I’VE BEEN PRETTY HARD ON HOMELAND SECURITY — and with good reason — but this suggests that we’re doing something right somewhere:

WASHINGTON, June 19 — A suspected al-Qaida operative has pleaded guilty to two terrorism-related charges after he was identified by a top leader of Osama bin Laden’s terror network, NBC News has learned.

THE MAN, Iyman Faris, a U.S. citizen from Columbus, Ohio, also known as Mohammed Rauf, was personally identified by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is believed to have been al-Qaida’s top terrorist planner, U.S. officials told NBC News’ Pete Williams.

The officials said Mohammed, who was captured March 1 in Pakistan, told U.S. authorities that Faris, 34, had been assigned to look into ways to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge and derail trains, among other potential attacks.

What’s upsetting — and should be even more upsetting for American Muslims — is that he was a naturalized citizen of long residence in America.

UPDATE: Here’s a link-filled report on Al Qaeda in the USA, from Winds of Change — which is really on a roll today.