When Mr Abdulmutallab failed to detonate his bomb last Christmas, for example, Mr Obama's Republican foes were quick to accuse the vacationing president of flaccidity in face of danger.

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Dianne Feinstein, D-California, Brennan confirmed a connection between al-Awlaki and Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, who failed in his attempt to detonate an explosive in his underwear as his Northwest Airlines flight approached Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.

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The attempt to ignite explosives hidden in AbdulMutallab's underwear failed to bring down the plane.

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