We are Safer than Prior to 9/11

Are we safer than we were after 9/11? Yes, much. The administration and the Congress have worked feverishly and spent huge amounts of money to make it so. The FBI and CIA coordinate far better than they did prior to the attacks, and the same obtains with all other intelligence and security agencies at all levels of government. The bureaucrats who work in these fields should be proud of their efforts. To reiterate, we are much safer from terrorist attack now than we were before 9/11.

The Bush administration has clearly taken national security very seriously and has done all that we could expect them to do. I won’t go into complaints about the administration carrying surveillance too far. The question is have they done all that could reasonably be expected and their intent is clearly our safety and security?

Are we safe? Hell no! We’ll never be completely safe from terror, foreign or domestic. There is always the possibility that another attack could succeed. My friend and golf partner, Dick O’Brien, nailed it with, “If we can’t stop all armed robbery and murder in Washington, how can we be expected to stop all terrorist activities.” It’s obvious that attacks such as that by Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City and the 9/11 attack are far less likely based on far better intelligence, police, and regulatory changes. But clever madmen and determined terrorists are out there constantly plotting, so we can only work hard and smart and apply all reasonable resources to the job.

Are Bush and the Republicans better than Democrats at making us secure? That friends is a loaded question and, in my opinion, the answer is, “Hell no!” The nation is fully awake to the danger from both foreign and domestic terrorism. While the Republicans are beating up on the Democrats for being weak, there is no truth in the assertion whatsoever. You think the Gore administration would be one degree different in its response to the attacks? Of course not.

One thing Gore wouldn’t have done, however, was to attack Iraq and divert resources away from chasing down Osama. The record is clear; Al Gore spoke forcefully against invading Iraq as the run up to war became obvious. I won’t grant the administration’s constant mantra that we are better off as a result of regime change in Iraq. I think we’ve radicalized far more Islamic terrorists than we’ve killed or captured.

Iraq has ruined the presidency of George Bush and it has made it essential that we punish the Republicans for this gross blunder. The mitigation created by their feverish efforts to increase national security not withstanding, they must be turned out in November. While the homeland is almost certainly more secure than it was five years ago, our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and our interests and those of our allies all over the world are in greater danger than they should be because of the blunder in Iraq.

Blog on!

Wild Bill