Progressive Talking Points 12/5/05

Homeland Insecurity

More than four years after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 killed nearly 3,000 Americans, the 9/11 Commission will release today a follow-up report challenging the White House’s assertion that it has carried out the “vast majority” of the commission’s recommendations. 9/11 Commission Co-Chair Governor Thomas Kean (R-NJ) reiterated yesterday on Meet the Press that homeland security is just not a priority for this administration. Indeed, although President Bush is quick to reference 9/11 in his speeches, his administration has not taken the necessary steps to protect America from a future attack.

• The U.S. is not doing enough to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. The report highlights the "administration's woeful record in strengthening global counterproliferation efforts to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of terrorists." There are more than 100 nuclear research facilities worldwide that could be used to make a bomb, and many of them lack basic security. The Center for American Progress has a plan to keep Russia's loose nukes out of the hands of terrorists.
  
  
• The U.S. still does not have an emergency communications apparatus installed or a unified command structure. Hurricane Katrina clearly showed that the U.S. still has "no system in place that allows emergency response personnel to communicate reliably and effectively in a crisis." Katrina also showed that the U.S. has yet to provide a command structure to handle natural disasters or a terrorist attack. The 9/11 Commission had recommended that every city and state have a clear line of command.
  
  
• The U.S. has set no clear standards on detainee treatment. The recent debate over torture is not helping the image of the U.S. According to Kean, the report recommends “international standards that every country would go along with on how you treat ... prisoners." And as long as the Bush White House resists Congressional efforts to place standards on detainee treatment, the debate will continue. To let your voice be heard on the issue, check out TortureIsNotUS.org.