Report details security failures
The Sept. 11 Commission discovered efforts to cover major holes in America’s security system have proved fruitless thus far.
On Nov. 20, the panel said President George W. Bush and Congress have not moved quickly enough to enact a majority of the recommendations the commission suggested in its July 2004 published report.
The group, now a private entity known as the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, released a “report card” assessment of the government’s efforts to make the nation safer.
The government received failing grades in five areas, 12 “D”s and “B”s, nine “C”s and two incomplete grades. The only “A” grade was an “A-,” which the Bush administration received for its efforts to curb terrorist financing.
“I certainly think that’s important,” said David Jesuit, political science assistant professor. “There’s been a good deal of cooperation to limit sources of funding (for terrorists).”
Jesuit said one of the biggest changes seen globally since Sept. 11 has been air travel.
“I think they’re being more thorough in Western Europe to ensure individuals have their visas, for example,” he said.
Midland junior Lauren Covington said the changes to air travel – such as the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration – have helped America become a safer place.
“I feel safe because I know that the airlines have done all they can to ensure my safety by having security checks and metal detectors,” Covington said.
But some students said they don’t feel the government has done enough to make the nation safe from future terrorist attacks.
“To make this nation safe, we need to focus our efforts on our own homeland,” said Hesperia junior Drew Hampton. “When we spread our National Guard out across the globe, it becomes increasingly difficult to defend our own nation.”
Alper Dede, temporary political science professor, said to make America safer, changes will have to be seen in the Middle East as well as the U.S.
“It depends on what’s going to happen in Iraq,” Dede said. “It also depends on how the relationship between the U.S. and the Middle Eastern countries evolve in the next couple of years.”
Dede said socio-economic changes will need to be seen in the Middle East in order for the U.S. to curb terrorism.
“Radical Islamists are gaining supporters day-by-day by exploiting the backwardness and ignorance of the poor people in the Middle East,” he said.
Jesuit also said the safety of America is tied into what’s happening abroad.
“There will have to be broader changes in the Middle East and (Pakistan),” he said.
