President George W. Bush’s anti-terrorism budget is mired in the past and too focused on the protection of targets to the detriment of heading off future attacks, a report published Tuesday concluded.
“The budget focuses more on preventing recurrences of attacks like those in 2001 — through airliners or anthrax — than on reducing vulnerability in our society more comprehensively,” the Brookings Institution said.
In the wake of the September 11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 and cost 100 billion dollars, Bush administration efforts are still lacking, said the experts at the independent Washington-based think tank.
Despite the forecast 38 billion dollars to be spent in fiscal 2003 on domestic security, twice its pre-September 11 level, the administration’s budget still has major defects, the report, titled “Protecting the American Homeland,” said.
“It emphasizes protecting targets within the United States against attacks rather than taking domestic steps to prevent those attacks in the first place, for example, by tracking potential terrorists and preventing access to dangerous materials,” said lead author Michael O’Hanlon.
Such a strategy can only prepare the United States to defend against attacks it already suffered, O’Hanlon added.
“It thus concentrates on the ‘last war’ rather than on the next one.”
The Brookings team recommended that Bush develop a “four-tier strategic framework” involving perimeter security at the country’s borders; preventive activities within the country; protection of domestic sites; and consequence management after attacks.
Other measures suggested were to bring border control under the aegis of a single agency; reinforce security at the nation’s 12,000 chemical plants and 103 nuclear power facilities; better ventilate large buildings; beef up air defense; improve security at ports and information systems; and improve food safety. All told, the price tag for the Brookings recommendations exceeded 45 billion dollars annually.
But because it is impossible to protect every sensitive site and eliminate all vulnerabilities, the report concluded the Bush administration should invest massively in the development of technology that would permit the identification and apprehension of suspects before they are able to strike.
