September 11th: Time to take stock

Seven years ago, on a beautiful September day much like this one, almost 3,000 people from over ninety different nations died a senseless death that ultimately lead our country into an unnecessary war.

The world's goodwill extended to the U.S. after the tragedy of 9/11 was squandered by the Bush administration's belligerent foreign policies, and President Bush's hunt for the man responsible for the attack has faltered.

When remembering victims today, let's consider what the government has done to make us safer in the last seven years.

According to a new bipartisan report, despite Bush's heavy anti-terrorism rhetoric, his administration's real progress in fighting terrorism has been slight. From Indiana's JournalGazette:

The bipartisan Partnership for a Secure America gave the United States an overall grade of C. The government received in total three D's, eight C's and seven B's in areas such as sustaining support of foreign scientists and governments, integrating programs to prevent nuclear terrorism and strengthening multilateral law enforcement efforts.

This panel is composed of 22 former U.S. officials and is co-chaired by Lee Hamilton, vice chairman of the 911 commission, and Warren Rudman, former senator and co-chairman of a 2001 blue-ribbon commission on terrorism.

There's one bright spot here; the Bush administration's last grade on terrorism, in a 2005 report, was a D. Anti-terrorism efforts have moved from poor to middling which is progress, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.

The panel offers solid recommendations for protecting America against another 9/11. We must encourage the future Obama administration to listen to security experts and enact policies that keep Americans safe rather than just fearful.