Al Qaeda confesses responsiblity for underpants bobmer, says more to come

CNN:

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a plane about to land in the United States, saying it was in retaliation for alleged U.S. strikes on Yemeni soil.

In a message written in Arabic, dated Saturday and published Monday on radical Islamist Web sites, the group hailed the "brother" who carried out the "heroic attack."

The group said it tested a "new kind of explosives" in the attack, and hailed the fact that the explosives "passed through security."

"There was a technical problem that resulted in a non-complete explosion," the message said.

Investigators have not determined whether the group's claim of involvement in the attempted attack was true.

On Sunday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said there had been no indication that the attempt was part of a broad international effort.

"Right now we have no indication that it is part of anything larger," Napolitano told CNN's "State of the Union."

...

She was clearly mistaken when she made that assertion. Within a matter of hours after the underpants bomber roasted his nuts, there was evidence supporting what al Qaeda has now confessed too.

I suspect that Napolitano and others in the administration have been reluctant to acknowledge the connection to al Qaeda because they do not want to deal with the consequences of such an act of war. They would rather send an indictment to Yemen than deal with an act of war with war upon the perps.