9/11 commissioners push Bush for more

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5592122/

Members of the independent commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks said Tuesday that President Bush did not go far enough when he promised to appoint a national director of intelligence, warning that the position could end up being a figurehead with little power to accomplish anything.

The president endorsed recommendations Monday by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States that a national director have control of the government’s 15 intelligence agencies and that a national counterterrorism center should coordinate their operations. But he rejected the commission’s call that the director have complete authority over the intelligence community’s budgets, hiring and firing.

“Providing someone with a name and not the authority would be worse than nothing,” said Richard Ben-Veniste, a Democratic lawyer who served on the commission.

Slade Gorton, a Republican former senator from Washington, said Bush’s announcement was a “step forward, but it’s only one step.” He said ensuring that a national intelligence director had full budget authority subject to formal congressional oversight was “perhaps the central priority” the commission identified in the 957-page report it turned in to the president July 22.

[Mountainman]

1. No recommendation left behind

When has Bush really done something rather than make a meaningless gesture? He hasn't funded the programs he touts as his accomplishments?

[randr]

2. Are we really as a nation going to allow this administration

set up this counter terrorism center? After they fucked up so bad?
UNBELIEVABLE!

[shance]

3. Does anyone else see a hint of Good Cop/Bad cop being played here?

Im having a difficult time understanding why these individuals who were essentially hand picked by the Bush Administration to be on this panel, are now calling for the Bush Administration to be rewarded with more intelligence (ie secrecy) Power.

In addition, they want the federal government to be rewarded with more power and secrecy when the most important places that could stop terrorism are not being given proper attention and acknowledgement, and essentially less has been done to secure our nation since 9/11.

So they want to be rewarded and granted more Federal power to essentially create another covert Department.

Am I reading it incorrectly?

Seems to me that the real deterrent to terrorism is transparency and not secrecy.

Americans are already witnessing the abuses taking place due to an over abundance of secrecy like Total Information Awareness and the Patriot Act.