It didn’t take long Thursday for partisan splits to show among lawmakers looking to exploit an allegedly foiled terrorist plot to destroy passenger aircraft flying from Britain to the United States as both parties gear up for November midterm elections.

Republicans largely are hanging their election hopes on the argument that Democrats want to withdraw from the war on terrorism. Democrats, however, argue that Republicans have shortchanged homeland security, leaving the United States perilously vulnerable to attack.

Lawmaker responses came hours after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced the arrests of 21 people by London police. He said the suspects were involved in a “well-planned and well-advanced plot” to detonate liquid explosives aboard U.S.-bound airliners. Chertoff said details of the plot suggested possible involvement of the terrorist group al-Qaeda.

Democrats called for the implementation of changes recommended by the 9-11 Commission, which they said Republicans have ignored.

Republican lawmakers largely praised the administration’s response, although the British government appeared to take a lead in the investigation.

Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell said news of the arrests were “another reminder” that the war is not over. He also called for backing both the armed forces and a controversial National Security Agency warrantless wiretapping program.

“It is clear to anyone paying attention that our law enforcement and intelligence forces need every legal means at their disposal to be able connect the dots and prevent and disrupt al-Qaeda’s attacks,” McConnell, R-Ky., said. “Tools such as the terrorist surveillance program and others allow us to prevent the attacks before they happen, not just to respond when it’s too late. ”

The House (HR 5825) and Senate (S 2453) are both considering legislation to provide the president greater latitude in conducting the surveillance program than exists under a secret federal court system established by a 1978 law (PL 95-511), the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Democrats are calling for far tougher restrictions on the administration’s program.

The administration launched the surveillance effort with limited congressional knowledge, briefing only leadership and select members of the two intelligence committees. The administration said it sought wiretaps without approval from the FISA court because the system was too slow for the NSA program to be effective.

House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert of Illinois said the move is only the latest example of U.S. authorities disrupting terrorist efforts.

“Today’s victory serves as a vivid and shocking reminder that we must always be vigilant in fighting the global war on terror,” Hastert said.

At about the same time senior lawmakers were briefed on the arrests Wednesday, Vice President Dick Cheney sought out news service reporters to say Democrats had rejected Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., in his primary race because they were ready to “retreat behind our oceans,” according to a Washington Post report. Cheney’s claims were being echoed Thursday by Republican lawmakers.

“When you don’t have a plan for winning the Global War on Terror, avoiding the fight can be an attractive option,” House Majority Whip John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement.

Boehner referred to Democrats as “Defeatocrats.”

But Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D- Nev., said the revelations should force increased scrutiny of the Bush administration’s “mismanagement” in fighting terrorism and force Congress to make changes.

“We are not as safe as we should be and we still have not implemented the bipartisan 9-11 Commission’s recommendations to secure our ports, airports, and chemical plants,” Reid said. “This latest plot demonstrates the need for the Bush administration and the Congress to change course in Iraq and ensure that we are taking all the steps necessary to protect Americans.”

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California echoed Reid’s comments and praised British authorities for uncovering a possible attack, but also said Congress could do more to protect the nation.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, called the apparently foiled plot “the biggest terrorist threat since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

“Secretary Chertoff briefed me last night and described the outstanding work and cooperation between U.S. and British intelligence officials that blocked these attacks,” Collins said. “The terror plot, which was extremely sophisticated and lethal, is a stark reminder that despite the progress we have made, the terrorist threat is still very real, and we must continue to be vigilant.”

The Transportation Security Administration quickly barred all liquids and gels, from sodas to toothpaste, from carry-on luggage, causing long backups at U.S. airport security check points. But some lawmakers cautioned that additional efforts to ramp up aviation security may be needed.

“We as Americans also need to understand that we are going to have to significantly increase our security efforts here in the United States, including doing things like knowing who is getting on airplanes and having adequate identification to make sure we know who these people are when they get on airplanes so that we can track them down if they mean us harm,” Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, also suggested that the United States has some catching up to do in explosives detection at airports.

“In order to prevent future disruptions to our aviation system, [the Bush administration] needs to move expeditiously to develop and install next-generation explosive detection technologies with the ability to detect lethal materials like those involved in the British plot,” Thompson said.

But Lieberman, ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel, said in this instance the Homeland Security Department had performed its function as intended.

“This should serve as the latest, most serious evidence that we are in a war against a brutal enemy that intends to attack us over and over again in the most indiscriminate way,” Lieberman said. “The Department of Homeland Security is doing what it was created to do in the face of a terrorist threat: protecting the United States through the implementation of security measures, international cooperation, and coordination with the law enforcement and intelligence communities.”

First posted Aug. 10, 2006 11:34 a.m.