Still Asleep at the Wheel

5 December 2005



America Still Unprepared for Terror Attack Says 9/11 Commission

The 9/11 Commission’s final update comes out a bit later today, and a few of the commissioners were on the Sunday morning talk shows in advance of its release. In brief, they are pretty disappointed in America’s response to the Al Qaeda attacks 4 years ago. Commission Chairman Tom Kean, former Republican Governor of New Jersey, said, “A lot of the things we need to do really to prevent another 9/11 just simply aren't being done by the president or by the Congress.” Meanwhile, the head of the Transport Security Administration said last week that American air passengers can bring small scissors on the plane again.

If one believes Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the founding fathers, governments were instituted among men to secure their rights, including “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” On this basis, the current government of the US might get points in the pursuit of happiness category. However, it has lessened American liberties through the Patriot Act and other ill-advised moves while failing to provide protection of American lives. Mr. Jefferson also wrote about abolishing governments that become destructive of those ends, and the mid-term elections are 11 months away.

Of all the 9/11 Commissions recommendations, only one has been implemented; there is now a director of national intelligence. John Negroponte, who has some rather bloody hands from his work with Central American death squads in the 1980s, is now in that job. It’s a better appointment that Michael Brown at FEMA, but that’s a rather low bar to clear.

Elsewhere, not even the simple things have been done. For example, there is still no segment of the radio spectrum set aside for first responders. Commissioner Lee Hamilton (former Democratic congressman from Indiana) said, “From the standpoint of responding to a disaster, the key responders must be able to talk with one another. They could not do it on 9/11, and as a result of that, lives were lost. They could not do it at [Hurricane] Katrina. They still cannot do it.” Congress found the time to debate prolonging Terry Schiavo’s imitation of life; the president spent 60 days in 60 cities selling his Social Security reform boondoggle (whatever became of that?), and they both managed to spend most of the last four Augusts on vacation. All it would take is one day to fix this.

As for spending on Heimatschutz, homeland security has become a spending free-for-all that makes little sense. Funds meant to protect Americans from terrorist attacks have air conditioned garbage trucks, some has gone for body armor for dogs (while this journal is very pro-canine, maybe some of that armor should have been for Marines in Iraq or cops in Washington), and Wyoming is getting more per capita that New York City.

America will be attacked again some day, and when it is, it looks like the government will have proved itself unable or unwilling to protect American lives. Governor Kean said, “God help us if we have another attack and we haven't done some of these things.” The voters can help by turfing out every incumbent who is currently asleep at the wheel.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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