United Airlines

President Obama and the Justice Department are being criticized over the decision to federally charge a Nigerian national with trying to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day rather than detain him as an enemy combatant.

A grand jury today formally indicted a 23-year-old Nigerian national suspected in the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines airplane as it neared the Detroit airport. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was indicted on six counts, including attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. If convicted, Abdulmutallab faces life in prison. Federal authorities say Abdulmutallab tried to destroy Northwest Airlines flight 253

At first glance, it seemed simple enough: The TSA offered up “new security directives” for international flights to the United States.