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12-05-2005, 08:51 PM
9/11 panel finds Bush slow to act on terror
By Timothy Williams The New York Times
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2005
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
continued.....
By Timothy Williams The New York Times
MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2005
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
The 9/11 Commission released its final report on Monday, outlining an array of shortcomings in the government's response to the 2001 terrorist attacks and calling overall progress disappointing.
"We are safer, but we are not yet safe," said Thomas Kean, chairman of the commission charged with finding ways to prevent another terrorist attack and to investigate past intelligence failures. "That's simply not acceptable."
The commission, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, criticized the continued lack of intelligence sharing between government agencies; the lack of progress in curtailing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the failure to establish a uniform standard for treating detainees; and the distribution of Department of Homeland Security money based on politics rather than on potential risk.
In a statement, Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the progress report issued by the commissioners on Monday in Washington, showed that the Bush administration and Congress were "dangerously neglecting the defensive war on terror we should be fighting here at home."
"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," Schumer said. "New York State is particularly hurt by the terribly unfair and inefficient homeland security funding formula and the lack of a federal program for communications interoperability among first responders. We can and must do better."
In July 2004, the 10-member commission issued a report with 41 recommendations, most of which have not been enacted. President George W. Bush did carry out one of the recommendations by appointing a director of national intelligence after receiving pressure from members of Congress.
Since the release of its report, the commission has embarked on what it has called a "public education campaign" seeking to get its recommendations approved by Congress.
At a news conference in Washington, members of the commission repeatedly blasted the government - though none criticized the Bush administration directly - for its lack of progress on pushing through the recommendations.
"None of it is rocket science," said John Lehman, a Republican commission member who was a navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's administration. "None of it is in the too-hard category. We all believe it is possible to get all of these things achieved."
Timothy Roemer, a Democratic commission member and a former House member from Indiana, asked, "When will our government wake up?" He added, "Al Qaeda is highly dynamic, and we are not."
Among the most pressing issues, according to the commission, was to revamp the federal method of distributing Homeland Security money. Some cities and states that have a much lower risk of terrorism are receiving money, while high-risk cities that have been attacked before - including New York and Washington - receive too little.
continued.....