The authorized version of the 9\/11 Commission Report, now available at the local Bestseller outlet in Susupe, is an intimidating inch-plus thick. Another version, with \u201cNY Times\u201d commentary\u2014but without the original\u2019s copious notes\u2014is somewhat smaller, and is also available at Bookseller. But it is not an intimidating read\u2014in the sense that the writing is dense, or the language dry and stuffy, or full of jargon, or otherwise difficult to comprehend. On the contrary, it is very well written, and easy to follow. In fact, the report has been nominated as a finalist for a National Book Award\u2014surely an unusual honor for a government committee-generated report.<\/p>\n
But it is intimidating, in the sense that it is disconcerting, if not downright frightening, to learn how easily those participating in the 9\/11 attack traveled to and from the United States, were free to travel within the United States, managed to study American customs, attend various flight schools, and plan their schedules of attack.<\/p>\n
It is even more dismaying to read of the countless committees, offices, divisions and sections within the various U.S. government agencies and departments responsible for terrorism and counter-terrorism, intelligence and counter-intelligence, and of the barriers\u2014political, jurisdictional, legal, personal\u2014that kept them from communicating with each other. Most of the information to stop the 9\/11 attack was available\u2014it simply wasn\u2019t shared across the barriers.<\/p>\n
The Report is full of details\u2014sometimes overwhelmingly so. In other sections, the language is stark and clear, as in the table showing the specific times from take-off to crash of the four flights, or the narration of the events from crash to collapse of the twin towers in New York.<\/p>\n
In assessing what could, or should, have been done to prevent the attacks, the Commission notes, \u201cLooking back, we are struck with the narrow and unimaginative menu of options for action offered to both President Clinton and President Bush.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pointing out that today\u2019s threats aren\u2019t defined by national borders, the Commission explains, \u201cAn organization like al-Qaeda, headquartered in a country on the other side of the earth, in a region so poor that electricity or telephones were scarce, could nonetheless scheme to wield weapons of unprecedented destructive power in the largest cities of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d cautions the Commission, \u201cthe enemy is not just \u201cterrorism,\u201d some generic evil… The catastrophic threat at this moment in history is more specific. It is the threat posed by Islamic terrorism\u2014especially the al-Qaeda network, its affiliates and its ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Commission states that there are actually two enemies: the stateless al-Qaeda network and \u201ca radical ideological movement in the Islamic world, inspired in part by al-Qaeda, which has spawned terrorist groups and violence across the globe.\u201d The first, it believes, is weakening, but \u201cthe second enemy is gathering and will menace American and American interests long after Osama bin Laden and his cohorts are killed or captured.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its chapter, \u201cWhat to do? A global strategy,\u201d the Commission states that efforts to combat terrorism should be directed at the individuals and organizations that use terrorism as a tactic to kill and destroy. \u201cBut long-term success demands the use of all elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, public diplomacy, and homeland defense. If we favor one tool while neglecting others, we leave ourselves vulnerable and weaken our national effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur effort,\u201d the Commission continues, \u201cshould be accompanied by a preventive strategy that is as much, or more, political as it is military. The strategy must focus clearly on the Arab and Muslim world in all its variety.\u201d And it should be done with Muslim nations as partners in development and implementation of that strategy, the Commission states.<\/p>\n
The global strategy chapter lists 27 recommendations for action to be taken by the U.S. government. The recommendations cover a wide range of activity, from the need for the U.S. to define its message and what it stands for\u2014\u201cIf the U.S. does not act aggressively to define itself in the Islamic world, the extremists will gladly do the job for us,\u201d the Commission warns\u2014to the recommendation that homeland security assistance no longer be distributed on a per capita basis, but according to a strict assessment of risks and vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n
