imperfect nature of intelligence work , `` but it is increasingly clear that intelligence was not fully analyzed or fully leveraged , '' he said , adding : `` That 's not acceptable , and I will not tolerate it . '' `` Time and again we 've learned that quickly piecing together information and taking swift action is critical to staying one step ahead of a nimble adversary , '' Obama said . `` So we have to do better , and we will do better , and we have to do it quickly . American lives are on the line . '' In one step , senior State Department officials told CNN on Tuesday that new criteria for information collected on possible terrorists would make it easier to ban them from U.S.-bound flights . Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material , the officials said the United States has lowered the threshold for information considered important enough to put suspicious individuals on a no-fly list or revoke their visas . If the new criteria had been in place before Christmas , AbdulMutallab would have been added to the no-fly list , the
Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The FBI attained `` actionable intelligence '' from bombing suspect Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab in the first hours after his arrest on Christmas Day , White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday . `` AbdulMutallab spent a number of hours with FBI investigators in which we gleaned useable , actionable intelligence , '' Gibbs told reporters . According to authorities , Nigerian-born AbdulMutallab tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear as a flight from Amsterdam , Netherlands , made its final approach to Detroit , Michigan , December 25 . The device failed to fully detonate , instead setting off a fire at the man 's seat . Gibbs declined to elaborate on the nature of the intelligence . AbdulMutallab , 23 , has been tied to the Yemen-based group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . In a statement to reporters after meeting with his national security team , President Obama said U.S. officials had enough information in their possession before the failed bombing attack to have prevented the suspect from getting on the plane , but had been unable to `` connect the dots . '' Obama said he could accept the