al Qaeda affiliate, and was equipped with explosives by them.

Mr. Obama will meet on Tuesday with the heads of all his intelligence services, to ask them how they missed this, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.

The president has ordered a rapid-fire review of what went wrong, allowing Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to smuggle explosives in his underwear onto the Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day.

Security has been tightened overseas and at home. And U.S. intelligence services are trying to figure out who knew what when.

The CIA, NSA, National Counterterrorism Center and the State Department all had bits of information about Abdulmutallab that should have landed him on a high-priority watch list. But the information wasn't shared.

The CIA had a tip that al Qaeda was training a Nigerian to attack.

State Department officials at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria had been told by Abdulmutallab's father that he'd become radicalized. Abdulmutallab's threat was only partially digested by the U.S. security apparatus and not linked with a visa history showing the young man could fly to the United States.

But, Dozier reports, a U.S. intelligence official told CBS News that the different agencies still aren't sharing information - and Congress just slashed $30 million from the National Counterterrorism Center's budget, so they're having to let go the very contractors who keep the terrorist watch list up-to-date.

The president promised to hold those responsible for the communications breakdown accountable.

Mr. Obama's homeland security team has been piecing together just how Abdulmutallab was able to board the plane. Officials have described flaws in the system and by those executing the strategy and have delivered a preliminary assessment.

In his most direct public language to date, the president in his weekly Internet and radio address described the path through Yemen of 23-year-old Abdulmutallab. The president also emphasized that the United States would continue its partnerships with friendly countries - citing Yemen, in particular - to fight terrorists and extremist groups around the globe.

A senior administration official had said the United States was increasingly confident there was a link between Abdulmutallab and an al Qaeda affiliate, but Mr. Obama's statement is the strongest connection between the two.

"We're learning more about the suspect," the president said, in his address that the White House released on Saturday as the president vacationed in Hawaii.

"We know that he traveled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies. It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group - al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula - trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America," the president said.

Mr. Obama has ordered a thorough look at the shortcomings that permitted the plot, which failed not because of U.S. actions but because the would-be attacker was unable to ignite an explosive device.

More Coverage From CBSNews.com:
Abdulmutallab Didn't Target Christmas Day
Studying Arabic a Cover for Abdulmutallab?
U.S.-Born Cleric Key Player in Bomb Plot?
Official: We Knew al Qaeda Planned "Christmas Surprise"
U.S. Intel Lapses Helped Abdulmutallab
Friend Says Abdulmutallab Was Not Extremist in London
Yemen, North Africa: Terrorism's New Home
Yemen Raids Al Qaeda Hide-Out; 1 Arrested
Dick Cheney: Obama Stance "Makes Us Less Safe"
Obama: "Systemic Failure" Allowed Attack
Roommate: Abdulmutallab Shunned Women
Abdulmutallab's Missing Months in Yemen
Tracing Bomb Suspect's Journey to Detroit

Intelligence officials prepared for what was shaping up to be uncomfortable hearings before Congress about miscommunication among anti-terror agencies and sweeping changes expected under Mr. Obama's watch. The president has been vocal in his criticism of the agencies and against extremists who would harm the United States.

"This is not the first time this group has targeted us," Mr. Obama said. "In recent years, they have bombed Yemeni government facilities and Western hotels, restaurants and embassies, including our embassy in 2008, killing one American."

"So, as president, I've made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with the Yemeni government - training and equipping their security forces, sharing intelligence and working with them to strike al Qaeda terrorists," he said.

The United States provided Yemen with $67 million in training and support under the Pentagon's counterterrorism program last year. Only Pakistan got more, with some $112 million.

President Obama said the money had been well spent: "Training camps have been struck, leaders eliminated, plots disrupted. And all those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas must know - you too will be held to account."

At the same time, administration officials warned this week that Mr. Obama also would hold accountable his own government. To that end, the president has summoned homeland security officials from across the government to meet with him in the White House Situation Room on Tuesday.

Mr. Obama was expected to run the meeting and press his team on how they missed what appear to be clear connections.

"So as our reviews continue, let us ask the questions that need to be asked. Let us make the changes that need to be made," Mr. Obama said in his address.