Washington:
As US President Barack Obama ordered a series of measures for strengthening the security apparatus after the botched December 25 bombing plot, Republicans charged him with not being serious against terrorism, while the Democrats came out in his support.
"The Administration's announcement that they have not only identified all the problems that led up to the failed Christmas Day attack, but already know how to fix them, is puzzling," said Senator Kit Bond, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"I am disappointed that the President failed to attribute adequate responsibility to the State Department which has the first and final authority to grant and revoke visas for entry into this country," he said.
Republican Senator John Cornyn charged that Obama's preoccupation with health care and other domestic issues has distracted him from "what should be the fundamental role of our chief executive: keeping our nation and its citizenry safe from harm."
He said there were "glaring failures" on the part of the US government which enabled an al-Qaeda terrorist to come "eerily close" to blowing up a plane over US soil.
However, the Democrats came out in full support of the US President.
"The attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack is a jarring reminder of the need for constant vigilance against the threat of terrorism, and it exposed deficiencies that we must move swiftly to correct," said Senator Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader.
"I am encouraged that the President has responded in a serious, deliberate and swift fashion.
"President Obama spoke with great clarity and resolve today as he outlined the important steps his administration is taking to enhance our aviation screening and security systems, examine what went wrong, quicken response time and improve the intelligence community's ability to connect the dots and follow-up on threats to our homeland," Reid said.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said Obama took a bold and courageous step in immediately calling for and releasing the review on the attempted bombing of the Detroit-bound plane by a Nigerian national.
"I commend the President for his swift action to strengthen intelligence and aviation security," she said. "The actions laid out by President Obama to bolster aviation security and ensure intelligence reports are distributed widely and investigated quickly are appropriate and necessary," said Steny H Hoyer, the House Majority Leader.