QUICK ACTION ON TERRORISM

A resounding conclusion of the 9-11 Commission, repeated often last week by its members, was that another terrorist attack was likely being planned and that the country did not have much time to make needed changes to its intelligence gathering and security operations. So, it was encouraging to hear that the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins, would begin hearings Friday on the commission’s recommendations.

The committee, taking the unusual step of working through the Senate’s summer recess, intends to introduce legislation before Oct. 1 to reform the intelligence community. In Washington, this is lightning speed – just what is needed to deal with this critical issue.

“Implementing all the recommendations cannot guarantee there won’t be another attack,” Sen. Collins said yesterday. “But we should be doing all we can to deter one.” The senator said she was particularly struck by the number of missed cues of an impending attack that transcended administrations.

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States has now highlighted these oversights and the Senate can take immediate, substantial steps to reduce the chances of them being missed again. By Monday, members of the committee were already meeting with 9-11 Commission members and staff to schedule hearings.

The Senate’s recognition that work must begin immediately to initiate some of the changes recommended by the commission initially contrasted with the House of Representatives and the White House. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Friday that lawmakers would not have time to consider such changes this year. He later rethought this position and said House committees would hold hearings next month. President Bush, on vacation in Texas, has already held videoconferences with his staff to discuss the recommendations and may take action later this week.

The Governmental Affairs Committee hearings will focus on two major recommendations from the 9-11 panel: creation of a national counterterrorism center and a new cabinet-level director of intelligence. The latter recommendation is especially important because the director of the Central Intelligence Agency now nominally oversees but doesn’t control the budgets of more than a dozen other intelligence operations.

The 9-11 Commission harshly criticized the intelligence agencies for not sharing information and for not following leads when they were given information. One reason for this failing is that there is little integration of the various intelligence gathering operations, a situation made worse because no single individual is responsible for ensuring that information makes its way to the proper agencies so they can act on it.

The commission also called for reform in Congress. Like the intelligence gathering community, Congressional oversight is too dispersed with little accountability. The commission called for two oversight committees in each chamber, one for intelligence and one for security.

After initial hesitation, Congress and the administration have shown that they understand the urgency in the 9-11 Commission report. By following through with quick action, needed changes may take place before it is too late.