NY Post strips context of “Napalitano's [sic] latest set of bizarro comments”

From a January 9 New York Post editorial:

Obama's deeper-seated view also becomes clearer in his insistence, despite everything, on closing Guantanamo Bay.

So, too, can you gauge the steepness of his team's learning curve by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napalitano's latest set of bizarro comments.

Asked for the most “stunning” finding from a review of security lapses, Napolitano answered: “The determination of al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-Arabian Peninsula.”

That's astonishing.

Has she been living under a rock since Sept. 10, 2001?

Did not the collapse of the Twin Towers sink in?

Is she unaware of London? Madrid? Bali? Richard Reid? Fort Hood? And so on?

But then, this is from an official who claimed “the system worked” after the panty-bomber snuck a bomb on a plane and nearly set it off.

You want “stunning”?

How about that Obama actually put such a person in charge of the nation's security?

Sure, facing a PR fiasco, the president may concede that America is at war.

But it's high time he acted like it is.

NY Post misleadingly cropped Napolitano's remarks about “the most 'stunning' finding from a review of security lapses.” The editorial stated, “Asked for the most 'stunning' finding from a review of security lapses, Napolitano answered: 'The determination of al Qaeda and Al Qaeda-Arabian Peninsula.' That's astonishing. Has she been living under a rock since Sept. 10, 2001?” In fact, during the press briefing, John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism stated that he was struck by the emergence of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a branch of Al Qaeda based in Yemen -- stating that “we didn't know they had progressed to the point of actually launching individuals here.” Napolitano then stated, "[F]ollowing up on that, not just the determination of al Qaeda and al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula, but the tactic of using an individual to foment an attack, as opposed to a large conspiracy or a multi-person conspiracy such as we saw in 9/11, that is something that affects intelligence."

From the January 7 White House briefing:

Q What was the most shocking, stunning thing that you found out of the review? And, Secretary, to you, as well.

MR. BRENNAN: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is an extension of al Qaeda core coming out of Pakistan. And, in my view, it is one of the most lethal and one of the most concerning of it. The fact that they had moved forward to try to execute this attack against the homeland I think demonstrated to us -- and this is what the review sort of uncovered -- that we had a strategic sense of sort of where they were going, but we didn't know they had progressed to the point of actually launching individuals here. And we have taken that lesson, and so now we're full on top of it.

SECRETARY NAPOLITANO: I think, following up on that, not just the determination of al Qaeda and al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula, but the tactic of using an individual to foment an attack, as opposed to a large conspiracy or a multi-person conspiracy such as we saw in 9/11, that is something that affects intelligence. It really emphasizes now the renewed importance on how different intelligence is integrated and analyzed, and threat streams are followed through. And, again, it will impact how we continue to review the need to improve airport security around the world.

Napolitano said “the system worked” before discussing the “the whole process of making sure that we respond properly, correctly and effectively.” On the December 27 broadcast of CNN's State of the Union, Napolitano stated that “the system worked” before discussing the emergency notification system and response to the incident. From the December 27 edition of State of the Union:

NAPOLITANO: One thing I'd like to point out is that the system worked. Everybody played an important role here. The passengers and crew of the flight took appropriate action. Within literally an hour to 90 minutes of the incident occurring, all 128 flights in the air had been notified to take some special measures in light of what had occurred on the Northwest Airlines flight. We instituted new measures on the ground and at screening areas, both here in the United States and in Europe, where this flight originated.

So the whole process of making sure that we respond properly, correctly and effectively went very smoothly.

Napolitano later clarified that “the system worked” comments were in reference to the emergency response and notification system. On the December 28 edition of NBC's Today, after co-host Matt Lauer asked Napolitano to explain her remarks, Napolitano said, “I think the comment is being taken out of context, what I'm saying is once the incident occurred, moving forward, we were immediately able to notify the 128 flights in the air on protective measures to take, immediately able to notify law enforcement on the ground, airports both domestically, internationally, all carriers, all of that happening within 60 to 90 minutes.”

Previously, when passengers thwarted shoe-bomber attack, Bush administration officials claimed success. In a December 28 article, ABC News' Jake Tapper noted that Bush administration officials “claimed success” in the public's role in thwarting a similar failed attempt by “shoe-bomber” Richard Reid. Reid was subdued and detained by fellow passengers when he unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a shoe-bomb on an American Airlines flight. According to Tapper, Tom Ridge stated, “Because of the vigilance of some citizens, we certainly have gotten some folks on airplanes, shoe bombers,” when asked about the government's success in thwarting terrorist attacks. Tapper also reported that Attorney General John Ashcroft stated in a 2002 press conference that “We've asked citizens to be vigilant” and “alert to any possible threat,” and “success of this policy was made clear” in the Reid case.