Preparing for terrorism

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an appropriate time to reflect on whether this nation is as prepared as it can be for possible terrorist acts on our soil. In the view of one prominent bipartisan organization, we’re not there yet.

A report card on weapons of mass destruction issued Wednesday by the Partnership for a Secure America gave this country a B minus for our efforts to prevent chemical terrorism, a C for preparedness against a nuclear attack and a C minus for our readiness to combat biological terrorism. The overall C grade from the organization, which includes leaders of the disbanded 9/11 Commission and other former top U.S. officials, is an improvement over the D grade issued three years ago.

But we should not be comfortable with this marginal improvement and should seriously consider the organization’s recommendations.

One recommendation that makes sense is to create a top-level office charged with directing funding and programs to combat potential attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. We also need a more cohesive strategy that links all federal programs addressing terrorism, and we must do a better job of gaining cooperation from foreign countries.

Particular attention must be given to specific areas of preparedness that received the poorest grades. The inadequate job we have done in coordinating programs aimed at nuclear terrorism earned a D grade, as did the fact that those programs are underfunded and lack long-term focus. Our failure to strengthen cooperation with other countries to stop the spread of biological weapons rated a D plus.

We earned a C minus for failure to adequately recognize chemical terrorism threats, for inadequate monitoring of laboratories and equipment to combat biological terrorism, and for insufficient coordination with allies to develop vaccines and drugs.

It is inexcusable that we have not made more progress over the past seven years. It is our hope that whoever wins the presidential election in November will get the job done.