US national security team changes

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Anchor Marco Werman discusses the coming changes to President Obama’s national security team with author and analyst Tom Ricks. Changes are expected in leadership roles at the Pentagon, CIA and Central Command, which oversees the war in Afghanistan. Download MP3

Tom Rick’s blog at ForeignPolicy.com

Obama’s national security strategy

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The Obama administration released its formal strategy on national security today. The document reflects some changes from the Bush era, but for some of the President’s supporters on the left, it fails to go far enough. The World’s Matthew Bell reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• White House blog
• Full document (pdf)

Investigation into failed NYC attack continues

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Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that suspect Faisal Shahzad’s cooperation with US agents is continuing as investigators delve into the attempted Times Square bombing. The Pentagon said it was encouraged by Pakistani cooperation in the case. Authorities in Islamabad are looking into possible connections between Pakistani extremist groups and Shahzad. Matthew Bell reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• NY Times: “Evidence Mounts for Taliban Role in Car Bomb Plot”
• Profile: Faisal Shahzad

NYC bomb suspect ‘nearly escaped US’

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Details have emerged of how Pakistan-born Faisal Shahzad, who is suspected of plotting to bomb New York City’s Times Square, was arrested while trying to leave the US. Shahzad was allowed onto a Dubai-bound plane, despite being on a no-fly list. It was only when customs agents checked passenger names 30 minutes before take-off that he was noticed and arrested, he now faces terrorism and explosives charges. The World’s Matthew Bell reports on changes being made to the way no-fly lists work. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Times Square bomb suspect charged
• Profile: Faisal Shahzad

Times Square bomb suspect charged

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A Pakistan-born US citizen has been charged with terrorism over the failed car-bomb attack in New York’s Times Square on Saturday. Faisal Shahzad, 30, was also charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, according to documents filed at Manhattan federal court. Earlier, President Barack Obama vowed that Americans would “not cower in fear” after Saturday’s bombing attempt. Matthew Bell reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Faisal Shahzad profile
• President Obama on the attack
• In pictures: Times Square bomb

Body scanners raise questions

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Airports across the US this week are beginning to install a controversial new body scanning device to keep passengers safe. But some question whether the devices are the answer for a host of reasons, from privacy to efficacy. Ronen Attai is the general manager of the Israeli Security Academy just outside Tel Aviv.

Radicalized at a British university?

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The alleged attempt to blow up a US airliner on Christmas Day sent a shock through the security system. Prosecutors say Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (pictured) tried to detonate a bomb sewn into his underwear. Abdulmutallab’s former London university is now launching a review into whether he became radicalized there. The World’s religion editor Jane Little reports. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• ‘Jet bomber’ case
• Religion coverage on The World

The state of national security

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President Barack Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight before Congress. The economy and healthcare reform are sure to be high on the President’s agenda. But he will also likely focus on counter terrorism measures. The World’s Jason Margolis tells us what the President might say, and what some counter terrorism experts say he should say. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Map of the President’s first year travels
• On The World: Obama gets mixed reviews in Ghana

“We are at war”

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In his report about the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing, President Obama said “we are at war against al Qaeda.” The unclassified summary stated that US intelligence officials had received unspecified “discrete pieces of intelligence” to identify the alleged bomber as an al-Qaeda operative. The World’s Matthew Bell explores what the President means by being “at war”. Download MP3 (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

• Jeb Sharp talks with Matthew Bell about the President’s speech (Jan 7)
• Declassified report
• FAQ Jet bomber case
• Profile of ‘jet bomber’

The President’s report on Flight 253

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President Obama has spoken of the intelligence failures uncovered by the White House inquiry into the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing. He said the government had the relevant information – scattered around the system, as he put it – to possibly prevent the attack, but failure to follow up on the information, coupled with a failure of analysis, had left the US exposed. Anchor Jeb Sharp talks with The World’s Matthew Bell about the President’s speech. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Declassified report
• FAQ Jet bomber case
• Best of BBC: “I boarded a plane with an aerosol can”

Entire program – January 6, 2010

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Today on The World: The debate over how to fix the way US intelligence agencies process the information they collect; also, why one region in Spain – Catalonia – is considering a ban on bullfighting; plus – Chinese violin-makers are turning out top-quality instruments…and making Italian violin-makers nervous!

Failure “to connect the dots”

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Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair has promised action after sharp criticism from President Barack Obama over the failed attempt to blow up flight 253 on Christmas Day. The intelligence community had failed to “connect the dots”, Mr Obama said in a statement, adding: “That’s not acceptable, and I will not tolerate it.” Matthew Bell looks at the fallout after the President’s remarks. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• FAQ Jet bomber case
• Best of BBC: “I boarded a plane with an aerosol can”

New travel rules questioned

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New security screening procedures ordered by President Obama focus on passengers travelling from high-risk countries. Many countries on the US list are predominantly Muslim. University of Michigan professor Juan Cole tells anchor Marco Werman why he doesn’t think that’s such a good idea.

Yemen, the new terrorism front

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Yemen has become a hotbed of radical Islamic militant activity. Many of Osama bin Laden’s former associates now live there. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from Sudarsan Raghavan, Baghdad Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, who’s in Yemen and met bin Laden’s former personal bodyguard.

• Sudarsan Raghavan’s article in the Washington Post

The Jordanian connection

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The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan was an al-Qaeda double agent, media reports say. He is said to have been a doctor from Jordan, arrested there a year ago. He was then reportedly recruited by the Jordanians and CIA, who wrongly thought they had turned him, and given a mission to find al-Qaeda leaders. Marco Werman talks with the BBC’s Saad Hattar in Amman about Jordan’s role. Download MP3

• BBC coverage
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Background Brief: Taliban insurgency