9/11 Panel: US Is Still Not Prepared

Commission says too many gaps remain in national security
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2011 12:24 PM CDT
9/11 Commission: US Still Has Glaring Gaps in Security
In this Sept. 11, 2001, file photo, firefighters walk through the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center buildings.   (AP Photo/Shawn Baldwin)

The 9/11 Commission takes stock of national security 10 years later, and the bottom line isn't pretty: "A decade after 9/11, the nation is not yet prepared for a truly catastrophic disaster," says a new report by the panel out today. Several key recommendations remain in limbo, including these rounded up from the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, and the Wall Street Journal:

  • Airport security still isn't up to snuff on detecting explosives hidden in the body, even with all the controversy over full-body scanners.

  • Congress hasn't moved on establishing a radio spectrum dedicated to first responders. That was a major problem in New York City on 9/11, when police officers and firefighters could not easily communicate with each other.
  • Rules to standardize forms of identification and make it harder for terrorists to forge drivers' licenses and the like continue to get delayed.
  • Homeland Security does not check fingerprints and other data against terrorist databases when visa holders exit the country.
(More 9/11 commission stories.)

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