Independent inquiry essential FINAL Edition

Although the hearings by the joint intelligence committee mark the proper exercise of Congress' oversight responsibilities, they are not enough. If we as a nation are to meet the urgent intelligence challenges of homeland security and counterterrorism, it essential that Congress and the preside...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Sun (Baltimore, Md. : 1837)
Main Author James B. Steinberg and James M. Lindsay
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore, Md Tribune Publishing Company, LLC 25.06.2002
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WASHINGTON
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Summary:Although the hearings by the joint intelligence committee mark the proper exercise of Congress' oversight responsibilities, they are not enough. If we as a nation are to meet the urgent intelligence challenges of homeland security and counterterrorism, it essential that Congress and the president go further and appoint an independent, bipartisan commission to examine why the terrorist attacks succeeded. Opponents of an independent commission will argue that similar efforts in the past - from the commission that examined the causes of Pearl Harbor to the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President John F. Kennedy - were found wanting. More recently, several independent commissions examined the intelligence community and counterterrorism, including the 1996 Aspin-Brown Commission, the 2000 Hart-Rudman Commission and the Gilmore Commission. Little came of their efforts. A national commission on the role of intelligence in homeland security and counterterrorism could help assure the American public that the lessons we learn from the attacks of Sept. 11 would be translated into actions that would effectively meet the challenges of the future, not simply fight the last war. The victims of the tragic attacks and the country deserve no less.
ISSN:1930-8965