The next chapter, \u201cHow to do it? A different way of organizing government\u2019\u201d lists five major recommendations, of which four begin with the word \u201cunifying\u201d\u2014bearing out its criticism that the government sector which deals with terrorism-related concerns is not now well-organized. The Commission states at one point, \u201cCongressional oversight for intelligence\u2014and counterterrorism\u2014is now dysfunctional.\u201d The chapter includes a suggested organization chart titled \u201cUnity of Effort in Managing Intelligence,\u201d that sets out in hierarchical order the many agencies involved in dealing with terrorism, counterterrorism, intelligence, etc., in national and international as well as military arenas.<\/p>\n
Given that an awareness and understanding of the Commission\u2019s criticisms and recommendations\u2014and implementation of the latter\u2014are critical to the survival of the United States, its Report, while long (some 567 pages, including nearly 40 pages of notes and lists), deserves wide reading as well as strong support.<\/p>\n
The Commission has since disbanded, but according to an article in an August issue of the \u201cPDN,\u201d Commission members will continue to lobby for enactment of their recommendations, using funds raised from private sources.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
On a brighter note, the Red Sox actually won the World Series!!!!! They\u2019ve broken the jinx! Hooray! What a phenomenal achievement\u2014winning the last four games of the league playoff, and then the first four of the series\u2014eight games straight in a row. Wow! I haven\u2019t lived in the greater Boston area in more years than I care to think about, but in combination with my tendency to support the underdog, I couldn\u2019t resist cheering for the whole team.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Short takes:<\/p>\n
Though not an underdog in the same sense, I would support CUC\u2019s decision to raise power rates to cover its ever-increasing fuel costs. We allow the gas stations to increase their rates because of the ever-increasing fuel costs\u2014and they\u2019ve done it frequently and significantly. CUC faces the same problem: higher fuel costs. Should we not allow it the same solution for meeting those costs: raising its rates?<\/p>\n
CUC has other problems, of course, but in this instance, I think it is not only reasonable, but only fair, to grant it the rate increase.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
I\u2019d also like to express my support for Rep. Claudio Norita\u2019s proposal that the legislature become part-time. All too often, its members appear to be in their own \u201civory tower\u201d of sorts, totally unaware of the real situation \u201con the streets.\u201d Perhaps if they participated more directly in the private sector, rather than isolating themselves in governmental surroundings, they\u2019d become more practical, and be more willing to prioritize their time and activities.<\/p>\n
It will require approval by two-thirds of the members of both houses for such an initiative to be put on the ballot for voting by the general electorate.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Despite the Paseo de Marianas, Garapan\u2019s tourist district is a mess: torn up streets, gravel instead of sidewalks, and puddles everywhere\u2014right on Hotel Street, and on streets almost everywhere else. Can\u2019t be very pleasing or inviting to the tourists\u2014of whom, it is said, are again an increasing number\u2014to try to navigate, across, around and through the mess, especially tourists with strollers, or toddlers, or the elderly.<\/p>\n
Public Works, or the contractors, or MVA owe it to the tourists\u2014and to the future of tourism\u2014to acknowledge the mess, and to apologize to the tourists. There is no reason there could not be numerous signs along the streets and sidewalks, as one finds in airports undergoing remodeling, for example, that say \u201csorry for the inconvenience,\u201d or \u201cthank-you for your patience,\u201d and explain that the work is being done to better serve their needs. At least that will give the tourists a sense that the CNMI is aware of the inconvenience, and cares about them\u2014which the present situation does not do. Just imagine the impression those tourists are carrying back with them!<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
Another place where signage is needed is at the top of Capitol Hill, at the post-office crossroad. With so many government offices up there among all the cul-de-sacs, it sure would be helpful if there were a sign to at least indicate which office is on which side of the road.<\/p>\n
* * *<\/p>\n
The election outcome? I hope I\u2019m wrong, but it looks like a bonanza for attorneys, and a waiting game for the rest of us.<\/p>\n
(The writer is a librarian by profession, and a long-term resident of the CNMI. To contact her, send e-mail to ruth.tighe@saipan.com.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The authorized version of the 9\/11 Commission Report, now available at the local Bestseller outlet in Susupe, is an intimidating inch-plus thick. Another version, with \u201cNY Times\u201d commentary\u2014but without the original\u2019s copious notes\u2014is somewhat smaller, and is also available at Bookseller. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85231\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}