The Ming Report

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE…

November 22, 2004 - Everything changed on 9-11. How many times did you hear that phrase during the 2004 Presidential campaign? How many times did you hear the challenger accused of having a September 10th approach to the conduct of foreign policy? It was a recurrent theme in the President’s campaign and contributed greatly to his re-election. One thing did change after September 2001. The Republican Party captured control of all of the institutions of the federal government in November 2002. With both houses of the Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court in control of the GOP they also gained undiluted responsibility for the future of the nation. In a skillful campaign to consolidate that total control the Republicans were able to evade that responsibility and pinned the blame for their legislative failures on the Democratic minority in the Senate and Minority Leader Tom Daschle. After November 2nd and the consolidation of Republican control of the engines of government there can no longer be a question as to where the responsibility for the welfare of the republic lies.

Another thing changed after September 2001. The institutional failures of America’s intelligence agencies were made public in the extensive and penetrating report of the 9-11 Commission led by Republican Chairman Thomas Kean. After the commission reported in July its members promised to remain active and to press for the reform of the intelligence establishment in the interests of National Security. After some resistance from the White House the Senate hammered out a bi-partisan bill to enact most of the recommended reforms and the President signed on to the proposal. Senate passage was quick and the Bill went to the House where it languished until after the election.

When the House adjourned for the Thanksgiving holiday, effectively the end of the current Congress, reform of the intelligence establishment was all but pronounced dead. It was killed by the Pentagon, the CIA, and powerful turf protecting Republican committee chairmen in the House. Speaker Hastert is keeping the bill on life support with the Parliamentary maneuver of not adjourning this session sine die leaving open the possibility to reconvene for a vote on the bill in December.

That leaves the dysfunctional intelligence establishment whose failures contributed to the deaths of 3000 citizens of the world on September 11, 2001 unchanged. This failure can’t be shuffled off to Democrat obstructionists. The Republicans own the responsibility and they can’t give it away. If there is ever a glaring example of a September 10th mentality then this is it. If everything changed on 9-11 the entrenched intelligence establishment is one thing that has stayed the same.