Obama: Al Qaeda Trained Bomber

President Obama used his first radio address of the new year to discuss the failed terror attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Flight 253, making a direct link between that incident, unrest in Yemen, and al Qaeda. "We know that [Mr. Abdulmutallab] travelled to Yemen, a country grappling with crushing poverty and deadly insurgencies," Obama said. "It appears that he joined an affiliate of al Qaeda, and that this group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, trained him, equipped him with those explosives and directed him to attack that plane headed for America." Obama defended his record on national security, saying that withdrawal from Iraq, increasing troops in Afghanistan, and targeting militants in Yemen, are key to protecting Americans. "All those involved in the attempted act of terrorism on Christmas must know you too will be held to account," he said. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called an emergency summit over the terrorism threat in Yemen. He and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will pursue an agreement to help the Yemeni government drive al Qaeda out of the country.