SOTU: Bush Administration Flunking on Homeland Defense
SOTU: Bush Administration Flunking on Homeland Defense
Bush said: “Our country must also remain on the offensive against terrorism here at home.”
FACT — FLUNKING OUT ON HOMELAND SECURITY: The 9/11 Public Discourse Project (formerly the 9/11 Commission) has given the administration failing grades on its efforts to improve homeland security. Former Gov. Thomas Kean (R-NJ), former chair of the 9/11 Commission, said that homeland security is “not a priority for the government right now. You don’t see the Congress or the president talking about the public safety as number one, as we think it should be, and a lot of the things we need to do really to prevent another 9/11 just simply aren’t being done by the president or by the Congress.” [NBC Meet the Press, 12/4/05]
FACT — FIRST RESPONDERS A LOW PRIORITY FOR BUSH: Just 6 percent of national security spending is devoted to homeland security and the administration still has “no system in place that allows emergency personnel to communicate reliably and effectively in a crisis.” The government has also cut funding for state and local law enforcement and first responders by more than $2 billion from FY 2005 to FY 2006. “While the terrorists have been learning and adapting, we have been moving at a bureaucratic crawl,” said James Thompson of the 9/11 Project.[Chicago Tribune, 12/16/05; American Progress, 10/27/05; American Progress, 9/9/05; American Progress]
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January 31st, 2006 at 9:29 pm
Two direct threats in the last week or so, by OBL and his second in command, and has the threat level been raised?
January 31st, 2006 at 9:30 pmPublic safety is not what the Bush Admin. is concerned about- its about keeping themselves in power.
January 31st, 2006 at 9:32 pmHas the threat level been raised? An interesting question…I can tell you that the Force Protection Condition (FPCon) at Andrews AFB (home of Airforce One) was rolled back to Alpha recently. This is the lowest level (it was Bravo before) indicating that there is a LOW RISK of attack or threat regionally, which downgrades the security measures required and in place at the base. You would think that if the administration truely believed there was an increased danger they would upgrade the FPCON here….but they have not.
Food for thought.
February 1st, 2006 at 4:43 pmOT: Correction to my URL..should be http://www.chisuji.com…sorry for the typo.
February 1st, 2006 at 4:44 pmEffective Communication Skills ? How To Build Rapport With Everyone You Meet
Effective communication skills are highly valuable. They enrich our personal and social lives. In business it’s a matter of life and death.
March 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm