The President’s Pre-9/11 Mentality
22 February 2006 10:23 am by Taylor Marsh
The President's Pre-9/11 Mentality
“At the core, we are dealing with two parties
that have fundamentally different views on national security,” Rove said.
“Republicans have a post-9/11 worldview and many Democrats have a pre-9/11
worldview. That doesn't make them unpatriotic — not at all. But it does make
them wrong — deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong.” Rove
Offers Republicans A Battle Plan For Elections
Unbelievable, during the press briefing, Scotty just said the president didn't learn about the port
deal until the politics of it blew the roof off the White House.
Scotty also actually stated that it doesn't matter that two of the 9/11
hijackers used Dubai to funnel money. Did I hear that right?
Partnerships are key in winning the “war on terror.” In other words,
the UAE is getting rewarded for their recent behavior.
It's lovely that Scott McClellan also felt the need to say that Senator
Primadonna (aka McCain) wants everyone to wait and see, because “surely
his administration deserves the presumption that they would not sell our security
short.”
But Rove is wrong. Bush and the Republican Congress actually have a pre-9/11
point of view, especially over here. Here are two
examples:
Republicans Voted to Kill An Amendment to Add
$250 Million for Port Security Grants. Republicans voted to kill
a Democratic amendment that would add $2.5 billion for homeland security,
including $250 million for port security grants, $800 million for first responder
grants, and $150 million for research to develop capabilities against chemical
weapons. [HR 1559, Vote #104, 4/3/03]Republicans in Congress Voted Against Increased
Port Security. In 2005, Republicans voted against an alternative
Homeland Security Authorization proposal that would commit $41 billion to
securing the nation from terrorist threats – $6.9 billion more than the President's
budget. The proposal called for an additional $400 million in funding for
port security, including $13 million to double the number of new overseas
port inspectors provided for in the President's budget. The proposal addressed
the holes in securing the nation's ports by requiring DHS to develop container
security standards, integrate container security pilot projects, and examine
ways to integrate container inspection equipment and data. Currently DHS,
has three very similar container security pilot projects that are not coordinated
in any fashion, resulting in wasted money and redundant efforts. Finally,
the plan required DHS to conduct a study of the risk factors associated with
the port of Miami and ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, including
the U.S. Virgin Islands. The alternative plan failed, 196-230. [HR 1817, Roll
Call #187, 5/18/05; Committee on Homeland Security Minority Office, http://www.house.gov/hsc/democrats/]
U.S. ports handle 95% of our nation's trade, worth $1 trillion/year. That should
be something the Republicans understand.
Just imagine a WMD detonated in one of our ports. Read the 9/11 report, which
stated it's our most vulnerable target.
By the way, the U.S. Coast Guard says we need to “spend $5.4 billion over
10 years” to stay secure.
However, George W. Bush wants to “stay the course” in Iraq. We can't
do everything. What do you want to do?
