The Weak Link
Somebody at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, issued a visa to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underpants bomber, which allowed him to travel to the United States. In contrast, British authorities denied him a visa to the UK. Quite apart from questions of how to now implement massive technological overkill, puffer-sniffer devices, full pat-down screening of passengers, or flying naked, the entire incident could have been avoided if, as the British decision demonstrated, the visa hadn't been issued in the first place. So why is the State Department getting a pass?
In 1924 the Rogers Act merged diplomats and consular officials into today's foreign service. Yet the merger has never quite worked: With ample reason most non-consular foreign service officers look down on the ability of consular officers to act as diplomats; most consular officers suffer from a severe inferiority complex; and most non-consular officers resent being forced to perform consular duties during their initial or early tours of duty.
Political correctness of the highest order — before there was even a term for "political correctness" — has obligated generations of foreign service officers to cope with a fundamentally non-meritocratic system. One result is that informally everybody has long agreed not to hold non-consular officers to account for consular mistakes. If a first tour non-consular officer, for example, issues a bad visa where the applicant is later caught illicitly working in the U.S., a few years later a pink slip informing the issuing consular section will show up in the mail pouch, well after the issuing officer has moved on to a new assignment. Whoever is at the section will chuckle and toss the pink slip into a file, never to be seen again. There's practically no accountability for anything but the most egregious mistakes.
If the consular service were to operate on its own, as it used to do, with complete responsibility for visa issuance, it would have a much greater incentive to track mistakes, particularly mistakes regarding the issuance of visas to terrorists. If, however, consular work continues to be performed as it is today, neither fish nor fowl, neither the full responsibility of diplomats or of consular officials, it would take something of a bureaucratic miracle for many more critical errors not to be made.
Posted by George Kenney on January 4, 2010 11:40 PM 
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Comments
George,
This operation has all the hallmarks of a "let it happen" because the so-called "underwearbomber" will serve a wider purpose, in this case ratcheting up the fear quotient and helping to demonize Yemen. In fact, the intelligence agencies knew all about him. And the device was incapable of being a "bomb" as there was no detonator. US special forces have been in Yemen for the past 8 years. The US has been supporting that particular dictator (in power since 1978) for years. He is now squawking 'Al Qaeda' because that is what he is supposed to do. It guarantees US aid and plays a role in the scare campaign.
You might like to interview British analyst Nafeez Ahmed or Elizabeth Gould. The latter has just written a great book with her husband on Afghanistan. Both help put the Yemen farce in context.
Kind regards,
James
[So far as I'm aware there's no reliable information available on what kind of detonator was or wasn't used. I do see a question regarding how to connect the dots but I would be very careful about obvious errors. g.]
Posted by: James O'Neill | January 20, 2010 7:25 PM