Intel chief faults questioning of bomb suspect

(AP) — The nation's top intelligence official says the Christmas Day airline bombing suspect should have been treated as a high-value terror suspect when the plane landed. That would have meant questioning by special interrogators rather than civilian law officers.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO'-mahr fah-ROOK' ahb-DOOL'-moo-TAH'-lahb) was interviewed by federal law enforcement investigators when Northwest Flight 253 landed in Detroit after he allegedly tried to detonate a homemade bomb sneaked through airport security in Nigeria and Amsterdam. Abdulmutallab is being held in a prison about 50 miles outside of Detroit.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told a Senate committee Wednesday that he was not consulted on whether Abdulmutallab should be questioned by the recently created High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group.