Gov't Eludes 9/11 Accountability, Blame

[CShine]

WASHINGTON -- America's leaders must "search their soul" over whether they failed the country on Sept. 11, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says. Accepting blame is something else altogether.

In the two and a half years since al-Qaida terrorists hijacked airplanes and killed nearly 3,000 Americans, there have been no announced firings, demotions or resignations at the CIA, FBI, immigration service, White House, State Department, Pentagon or any other federal agency.

"It's been a mystery to us ... how so many mistakes were made and nobody's held accountable," said Lorie Van Auken, widowed on Sept. 11 and now a member of a victims' family steering committee. "The buck stops nowhere."

Former White House counterterror chief Richard Clarke two weeks ago drew tears and gratitude from families -- and criticism from Republicans -- when he publicly apologized. "Your government failed you. ... I failed you," said Clarke, who resigned in 2003.

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