9/11 Commission Leaders Say Bush Has Still Not Made Us Safe

An excerpt from today's NBC Meet the Press, guest-moderated by David Gregory, as he interviewed the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean (a Republican) and former 17-term Congressman from Indiana, Lee Hamilton (a Democrat).

"MR. GREGORY: Let me talk about security policy here at home in areas of vulnerability. I, I raised this point with Secretary Chertoff about the report card that the commission issued with a lot of C’s, D’s and F’s. And you spoke about that in 2005, that these failures, in your view, were shocking, that the government was distracted.

Governor Kean, what are the major blind spots now and have new ones been exposed by the plot unearthed this week?

MR. KEAN: Well, for instance, when you and I go to the airport there still is not a unified watch list. There should be. We should know everybody who’s getting on that plane, and/or if any agency has any problems with them, they shouldn’t be allowed to get on the plane. We still don’t have enough of what’s called puffer machines in the airports that detect traces of explosives.

We still haven’t got the proper technology for screening baggage. Now some of that is simply dollars... But those are major steps that should be taken at the airports, and until they’re done we’re not as safe as we should be.

MR. HAMILTON: It’s an amazing thing, five years after this event that we’re still straggling with the whole question of developing detection devices for all kinds of explosives. Five years after this event. And the president—or not the president, the secretary a moment ago spoke about pilot programs. Pilot programs, five years after the event..."

Take a moment to refresh your memory at my article, The 41 Grades of the Failing Report Card on 9/11 Commission Recommendations, which summarzes the shockingly poor rate of implementation by the Bush Administration and Congress of vital national security recommendations made by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Related Reading
US Sought to Cut $6 Million in Screening Technology, at MSNBC on August 13, 2006
Five Years After 9/11, Are We any Safer? , Newsweek, August 21, 2006 issue