Essential for handling the looming threats that developed last weekend is the report's suggestion to unify the myriad fronts that are currently fighting terrorism. All of the intelligence agencies, first-responders, border and immigration controls, transportation authorities and elected officials must be held to new, higher standards that are more appropriate to the times in which we live.

The government, and the intelligence community in particular, is organized according to Cold War era realities. Ubiquitous disorder in the chains of command, jurisdiction and authority in the CIA, the FBI and the defense intelligence organizations lead to calamitous consequences. In response, the report urges that a main priority is a reorganization of US intelligence in an effort to encourage accountability, congressional oversight, transparency and the mutual benefits of shared information among the separate intelligence organs. National and international information needs to be introduced into an infrastructure that can process the larger picture of what is happening in the world.

However, fighting terrorism involves more than defensive and military strategies. We must begin to view terrorism in a new, different and practical way.

The most interesting and potentially useful section of the 9/11 report argues that terrorism itself is not the 'enemy,' but a tactic. The actual enemy is an ideology, which cannot be destroyed with bombs. Rather, the goal is to prevail over the ideology by offering better opportunities. The report compels the US to "stand as an example of moral leadership in the world. To Muslim parents, terrorists like Bin Ladin have nothing to offer their children but visions of violence and death. America and its friends have the advantage – our vision can offer a better future." There should be an emphasis on diplomacy and including community and religious leaders in political dialogues. Additionally, support for public education and economic growth is a top priority. These progressive recommendations offer real hope to stop terrorism at its roots.

Congress, responding quickly to the harsh criticism it received in the report, has begun the first steps toward making legislative changes. Special hearings to draft legislation have been called for August, a time that is usually a recess. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) have been called upon to write bills by October 1st that will create a counter-terrorism center and a director of intelligence post, in accordance with the recommendations of the report. Congress will also review its method of oversight of the intelligence agencies and their budgets in order to begin those reforms.

The report, of course, has enormous political ramifications, especially in an election year. President Bush, on vacation when the report was released, finally announced his conditional approval of some suggestions. After his advisers reviewed the recommendations, Bush declared his support for the creation of a national intelligence director, though not as a cabinet-level post, as the report suggested. The administration also voiced support for a national counter-terrorism center and the reorganization of congressional oversight.

Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry, who agrees with the majority of the recommendations, called for the commission to work for another eighteen months to monitor the progress of the reforms and release additional reports every six months. He urges that action must be taken immediately by the President.

For the rest of the summer, the ten commissioners – in pairs of one democrat and one republican – will be lobbying and campaigning for the immediate adoption of the proposals. If this effort triggers a national commitment to comprehensive, strategic and progressive approaches to combating terrorism by addressing the roots causes of the problem, then it will be a code red priority for code orange times. If the public debate over the report is limited to pressing for a few high profile bureaucratic changes without addressing the deeper underlying issues, it will be a major lost opportunity.

Resources:
"The 9/11 Commission Report," National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, July 22, 2004.

"The 9/11 Report: Bad News for Bush," by David Corn, The Nation, July 23, 2004.

"Honorable Commission, Toothless Report," By Richard A. Clarke, The New York Times, July 25, 2004.

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