Advisers Suggest Bush Establish National Office To Combat Terrorism
by Sahar Kassaimah for IslamOnline
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - On Thursday, a panel of anti-terrorism experts advised President-elect George W. Bush to establish a national office in order to unify strategy to combat terrorism within his first year of presidency.
The advisory group recommended that the White House create a national office whose duty would be to prepare responses for international and domestic terrorism.
“We are not, as some suggest, totally unprepared to meet the threat of terrorism in our own front yard. But we can be better prepared,” said Virginia Governor, James S. Glimore, who heads the panel.
The panel concluded its second annual report, which was presented to Bush, current U.S. President Bill Clinton and Congress, stating that the office would do extensive budget reviews and “eliminate conflicts and unnecessary duplication among agencies.”
“Preservation of the Constitution and protection of our civil liberties must always come before what might be more efficient or expedient,” said Gilmore.
“The military should never head a domestic terrorism investigation, instead lending support to a civilian agency in charge,” added Glimore.
The report said that distinctions between international and domestic terrorism are eroding, noting the attacks against the embassies in East Africa, the World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the strike in Yemen against the U.S. warship Cole .
Congress established the advisory group in August of 1999 following bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania to assess U.S. domestic response capabilities to terrorism.
