Head Of Homeland Security Says Critics Of His Department "Serve goals of al-Qaeda."

Today's editorial in USA Today by John Brennan, Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, tries to explain away the treatment of Abdulmutallab, which he says has been timely, appropriate, and par-for-the-course in terms of the way other administrations have handled terrorists.

His arguments might hold weight. But he certainly starts making them under questionable premises; as Jim Gehragty points out, he says critics of DHS terrorist-handling policy "serve the goals of al-Qaeda," while Abdulmutallab, at this point, is only a "suspect."

Sarah Palin's remarks during the Tea Party Convention come to mind:

It's not politicizing our security to discuss our concerns, because Americans deserve to know the extent of what they face.