by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 16, 2002
All Rights Reserved.

Dazed by the events of Sept. 11, Americans are finally waking up to egregious security lapses, allowing the most deadly attack in U.S. history. For the past nine months, the nation rallied behind the flag, preferring to focus on getting Bin Laden rather than partisan finger pointing. But with growing terrorist threats, the time for soul searching has expired. Determining exactly what went wrong with national security is no longer a luxury but a matter of survival. Elected officials must get to the bottom of how the security apparatus failed to intercept the most complex, extensive, well planned, sabotage plot ever. Dismissing today's hubbub as "purely political" ignores the government's primary responsibility to assure national security. No one should accept the feeble excuse that "hindsight is 20/20"—including those now fretting about political fallout. Monday morning quarterbacking has little to do with finding out how—not necessarily why—9-11 took place. All national security—and indeed the war on terrorism—is about preempting disasters.

     Recent revelations by CBS News—especially top-secret warnings by the FBI and CIA—force Congress to take a second look, without getting lectured about patriotism. "They need to be very cautious not to seek political advantage by making incendiary suggestions that were made by some today that the White House had advance information that would have prevented the tragic attacks of 9-11," said Vice President Dick Cheney, attacking Congress for dredging up images of Watergate. Playing hardball won't create an atmosphere in which to brainstorm about fixing a dangerous malfunction. "Such commentary is thoroughly irresponsible and totally unworthy of national leaders at a time of war," said Cheney, blasting Congress for criticizing the White House. Cheney's salvo causes more damage by antagonizing his friends on Capitol Hill seeking legitimate answers. Members of Congress—and indeed all Americans—are most concerned about Bush's Aug. 6 CIA briefing regarding possible airline hijackings and an FBI warning about suspicious Middle Easterners attending American flight schools.

     Most folks don't blame the White House for 9-11, but they're puzzled by the overly touchy response. With Warren Buffett predicting nuclear terrorism, fixing the system must be the nation's top priority, not creating more bureaucracy. Before homeland defense can work, the CIA and FBI must begin talking to each other. What troubles Congress is that CBS—not the White House—breaks the story about advanced warnings eight months late. Immediately following Sept. 11, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told the press that the administration received "absolutely no warnings." Congress now wants Bush to release the Aug. 6 CIA briefing to ascertain exactly what the White House knew before 9-11. "There was a lot of information. I believe and others believe, if it had been acted upon properly we may have had a different situation on Sept. 11, said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Vice Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, implying that better intelligence would have stopped Bin Laden.

     Since CBS broke the story, the White House has been busy explaining how the prior warnings were too vague and nonspecific. Bush's National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice admitted that her security memo only mentioned Bin Laden's terror network and possible "hijacking in a traditional sense," not crashing fuel-loaded jets into key landmarks. Dismissing warnings, "You would have risked shutting down the American civil aviation system with such general information," said Rice, skirting the abysmal security lapse. Who cares about "traditional" hijackings or some other type? After Sept. 11, the White House was reluctant to finger Bin Laden, despite Rice naming the slippery terrorist in her pre-9-11 memo. "Why did it take eight months for us to receive this information?" asked Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-N.D.). When Democrats ask questions, it's partisan. When Republicans do, it's unpatriotic. "There were two separate FBI reports and a CIA warning, none of which were coordinated. The question is, if all three had been connected, would that have led to more vigorous activity? That's the reason why we need the commission to look at it," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

     Before 9-11, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta insisted that there was "no specificity to the information" that his office forwarded to airlines and airports. "There was no way we could have connected the dots to point to what happened on the 11th of September," said Mineta. "I'm not aware of any warnings or notifications," said Michael Wascom, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, disputing Mineta's account that his agency warned airport authorities. "This government did everything that it could," said Rice, defending her agency"s handling of Sept. 11. There was nothing specific to which to react. Had this president known of something more specific or that a plane was going to be used as a missile, he would have acted," causing even more alarm by suggesting that Bush would not have responded to "ordinary" hijackings. If this government did everything it could, then heads must roll. Rice—as national security advisor—should be disgusted with how her agency failed the country. Instead of making excuses, it's time to ask for help.

     Whatever security existed before Sept. 11 wasn't good enough. No American can tolerate its officials falling asleep at the switch. Acting clueless doesn't breed confidence in cabinet departments responsible for national security. Rice—and her counterparts at the FBI and CIA—were all well aware of Bin Laden's jihad against the U.S. His fingerprints were all over the rubble at the World Trade Center in 1993, Khobar Towers in 1996, U.S. East African Embassies in 1998, Guided Missile Destroyer Cole in 2000, and Ground Zero and the Pentagon in 2001. Rice won't convince too many people that everything possible was done to prevent Sept. 11. Recent FBI reports, CIA briefings and her own memo suggest that her department received credible warnings before 9-11. No one blames her—or the White House—for failing to connect the dots. But she's guilty of making too many excuses and accepting too little responsibility. She and Cheney should stop worrying about Bush's approval ratings and cooperate with Congress to figure out what went wrong—they need all the help they can get.

About the Author

John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He's director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in corporate consulting and strategic communication. He's author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

©1999-2002 Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.
(310) 204-8300
All Rights Reserved.