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October 18, 2005 Roemer says security plan keyChanges in thinking can help
protect nation, he tells Culver crowd
CULVER -- Former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer says that if more Americans voiced opinions about homeland security, they could make a difference. "We have to make sure we have a plan," Roemer said as he spoke to Culver Academies students and faculty about his ongoing involvement with the 9/11 Public Discourse Project on Monday. "We have no national strategy put forward. That cannot continue," said Roemer, a Democrat who used to represent Indiana's 2nd District and now focuses on delivering bipartisan discourse. Roemer, a former member of the 9/11 Commission, now sits on the board of directors of the commission's successor, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, a bipartisan, privately funded organization in Washington, D.C. There are many holes in the execution of homeland security, Roemer said. The nation's 104 nuclear power plants sit on the list. "What 10 standards do we have to protect those?" Roemer asked. For people concerned about these kinds of issues, Roemer encouraged writing letters to members of Congress. The Sept. 11 families are prime examples of people effecting change, Roemer explained. "Here were family members who knew nothing about government. Two years later, they became a political force," Roemer said. People wanted answers and politicians paid attention, Roemer said. Today, he is scheduled to hold a news conference alongside Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in Washington. They will be rallying support for first responders, such as police or firefighters, to have their own frequency in the public radio spectrum. Roemer said that giving emergency-response crews access to public radio would have helped save lives after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001. He also says it would help during disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. "We want to protect against complacency that people may feel. Katrina was a reminder. We spent millions of dollars and had a pathetic performance," Roemer said after his speech. Of Sept. 11, Roemer said mistakes were made across government agencies. "We shouldn't blame Republican George Bush or Democrat Bill Clinton," he said. Roemer called the war against terrorism "a war of ideas." He said that tactics used in the Cold War are outdated and four things need to change for the government to effectively implement homeland security. "Imagination. Nobody could imagine a plane flying into the Capitol or the trade center. Policy. Neither Bush nor Clinton highly prioritized terrorism efforts. Capability. The government is still buying weapons geared toward fighting the Soviet Union versus fighting al-Qaida," he said. "We need to change communication electronically. We take notes on index cards; we need to connect on e-mail, using a virtual case file system. Four years after 9/11, we can't do it." Roemer said that communication must become universal because al-Qaida has changed from a top-down, CEO-type structure to more of a franchise operation, meaning that there are groups throughout the world operating in cities such as Madrid, Spain; Bali, Indonesia; and London. One way to solve the problem is through force, but there are other layers that involve public diplomacy, laws and schools, Roemer said. "There are 140 million Muslims under the age of 24. It's important for us to wisely invest in some schooling for the Muslim nation," he said, adding that Americans should not write the curriculum, but developing schools should be a team effort with other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey. "We hear about ... people dying in Afghanistan, we are losing people in Iraq, losing people in intelligence that you will not hear about. These are not just statistics to me," Roemer said. "I don't want to lose a lot of people. I want to be smart." Culver note: The 2005-2006 GSI program has been funded by Mr. Paul J. Much '68 and Ms. Judy Fay, GP, and by Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin.
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