Lee Hamilton article

On September 29th, there was an article in the South Bend Tribune by Lee Hamilton entitled, "Everything changed after 9/11." Here is the text of this article:

"What has changed since Sept. 11, 2001? It is a question with a multitude of answers, but the short answer is: everything.

In foreign policy, all priorities have shifted. In the 2000 campaign and the first months of the Bush administration, we heard about missile defense, China as a strategic competitor and the Balkans. Now, these issues rate a blip on our foreign policy radar. Nearly all our international endeavors are tied to the struggle against Islamist terrorism. Alliances have been reshaped, with closer relations with countries like Pakistan and strained relations with traditional allies; terrorism has vaulted to the top of our agenda at international institutions; and our approach toward global engagement has been recalibrated, with a more vulnerable America taking a more robust role in the world.

Military strategy is the clearest demonstration of this robust stance. We are fighting three wars, and our armed forces are stretched thin. First, in more countries than most Americans are aware of, the military is hunting down terrorists or training allies to do so. Second, in Afghanistan, our troops are supporting peace while fighting a persistent insurgency from the Taliban and al-Qaida. Third, in Iraq, violence shows no sign of abating well over two years after a U.S.-led invasion. Meanwhile, in an historic shift, the Pentagon has war-plans to act on American soil in the event of a major terrorist attack.

At home, we have seen a dramatic reorganization of government. Twenty-two federal agencies and more than 200,000 employees were folded into the new Department of Homeland Security. The primary mission of the FBI shifted from law enforcement to counter-terrorism. Our intelligence agencies have been restructured in the most significant restructuring of our nation's national security apparatus in more than five decades. And local governments have struggled to strengthen their ability to prevent and respond to emergencies.

Reform has been accompanied by a significant expansion in the size and power of government, and a decline in civil liberties. Mushrooming national security and homeland security budgets have combined with tax cuts to help turn huge budget surpluses into huge deficits. From the search of what's in your shoes at the airport to federal agents probing library records, government is more intrusive. With the passage of laws like the USA Patriot Act, government has new powers of surveillance and detention, including the right to act even if you have committed no crime. Though actions have been challenged in the courts, the president has claimed the right to detain and hold anyone anywhere -- including U.S. citizens -- indefinitely without due process.

Nearly every private industry has been presented with new and difficult challenges. Security has become a top priority. If you own a chemical plant, you had better take precautions to guard against an attack. If you work in a large office building, you need a disaster-response and evacuation plan. If you ship cargo -- via air, rails or boat -- you face changing regulations. If you work for a major financial institution, new rules guard against terrorist financing. No matter what the industry, you face an economic climate vulnerable to shocks from a terrorist attack, jittery markets, or energy shortages tied to global instability.

In traveling around the country, I have been impressed by the personal vulnerability felt by so many Americans. Much of this is due to the shock of 9/11. But we also have constant reminders of danger: when we face color-coded threat warnings, or more intense security entering sporting arenas and public buildings. Day in and day out, we are bombarded with images and references to terrorism: in nightly newscasts, political campaigns, and even popular culture -- television shows, movies or song lyrics.

The good news is we have not been attacked at home since 9/11. The bad news is that it is impossible to forecast when the next attack may come, what kind of attack it may be, and how our lives might be altered by an attack that equals or exceeds the destruction of 9/11. As much as we might like to put terrorism aside and "move on," we would be doing ourselves a disservice -- even the natural destruction of Hurricane Katrina reminds us that we must be vigilant in preparing to respond to the multitude of tragic circumstances that might befall us as a nation.

The most striking visual symbol 9/11 was the gaping hole in New York's skyline. As with any landmark event in history, the impact of 9/11 is incalculable, not tangible, and will unfold over many years and decades; our task is to turn tragedy into opportunity, so that the nation rises from the wound of 9/11 as surely as new buildings will rise from the ashes of the World Trade Center."


Lee Hamilton is director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana and a member of the 9/11 Commission.