(CBS News)--A prominent Nigerian banker warned authorities about his son's extremist religious views six months before he allegedly attempted to blow up a US bound passenger jet Christmas day, according to a local newspaper.

Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, the former chairman of the First Bank of Nigeria, said Saturday he is meeting with security officials in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, because he fears his son may have been the man taken into custody after the failed terrorist attack.

The elder Mutallab said his son, identified by U.S. officials as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was a student in London. He said his son left London to travel, though he did not know where to.

Mutallab says: "I believe he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that."

The Nigerian newspaper This Day, citing family members, reports Mutallab took his concerns about his son to the U.S. embassy and local authorities six months ago. A source close to him said he is surprised his son was allowed to travel to the U.S. after his warnings, according to the report.

On Saturday, a American official revealed the U.S. had known about Abdulmutallab's possible ties to terrorist groups for at least two years.

Father Of Alleged Terrorist Warned Authorities Six Months Ago digtriad.com | Triad, NC | Local and State News

Obviously there is a failure to communicate in this case but in fairness I would be curious about how many of these warnings there are in a given year.

Jeff

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From the wild Irish slums of the 19th century Eastern seaboard, to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history; a community that allows a large number of men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future -- that community asks for and gets chaos. Crime, violence, unrest, disorder -- most particularly the furious, unrestrained lashing out at the whole social structure -- that is not only to be expected; it is very near to inevitable. And it is richly deserved. ~ Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democrat, NY)


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From what reports that I've heard up here, they had this person on their "No Fly List" but didn't consider him enough of a threat to put him on the most serious list. But I agree that the US Government should have taken the warnings more seriously.

How many of these warnings does the government get? How do you prioritize them if there is a significant number?

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mum4boys aka Heidi married to my best friend John and mum to our 5 kids: Johnny (19), James (18), Levi (12), Liam (11) and Maggie (3)
GOOD moms let their kids lick the beaters. GREAT moms turn off the mixer first
http://harriedmumof5.blogspot.com/

I agree Heidi. There aren't enough hours in the day for the Government to be checking out every single warning they get.

Yes, that is a wonderful question Heidi, I wish I would have thought to wonder about how many warnings there are in a given year, I could have put it immediately after the link to the article.

In any case, I am not as critical as some over the lack of communication and follow up within our government, perhaps my expectations are so low. Nevertheless, it is clear that there was not proper level of communications within the various government agencies involved. Also, there was more to this case that just a father's warning: ticket paid in cash, no bags checked, visa renewal had been denied by the British government.

Jeff

__________________
From the wild Irish slums of the 19th century Eastern seaboard, to the riot-torn suburbs of Los Angeles, there is one unmistakable lesson in American history; a community that allows a large number of men to grow up in broken families, dominated by women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never acquiring any set of rational expectations about the future -- that community asks for and gets chaos. Crime, violence, unrest, disorder -- most particularly the furious, unrestrained lashing out at the whole social structure -- that is not only to be expected; it is very near to inevitable. And it is richly deserved. ~ Daniel Patrick Moynihan (Democrat, NY)


Hosting Debate the Differences

I have been reading a lot about Israel's security. We really do not know what we are doing.

__________________
mum4boys aka Heidi married to my best friend John and mum to our 5 kids: Johnny (19), James (18), Levi (12), Liam (11) and Maggie (3)
GOOD moms let their kids lick the beaters. GREAT moms turn off the mixer first
http://harriedmumof5.blogspot.com/