 At a press conference days after the failed Christmas Day bomb attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Brennan said U.S. intelligence agencies did not miss any signs that could have prevented the attempt but later said he had let the president down by underestimating a small group of Yemeni terrorists and not connecting them to the attempted bomber.Within two weeks after the incident, however, he produced a report highly critical of the performance of U.S. intelligence agencies, concluding that their focus on terrorist attempts aimed at U.S. soil was inadequate.In February 2010, he claimed on "Meet the Press" that he was tired of Republican lawmakers using national security issues as political footballs, and making allegations where they did not know the facts.