July 25, 2004

9/11 Commission Needs Bit of King Canute Wisdom

First, a legend about King Canute who ruled England, Denmark and Norway 994-1035. He grew weary of flattery by courtiers seeking favors.

When one asserted: "The king is so powerful he can command obedience of the sea," Canute ordered his entire court to join him at the sea shore.

There, the king placed his throne at water’s edge and commanded the tide not to advance. When his feet got wet, the courtiers professed astonishment. "You see," Canute thundered, "some things are beyond my reach!"

For such wisdom, King Canute was buried at Westminster when he also failed to stay the hand of death.

In the quaint custom of today’s philosophers, Canute’s seashore revelation has been condensed to a bumper sticker – here sanitized -- "Grunge Happens."

The 9/11 Commission labored mightily to find blame for the greatest terrorist action in history and brought fourth a mouse. No one is to blame and everyone is to blame.

 Old Canute would be pleased.

President Clinton’s administration took reasonable precautions against hijackings by ordering searches of airline passengers when boarding.

A major, terrorist attack during the Year 2000 Millennium Celebration was luckily forestalled. A gang member toting a carload of explosive was caught by an alert Seattle border guard conducting a routine search.

Yet unexplained is the theft last year of secret Clinton-era terrorism documents from the National Archives by Sandy Berger, Clinton’s former national security adviser. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation.

President Bush, eight months into his job, continued existing airport passenger procedures and daily intelligence briefings.

Then, grunge!

Nineteen terrorists concealing a variety of knives and a can of mace walked nonchalantly through metal detecting apparatus at Boston (2), Newark and Washington, D.C.  

Surveillance tapes obtained by the 9/11 commission shows the sloppy work of Boston airport guards examining some of the terrorists there.

If there is blame, it rests mainly with airport security crews. Detection equipment and prescribed techniques were adequate.

The Boston crews, at least, whisked their electronic wands perfunctorily after walk-through detectors were tripped.

In short, all that could be done technically was done. Human operators of that equipment goofed big time.  

Blame also attaches to the airline companies. Though deadly hijackings were disturbingly frequent, airliner cockpits were easily accessible from the passenger section. Flimsy cockpit doors had no locks.

It was not until 9/11 that airlines acquired 20-20 hindsight, installed cockpit locks and armored partitions.

With both Clinton and Bush absolved personally, bi-partisan blame finders zeroed in on intelligence gathering and sharing.

Here, Congress itself bears much blame. Long ago it prohibited the CIA and FBI from sharing intelligence lest personal rights of citizens be jeopardized.

How intelligence regarding terrorists around the world can be obtained, and used, is vital.  

But creating another cabinet-level "czar" with an additional level of bureaucracy -- to oversee 15 intelligence-gathering bureaucracies -- likely would further complicate the problem.

Most intelligence-gathering regards trade, aid, politics and technology. They are important but not essential in fighting terrorism that has no bounds.

The Bush approach – with a Homeland Security Administrator – bridges the principal intelligence agencies:

• CIA – International threats.
• FBI – Internal U.S. crime.
• DIA – Foreign military.

All three intelligence agencies -- each with special needs and techniques -- certainly could be beefed up. One world technology requires it.

Nonetheless, a cabinet-level bureaucracy overseeing such diverse activity is unrealistic. Giving Congress more "oversight" gives it more meddling rights already out of control.

Somewhere I read the U.S. government is equally divided between the legislative, administrative and judicial branches.

Making Congress first among equals invites partisan politics affecting all.

The mass-communication media have  an important role in the political process. Its job is to discover problems, inform the public and report views of experienced problem solvers.

Hopefully the press – as a whole – is fair and balanced. This is a ho-ho, but we’ve got to start somewhere.

9/11 was the fault only of Osama bin Laden and al Queda. The commission report of this truth is reasonably objective.

Now is the time for the public information process to become involved.

Then, registered citizens can better decide which candidates are best able to lead us to the shoreline and explain incoming tides.  

Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist who can be contacted at linwms@lindseywilliams.org