By a combination of luck and vigilance," he said.. However, the incident had brought into sharp focus bigger issues than revamping the no-flight terrorist watch list or security measures at airports.. "Terrorists still have innocent people in their sights and the will to murder them," he said, adding "September 11th is not ancient history - it's all too real.". King, who faces re-election this year, called for passage of a Republican bill, the Keep Terrorists Out of America Act, which would prevent terrorists from being brought to the United States from the Guantánamo Bay detention facility and would help stop plans to put alleged Sept. 11 terrorists on trial in a federal court in New York.. King and other Republicans oppose the Obama administration's decision to try accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in court in New York.. The 23-year-old Nigerian accused of trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, also faces criminal charges in a federal court.. King said terrorists should be treated as war criminals, and not granted the rights given criminal defendants in the U.S. court system.. "We are a nation at war and we need to act like it . . . People in my community certainly get it. American families get it. And now it's time for the administration in Washington to stop sending mixed messages and get it too," he said.. On Thursday, President Barack Obama outlined a raft of additional measures to improve U.S. intelligence capabilities and enhance aviation security as a result of the Flight 253 incident.
