The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Sept. 11 Panel: U.S. Remains Unprepared
By Lara Jakes Jordan
Associated Press
© December 5, 2005
Time, money and ever-present terror
threats have done little to close gaping holes in
the nation's security system, the former Sept. 11
Commission said Monday in accusing the government of
failing to protect the country against another attack.
The panel cited disjointed airplane passenger
screening methods, pork-barrel security funding
and other problems in saying the Bush administration
and Congress had not moved quickly enough to enact
the majority of its recommendations of July 2004.
"We're frustrated, all of us - frustrated at the
lack of urgency in addressing these various problems,"
said Thomas Kean, a Republican and former New Jersey
governor who was chairman of the commission.
"We shouldn't need another wake-up call," Kean said.
"We believe that the terrorists will strike again; so
does every responsible expert that we have talked to.
And if they do, and these reforms that might have
prevented such an attack have not been implemented,
what will our excuse be?"
Rather than disbanding like most federally appointed
commissions when their terms expire, Kean and the
other nine commissioners continued their work as a
private entity called the 9/11 Public Discourse Project.
Wrapping up more than three years of investigations
and hearings, the former commission issued what
members said was their final assessment of the
government's counterterror performance as a report
card. It gave failing grades in five areas, and
issued only one "A" - actually an A-minus - for
the Bush administration's efforts to curb terrorist
financing.
The five "F"s were for:
Failing to provide a radio system to allow first
responders from different agencies communicate with
each other during emergencies.
Distributing federal homeland security funding to
states on a "pork-barrel" basis instead of risk.
Failing to consolidate names of suspicious airline
travelers on a single terror watch screening list.
Hindering congressional oversight by retaining
intelligence budget information as classified
materials.
Failing to engage in an alliance to develop international
standards for the treatment and prosecution of detained
terror suspects.
The panel, which has operated as a nonprofit group
since disbanding last year, also gave the government
12 "D"s and "B"s, nine "C"s and two incomplete
grades.
Congress established the commission in 2002 to investigate
government missteps that led to the attacks of Sept. 11,
2001. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when 19 hijackers
organized by al-Qaida flew airliners into New York
City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon and caused
a crash in the Pennsylvania countryside.
Asked about the panel's final report, White House
spokesman Scott McClellan said, "It's important to
look at some of what they're talking about."
He also related the commission's findings to the
administration's campaign in Iraq. "By taking the
fight to the enemy abroad, and by doing so, that is
keeping them from plotting and planning to attack
inside America," McClellan said.
On Capitol Hill, Republican and Democratic lawmakers
alike agreed that Congress has not done enough to shore
up security. Many lawmakers focused on the security
funding formula to states - an annual fight between
the House and the Senate.
The former commission endorsed the House plan, which
distributes money first by risk. By contrast, the
Senate proposal - approved by 71 senators as part of
an appropriations bill - allocates money by risk only
after all states are ensured funds.
The Homeland Security Department awarded $2.5 billion
in security grants to states last year.
"The report is a top-to-bottom indictment of the
federal government's lack of resources, focus, and
expertise in fighting the domestic war on terror,"
said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., who voted
against the Senate's funding plan when it was included
in the larger bill.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, "Every penny should
be directed where it will do the most good, in other
words, the places across our nation where terrorists
may strike and where such strikes could do the most
damage to our people, our government, and our national
economy."
Perhaps the most powerful criticism on the government's
progress came from a tearful Mary Fetchet, director
of the Voices of Sept. 11 advocacy group.
"How many lives have to be lost?" said Fetchet, who
lost a son in the World Trade Center on 9/11. "How
many tragedies do we have to have before we have a
system put in place that's going to protect our
country domestically?"
Since last year, the 9-11 Public Discourse Project has
operated with private funds. It reported assets of
$530,165 for the 2004 tax year, the most recent
available, and included the Carnegie Corporation of
New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
among its contributors.
On the Net:
9/11 Public Discourse Project: http://www.9-11pdp.org/
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January 15, 2007