First off, I thought the unveiling of the 9/11 Commission findings was probably the least rancorous and non-partisan event that's happened in DC for a long time. Given the partisanship regarding the Commission's establishment, membership, process, and so forth, it was pretty amazing. Not that there wasn't grandstanding and pontificating, but the Commission report's spreading of the blame (and, more important, focus on what could be done better in the future instead of wall-nailing of folks in the past) seemed to set the needed tone.

Yesterday, at least. Doubtless today we'll be back to the usual bickering.

The big question, of course, is, what now? Several recommendations by the Commission got a lot of press. And the big question is, when, if ever, will they get implemented. My thoughts:

• It's going to be extraordinarily difficult to get anything implemented this year. Not only is every congresscritter and White House electee/candidate rather preoccupied with that whole election thang coming up, but nobody (on either side of the aisle) will want anyone else to get credit for passing something, or settle for anything less than full credit for what does get passed. I'd love to be proven wrong here, really I would.

• Some of the changes have potentially profound impact. The establishment of a Director of National Intelligence, coordinating intel/counter-intel info across multiple agencies, has long been recommended, and similarly long been feared by privacy advocates and folks who assume any concentration of such powers will mean their abuse (not without justification). There are forces other than partisan bickering and bureaucratic turf-protecting that may stand in the way of some reforms, and that may not be a bad thing.

• Haste makes waste. Most folk criticize (and rightfully so) Congress's too-hasty passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. Rushing through legislation that affects privacy and civil rights and police powers and things like that could obtain the same results.

• By the same token, delay means risk, especially since any institutional changes will require time themselves to come up to speed. If, presumably, the Bad Guys aren't sitting around waiting for a calm, reasoned political debate and legislation and executive implementation of same (with attendant judicial review and appeals), every month we delay increases the risk. And, yet, there are (as noted) similar risks in behaving too precipitously. And it's not that we're defenseless and inactive right now -- the debate is over whether we could be better defended and more effectively active.

It will be interesting to see. I hope it's not depressing, too.

Filed under :: Homeland Security
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This report shows you the extraordinary power of democracy and speaks so very, very well of the United States.

I was always impressed that it was the families of the victims who raised their voices and got their government to look hard and look honestly at what led up to Sept. 11 and what needs to be done in the future.

I'm sure neither political party really wanted to do this, because neither comes out of this smelling like a rose, but the families spoke up and their government responded. Pure, unvarnished democracy. Gotta love it.

Like you, I'm delighted by the non-partisan nature of this report, particularly impressive in an election year.

I'm particularly impressed that the gray zone surrounding problematic allies such as the Saudis and the Pakistanis has been illuminated. Technically they've been with you, and yet in many ways they've created conditions so that those decidedly "agin" you can flourish. I was wondering how this would be tackled.

Apparently, the families have vowed that this is only the beginning. They have pledged to keep a close watch on the situation to make sure that the report does not get shuffled under a pile of papers and forgotten.

They are living proof that democracy works and that if individuals organize, they do have the power to shape their country's policy.

It's a very proud moment for your country.

Thank you for your thoughtful, reasoned response to what I wrote about your President's recent remarks to a group of Amish folk. I greatly appreciate having another way to look at his words, which I found terrifically alarming.

(Marn's final paragrah is about my comments on this post of hers .)

IMHO, The two pressing needs for intelligence are:

1. Enough resources on the ground. Now that Bin Laden has gone low-tech we need more bodies and fewer "toys".

2. Deal with "group think" and CYA.

Adding another layer at the top does nothing to deal with either of these. As for issue number two, it might make the problem worse. There will be only one version of the analysis and thus less thinking outside the box.