And on January 6, John Kerry Released a Flight 253 Statement « The Washington Independent

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Unfortunately, too many Republicans have treated this episode as a political opportunity. Led by former Vice President Dick Cheney, they have resorted to partisan denunciations that serve no legitimate purpose and have no place in the nation’s vital debate over how to fight terrorism. The hysteria of Mr. Cheney and some of his fellow Republicans is sadly reminiscent of the days when the previous administration substituted fear mongering for sound policy and led us into an unnecessary and tragic war in Iraq while starving a necessary conflict in Afghanistan.

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President Obama was right to demand a full and immediate review of the intelligence failures that permitted the would-be bomber to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The president acted quickly and decisively while avoiding the sensationalism Americans too often witnessed over the last eight years. He should be applauded for forthrightly pinpointing the failure of our intelligence agencies to connect the dots available to them and demanding reforms that will reduce the chances of this sort of mistake occurring again. …