The victory is for Al Qaeda -- it has caused the U.S. to expend trillions of dollars chasing shadows while compromising the core Constitutional principles that distinguish the country as a free nation.

And, sorry, TSA has to assume a lot of the blame (along with both the current and past administration). TSA has decided, unilaterally, that Constitutional guarantees are less important than the illusion of safety (we've already discussed, many times, why TSA's measures are ineffective, both in terms of its omissions as well as its affirmative actions). Even assuming TSA's measures were effective, the agency has chosen to implement them through poorly trained, poorly educated TSOs (as compared to true intelligence and/or military professionals), too many of whom are reminiscent of the jack-booted thugs typical of fascist dictatorships.

That anyone could think that criticism of this inefficient, bullying, costly, ineffective organization is a victory for the terrorists is, frankly, ridiculous.