| Welcome to The New Coffee Room. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| 9/11 Commission's; "Report Card" | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 6 2005, 09:33 AM (118 Views) | |
| M&M's | Dec 6 2005, 09:33 AM Post #1 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
- The Loft - http://www.gopusa.com/theloft - Welcome to The Loft Report Card Masks Progress for Limelight Posted By Bobby Eberle On December 6, 2005 at 7:38 am The former members of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) issued a “report card” on Monday which gave the Bush administration a number of failing grades regarding implementation of the commission’s recommendations. However, lost in press releases and media appearances by former commission members is the fact that real progress has been made. Following the release of their final report in July of 2004, the commission members formed the 9/11 Public Discourse Project to monitor the ongoing efforts of the federal government and to inform the public. This group’s latest “report card” provided plenty of fodder for the media, but what did it really tell us? With the media’s insatiable appetite for negative news, the findings were met with open arms. However, lost in the media hype was the fact that securing America is an ongoing effort which has made incredible strides, but which will never end. As reported in Feds Scolded for Failing to Heed Advice of 9/11 Commission, the federal government received five Fs and twelve Ds on the so-called report card. Government agencies still don’t communicate well enough with each other, airline passenger pre-screening is still abysmal, Congress is still short-changing the individuals who would be first on the scene of a terrorist strike and the U.S. is not doing enough to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists and rogue countries, according to the Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendations. In a statement by former commission leaders Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, the two said that America is “not as safe as we need to be.” We see some positive changes. But there is so much more to be done. There are far too many C’s, D’s, and F’s in the report card we will issue today. Many obvious steps that the American people assume have been completed, have not been. Our leadership is distracted. Distracted? Say what you want about some of the administration’s efforts or priorities, but one thing is certain. From the moment the towers were hit in New York, the Bush administration has been focused on winning the war on terror. Yes, there is more to be done, but considering the fact that hundreds of top al Qaeda personnel have been killed or captured and their financial network has been severely disrupted, it is clear that progress is being made. The two former commission leaders describe some of the government’s failures as “shocking” including: – It is scandalous that police and firefighters in large cities still cannot communicate reliably in a major crisis. – It is scandalous that airline passengers are still not screened against all names on the terrorist watchlist. – It is scandalous that we still allocate scarce homeland security dollars on the basis of pork barrel spending, not risk. Now, to put pork barrel spending above “risk” is not acceptable, and I don’t think any American would disagree. However, the process of working these security upgrades is much more complicated that simply waving a wand. The American people must be vocal and demand action not just from the Bush administration, but from Congress as well. Throwing out “scandalous” rhetoric makes for good television, but it doesn’t help solve the problem. As National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said, “Obviously, as we’ve said all along, we are safer, but not yet safe. There is more to do.” Hadley is right. We are safer, but there is more to do to secure America from terror. The solutions lie in substantive debate and not soundbites. In this era of media negativity and sensationalism, America should not lose sight of the fact that real progress has been made. |
| My child shows GOOD CHARACTERIZATION in an ongoing game of D&D | |
![]() |
|
| ivorythumper | Dec 6 2005, 09:54 AM Post #2 |
|
I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
|
Isn't this a city or state issue, and not a federal one? |
| The dogma lives loudly within me. | |
![]() |
|
| M&M's | Dec 6 2005, 10:51 AM Post #3 |
|
Fulla-Carp
|
You would think. If the federal government intervined, then they would be complaining about that too. |
| My child shows GOOD CHARACTERIZATION in an ongoing game of D&D | |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · The New Coffee Room · Next Topic » |







4:50 PM Jul 10