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U.S Keeps Chasing Al Qaeda In Afghanistan While Latest Action Moves Through Nigeria, Yemen, London, Amsterdam

U.S Keeps Chasing Al Qaeda In Afghanistan While Latest Action Moves Through Nigeria, Yemen, London, Amsterdam
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On Christmas Day, a London-educated Nigerian apparently took explosives from Yemen, flew through Amsterdam, and attempted to bring down a plane over Detroit. None of these places have garnered the level of attention the United States has placed on Afghanistan in recent months.

As the U.S. prepares a significant escalation in Afghanistan, security experts are suggesting that more needs to be done elsewhere -- particularly at home.

There was no information to place failed Christmas terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on a no-fly list, according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She went on multiple Sunday talk shows to discuss the incident, insisting "the system worked."

But former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke told ABC News, "We've known for a long time that this is possible. We really have to replace our scanning devices with more modern systems." He supports full-body scans, while acknowledging, "They're expensive and they're intrusive. They invade people's privacy."

Abdulmutallab was on Northwest flight 253. The airline's former security director, Douglas Laird, advocates "backscatter" machines, at a cost of roughly $200,000 per unit.

"With backscatter, when you scan, you'd see a silhouette of the body," said Laird, president of Nevada-based Laird & Associates, who advises airlines and governments about aviation security.

"You could see whatever was on the outside of the body, on the surface of the body or anything sewn into the lining of your coat. It would show up as kind of a gray mass."

The scans are significantly more invasive than common x-ray machines and also may do little for domestic security when flights originate in foreign countries. Abdulmutallab did not go through full-body imaging machines in Nigeria or Amsterdam said Representative Peter King (R-NY). He has been briefed on the current investigation.

Both airports have body scanners. The Amsterdam airport has had a long reputation for good security, King said, while Nigeria's airports have been more of a concern.

The U.S. provided full-body scanners to all four international airports in Nigeria, according to the State Department. The scanners were installed in March, May and June of 2008.

Regardless of where Abdulmutallab brought explosives onto his flight, U.S. military attention continues to focus on Afghanistan while pressure grows for preemptive action in places from Iran to Yemen. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) quoted a government official during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, "Iraq was yesterday's war. Afghanistan is today's war. If we don't act preemptively, Yemen will be tomorrow's war."

The U.S. has already spent $70 million on military efforts on Yemen in 2009, up from nothing in 2008.

An additional 30,000 troops are scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan, where some estimates peg the total number of al Qaeda as low as 100. The surge will raise the U.S. commitment to nearly 100,000 soldiers, along with up to 160,000 private contractors.

President Barack Obama announced the surge during a speech on December 1, also declaring, "Where al Qaeda and its allies attempt to establish a foothold - whether in Somalia or Yemen or elsewhere - they must be confronted by growing pressure and strong partnerships."

Officials are still trying to verify Abdulmutallab's claim that he received his incendiary device and instructions in Yemen.

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