The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it’s still unclear why two explosive-packed printer cardridges from Yemen were bound for synagogues in Chicago.
The packages were intercepted by intelligence officials in Britain and Dubai on Friday. But several news reports Tuesday say American intelligence agencies in mid-September caught wind of a dry run for last week’s foiled plot. In that instance, too, the packages were headed for addresses in Chicago.
In an interview with WBEZ Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano offered few details on why Chicaogo may have played a role in both incidents.
“That’s a question I have - I’m sure Chicagoans have - is, ‘Why where they addressed in Chicago?’” Napolitano said. “And the investigation is ongoing.”
Even though the bombs made it aboard planes, Napolitano maintained the system worked because the packages were identified and intercepted before doing any harm.
“We have to avoid what the [Transportation Security Administration] administrator calls ‘the blinding clarity of hindsight’ and look at the situation as it existed in September.” Napolitano said.
She said the department is “making adjustments” to the way it screens cargo coming into the United States.