Helping Homeland Security

James Carafano / February 04, 2010

The only real victim in the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an international flight bound for Detroit was the Department of Homeland Security. Claiming the “system worked” earned the secretary more than a few cat calls, late night jokes, and even demands for her resignation. Napolitano’s statement, however, was never the real story.

First, that statement was taken out of context. Second, none of the security failures rest at the feet of Homeland Security. As we detailed last month: “The decision to flag an individual for secondary screening or bar him from flying altogether comes from the Terrorist Watch and No-Fly lists. Lists are managed by the National Counterterrorism Center and the Terrorist Screening Center….Abdulmutallab shouldn’t have been given a visa or, if he already had one, it should have been revoked….Visas are issued by the State Department.” (more…)