Homeland Security funds spent foolishly

The former Sept. 11 commission believes that another terrorist attack on the United States is a certainty. But they give the federal government failing grades on their preparation for what they believe is an imminent attack. At the center of their criticism is the issue I have long argued - federal funding to prepare Homeland Security has become a game of politics with every state wanting a share of the pie.

I have wondered why virtually every city and law enforcement agency across the country has received a share of the Homeland Security funding. The commission report this week said the obvious - we should use our money in places like New York and Washington that are much more likely to be terrorist targets. But when politicians smell money, they want to generate favor back home so they lobby for the money to go to Montana or Idaho. Or Southeast Missouri!

The United States is a country of immigrants. Or at least that is our historical legacy. So when you have an open-door policy, it becomes impossible to plan for every possibility or prevent every action. Sure, we can monitor airplane passengers but you and I both know that there are countless locations and possibilities for which we can never account. Terrorists know this, too.

I'm not even sure if we close our borders and seal our country today if that would assure our safety from a terrorist attack. It may be far too late for that drastic plan.

But at the same time, the United States has this arrogant attitude that our goal is to spread democracy across the world. Perhaps some nations are better off in a country that is far less democratic than our own. The real goal should be to create stability regardless of the form of government. Perhaps that approach would spawn fewer terrorists.

I suspect we'll be talking about terrorism for another generation. Just a very few short years ago I would never have imagined such a topic. There is no need to point a finger of blame. We must now accept the reality.

The Sept. 11 commission is right - we often spend our money foolishly based on politics and not realities. But given the nature of politics, I doubt that anything will change regardless of a report.

Here's one final footnote. A phone caller last week said a federal courthouse in Connecticut contained a terrorist bomb. The courthouses were all evacuated across the state. Yet despite years of planning and millions of dollars spent, no one notified the Homeland Security office until newspaper reporters called for a comment.

Really makes you wonder if we have our act together.