Red flags all over the place with Faisal the Ferti-Bomber

The more we hear about Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square fertilizer bomber, the more I have to wonder: What exactly is the NO FLY LIST for, and what exactly does Homeland Security Secretary, The System Worked Janet Napolitano do?

All the red flags were waving with Faisal: 1. Ticket purchased on the same day 2. Ticket paid for with CASH (Cost, a few thousand? Did he stop at the money machine?) 3. Was put on the NO FLY LIST. 4. Ticket was ONE WAY with ultimate destination of Islamabad, Pakistan. The only thing I don't know is, did he have any luggage? (Flying without luggage is a red flag.)

So did all those annoying jump-through-the-hoops airline security measures that we all must comply with do any good?

No, "In the end, it was secret Army intelligence planes that did him in. Armed with his cell phone number, they circled the skies over the New York area, intercepting a call to Emirates Airlines reservations, before scrambling to catch him at John F. Kennedy International Airport. " They caught what airport security and the NO FLY LIST let through!

Why? Because the airport was still working off of yesterday's list. They had failed to "act on an electronic message sent to all airlines at midday on Monday--more than eight hours before Mr. Shahzad boarded his plane--notifying them that his name had been added to the no-fly list".

I am not the only one wondering how he nearly got away. From the briefing,

• "QUESTION: How was he able to still get on the plane and have the plane depart from the gate when he was placed on the no-fly list?

• JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I won't get into details of timing at no-fly. But the way he was apprehended was that -- particularly since Christmas, CBP has been instituting a number of rules that enable us to further check against new data or information that is provided, even very recent information, against passenger manifests on planes."

Lest you think this guy was picked up by mistake, "Agents raiding his Bridgeport home found components for the bomb device, including firecrackers and the boxes for the alarm clocks. They also reportedly found a hand-drawn map of potential targets, including the 4, 5, and 6 trains and the Staten Island ferry. There was also evidence of his ties to Pakistan, including a Karachi ID and residency papers. " We also learned he was schooled in bomb making in his home country.

"In the end, it took officials just 53 hours and 20 minutes to solve the case. " Something the first security person at the airport could have solved in 1 minute--if they had the latest list.

I can't help but think of the verse from Psalm 127:1, Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. Thank you, LORD. In this, as in so many other near miss cases, it seems we don't even have a watchman!


Links: Practically Speaking, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, Jay Weber, Vicki McKenna, The Right View Wisconsin, CNS News, Mark Levin, Breitbart BigGovernment, The Heritage Foundation