President Barack Obama reassured the American public Monday that the government is doing everything possible to keep the nation safe, days after the attempted bombing of a U.S. airliner.

The president's announcement also came on the same day al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the incident on Christmas Day.

The group on its website stated that the attempted plane attack was in response to alleged strikes on Yemen.

President Obama said immediately following the incident, the government secured all flights in the air, making sure they could land safely. He said heightened screening policies have been put into place and United States Air Marshals have been stationed in airports.

Speaking from a Naval base in Hawaii, Obama said he also ordered reviews into the nation's watch list system and screening policies and procedures.

Obama's comments comes on the heels of the Homeland Security secretary's announcement that the aviation security system failed when a Nigerian man allegedly armed with explosives was allowed onto a Northwest flight Friday.

In a televised interview Monday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano clarified her remarks from over the weekend when she said the system worked – saying she meant all the proper measures were taken in notifying agencies and other flights after the incident.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was taken into custody aboard the plane on Friday, is being held in a federal prison in Michigan on charges of attempting to explode a something on an airplane.

The hearing, in which the government was expected to request a DNA sample from Abdulmutallab will now take place on January 8th. No reason was given for the change.

Abdulmutallab is accused of trying to set off an explosive device hidden in his underwear as the Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam landed in Detroit on Friday. The explosive device failed to go off properly and he was subdued by other passengers on board.

No serious injuries to the passengers or crew were reported.

Investigators are still trying to figure out why Abdulmutallab was allowed fly in the first place. His father, a prominent Nigerian banker, says he reached out to the United States Embassy in Nigeria last month about his son's extremist views.

Abdulmutallab's name was later added to a database of more than half-a-million people suspected of terrorist ties. But Obama says there was not enough information to elevate him to an official terror watch list or no-fly list.

The Obama administration is now reviewing the system for placing people on those lists as well as airport security measures to determine how Abdulmutallab got on the plane with explosive materials.

The terror scare over the weekend means travelers have been dealing with tighter security measures, although no universal changes are in effect.

After two days of tighter security restrictions, it appears officials are easing up.

The Associated Press, citing anonymous sources, reports passengers can once again have items on their laps and can move around the cabin during the last hour of the flight. This would reportedly be at the captain's discretion.

Travelers have been dealing with extra pat downs and bag searches.

The Transportation Security Administration says additional screening measures will vary from airport to airport.

At LaGuardia Airport yesterday, passengers were waiting in longer lines for security screenings. Most travelers though said they welcomed the extra layers of security.

"I think it’s a good thing that we are more vigilant and more security measures are in place,” said one traveler. “Hopefully incidents like that do not happen in the future."

"Actually I'm happy that there is tightened security,” said another. “It will be safer for me."

A second Nigerian man was questioned and released after law enforcement officials say he locked himself in the same airliner's bathroom yesterday.

But they say he just wasn't feeling well and posed no security threat.

The flight crew says they grew concerned yesterday after the man kept going to the bathroom and refused to come out as the plane was preparing to land in Detroit.

Upon landing, armed officers stormed the plane and took the man into custody. The remaining 255 passengers were safely taken off the plane.