Obama aide: Republicans play politics on national security

WASHINGTON - An exasperated White House newly committed to preaching partisan peace slammed Republicans for playing politics on national security and making ignorant allegations about the investigation into the Christmas airliner plot.

Deputy national security adviser John Brennan complained Sunday that politicians, many of them Republicans, were unfairly criticizing the administration for partisan purposes and second-guessing the case with a "500-mile screwdriver" that reaches from Washington to the scene of the abortive attack in Detroit.

"Quite frankly, I'm tiring of politicians using national security issues such as terrorism as a political football," Brennan said. "They're unknowing of the facts. And they're making charges and allegations that are not anchored in reality."

Brennan's comments on NBC's "Meet the Press" came a day after President Barack Obama urged Democrats to work with Republicans, telling those attending the Democratic Party's winter meeting that "we can't solve all of our problems alone." The president offered a similar message to a recent gathering of House Republicans.

Republicans have been particularly vocal in criticizing the Obama administration's decision to charge accused bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab in criminal rather than military court and allowing him to be advised of his right to not incriminate himself, the so-called Miranda warning. In contrast to claims that Abdulmutallab stopped talking to authorities after receiving the warning, administration officials have contended that the suspect provided useful information before the Miranda warning and again some weeks later during further questioning. - AP