CIAO DATE: 04/03

America — Still Unprepared, Still in Danger

Introduction

A year after September 11, 2001, America remains dangerously unprepared to prevent and respond to a catastrophic terrorist attack on U.S. soil. In all likelihood, the next attack will result in even greater casualties and widespread disruption to American lives and the economy. The need for immediate action is made more urgent by the prospect of the United States going to war with Iraq and the possibility that Saddam Hussein might threaten the use of weapons of mass destruction in America.

This report's recommendations are intended to focus the nation on what must be done on an emergency basis to prevent attacks and to limit the consequences of these attacks should U.S. prevention efforts fail. The Bush administration, Congress, governors, and mayors around the country have taken important measures since September 11 to respond to the risk of catastrophic terrorism. Legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security should be enacted on an urgent basis, and initiatives to improve U.S. intelligence operations must go forward. But the United States will not see the full effect of these fundamental changes for several years. In the meantime Americans cannot afford to become complacent. Our enemies are not idle.

The Task Force identified six critical mandates that deserve the nation's immediate attention:

• Empower front-line agents to prevent terrorist attacks and make first responders ready to respond; 650,000 local and state law enforcement officers are operating in a counterterrorism information vacuum, and first responders are not nearly ready enough to respond to catastrophic events.

• Make trade security a global priority; the system for moving goods affordably and reliably around the world is ripe for exploitation and vulnerable to mass disruption by terrorists.

• Set critical infrastructure protection priorities; some potential targets pose a graver risk for mass disruption than others.

• Enhance America's public health system so that it is able to quickly detect and respond to biological attacks.

• Move quickly to clear federal obstacles to forging effective private-public security partnerships by addressing industry concerns with respect to potential antitrust conflicts, public release of sensitive security information by way of the FOIA, and liability exposure.

• Fund, train, and equip the National Guard to make homeland security a primary mission.

Full Text (PDF Format, 48 pages, 284kbs)