No confidence in Brennan

Could it be because he doesn't appear to know what he's doing?

By departing from his norm, Brennan has shown himself to be a hack and has undermined any lingering confidence that the Obama administration has a clue about how to fight terrorism. His statement, in response to a question about what the downside might be to treating Abdulmutallab as an enemy combatant -- "there are no downsides or upsides in particular cases" -- should be placed in front of CIA headquarters (Brennan spent decades at the CIA and was a senior official there) as a testament to the agency's mindset. Perhaps the statement can be amended to read: "There are no downsides or upsides to a given approach to dealing with a terrorist or with terrorism; there is only implementing and trying to defend the policy preferences of the politicians until such time as it becomes convenient to undermine them through leaks."