Hamilton
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Former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton said the 9/11 Commission succeeded
in its task of finding the facts surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001
terrorist attacks.
“We’ll become a model for the way presidential commissions should operate,” said Hamilton, vice chair of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States—more commonly known as the 9/11 Commission.
During the lecture—entitled “Reflections on the 9/11 Commission Findings”—Hamilton shared his thoughts on how to guard the U.S. against terrorist attacks. He delivered his remarks at the Neal-Marshall Public Policy Lecture at IU Bloomington on Oct. 13.
According to a pre-lecture release, the 9/11 Commission was chartered to prepare a complete account of the circumstances surrounding the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, including preparedness for and immediate response to the attacks. The commission also was mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
Hamilton pointed to the 9/11 commission as a model for non-partisan relationships. In completing the research of the commission, he said the group had unprecedented access to records, secret papers, presidential daily briefings, memos and interviews with top-ranking officials, including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and former President Bill Clinton.
Hamilton explained that the commission outlined what he referred to as the “Four I’s” needed in combating terrorism in the United States:
• Identification—“Who is the enemy?”
• Intelligence—“We underestimated the threat before;
we must not do it again.”
• Integration—“We need one national center for collecting
foreign and domestic intelligence.”
• International—“If we fail to have international consensus,
we will not be safe.”
He also said he sees the fight against terrorism as a “clash
of civilizations,” and the need for diplomacy is greater than
ever before. “Millions of Muslims grow up without hope. They’re
taught the U.S. is the source of their ills. We cannot wage war
(against terrorism) if we don’t help…they’ve got to know we are
on their side,” he said.
“What did the commission accomplish? Told the story of 9/11 and offered recommendations for a safer America. Are we safer? I don’t know. I hope we are,” he concluded.
Editor’s note: Hamilton served for 34 years in Congress
representing Indiana’s Ninth District. In 1999, he became director
of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington,
D.C., and the Center on Congress, housed at the IU School of Public
and Environmental Affairs.
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