by Gabrielle Russon
While the nation is safer domestically since Sept. 11--- because of better trained airport screeners and heightened intelligence capabilities--- the United States is failing on the international front, the two former leaders of the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks said today.
“We’ve made some progress but still have a very long way to go,” Thomas Kean, the commission’s former chairman, said at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars here.
To gain the upper-hand in winning the war on terror, U.S. foreign policy needs to beckon to Muslims, said Lee Hamilton, the commission’s former vice chairman and a former Indiana congressman.
“American foreign policy has to convey to Islam that we want to help Muslims achieve a better life,” Hamilton said.
He called terrorism a “generational problem” that goes deeper than just eliminating al Qaeda's leaders.
“The long-term---the durable threat---is the radical Islamic young people,” Hamilton said. “If you’re going to win the war on terror, you’re going to have to deal with these hundreds of millions of Muslims from across the world."
Kean suggested pushing for Israeli peace efforts and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison housing captured terrorism suspects, which he called a “black eye to the United States and the Muslim world.” He also suggested using foreign aid, diplomacy and sending more students overseas for educational exchanges.
While the threat of terrorism hasn’t disappeared, even though no attacks have occurred on U.S. soil since 2001, both men said the government’s urgency has diminished.
Hamilton said there still are no methods for detecting nuclear weapons, in case Al Qaida ever managed to obtain them and tried to get them into the U.S.
“This threat is in a class all by itself,” he said. “Therefore, it should be the absolute priority.”
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Comments
It was more then eight years between Al Qaida attacks on US soil, between 93 & 01, so saying there's been no attacks since 9/11 shouldn't get anyone excited.
Incidently, why conservatives never mention Reagan missed signs leading to the 1st Al Qaida terrorist attack in 93?
Posted by: RomanB | September 11, 2007 11:41 PM
While the general and ambassador were in Washington the beat goes on:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070911/iraq/
Posted by: lochnessmonster | September 12, 2007 6:55 AM
Roman,
Reagan left office January 1989. The first attack happened Feb. 26, 1993. What's your point?
Posted by: JB | September 12, 2007 11:11 AM
It is amazing that 6 years after 911, Clinton had arrested and convicted more terrorists than Bush has.
Posted by: Jim Brotherton | September 12, 2007 1:35 PM
I think it's amazing that senior politicians have the affrontery to assume that "they" can "give" Moslems a "better life" whilst occupying their countries or threatening to nuke them.
By eliminating the heads of Al Qaida, does he mean to shut down the CIA? Bravo!
And by: “The long-term---the durable threat---is the radical Islamic young people,” Hamilton said. “If you’re going to win the war on terror, you’re going to have to deal with these hundreds of millions of Muslims from across the world."
Does he mean to deal with these radicalised and terrorised people in the same way as he proposes dealing with his concept of Al Qaida, by "Eliminating" them?
Bear in mind that the CFR, who owned the official 911 commission, said that Bush Senior only said "New World Order" on one occasion (when it was in fact many times) and mumbo-jumbo like this report is how they're keeping everyone occupied whilst they create their NWO.
Posted by: Tone Franklin | September 12, 2007 7:15 PM