As the Bush administration reaches its final days the U.S. will be faced with its first presidential transition since Sept. 11. This period will come with a supposed great deal of risk.

“History– including the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole, as well as more recent attacks in Madrid, London, and Glasgow– suggests that terrorists may target the times shortly before and after governmental transitions,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) during a hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s post-election plans.

There has been concerns over whether DHS is ready to meet these risks. DHS has been marred with a high turnover rates and numerous vacancies in executive positions and have faced numerous accusations of mismanagement.

However DHS has taken a series of steps to prepare, including a the security clearances for members of the next administration, performing a number of training exercises, and hiring more executive staff.

“We have been able to reduce our vacancy rate from about 20 percent…to about 13 percent. We have another 35 selections pending so with that…we’ll have our vacancy rate under 10 percent for the first time,” said DHS Undersecretary for Management Elaine C. Duke.

Specialist in Terrorism and National Security Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division John Rollins explained that the proximity of the transitional period may have already sparked a terrorist attack.

“Some national security observers suggest that the attacks that took place in Yemen yesterday may have been taken with the desire to seize the U.S. embassy, thus creating a protracted situation that could influence the U.S. election.”

Speaking at the dedication ceremony for the Pentagon September 11 Memorial former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld makes a reference to a poem by Robert Frost. He says that America has been acquainted with the night and that the U.S. will force the dawn. (0:24)

 

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President George W. Bush speaks at a dedication ceremony for the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He speaks about the U.S. armed forces and says that because of them, there has not been a terrorist attack on American soil in the last 2,557 days. (0:19)

 

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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speaks at a ceremony to dedicate the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He says that succeeding generations will not recall as vividly the events of that day and that makes the memorial, which is beneath the same flight path as the highjacked plane of Sept. 11, all the more important. (0:22)

 

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Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks at a ceremony to dedicate the Pentagon September 11 Memorial. He says that the ceremony is to honor the sacrifice of families that have lost a husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, or friend. (0:31)

 

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Seven years after the airborne attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center in New York, President Bush, accompanied by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates dedicated memorial to the memory of Pentagon employees and passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the building on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We claim this hallowed ground for peace and for healing. We claim it in the affirmation of our strongest belief as a people that every life is precious,” said Gates. The memorial is a series of 184 silver metal benches spread out over a flat park of gravel. Beneath each bench a pool of water reflects the luster of the metal bench that stretches over it. For the ceremony each bench was draped in a blue flag, giving the appearance of a covered casket.

Quoting the poet Robert Frost, Rumsfeld spoke of Sept. 11 as a day that the United States “became acquainted with the night.” Rumsfeld was lauded by the other speakers for his quick actions at the Pentagon on Sept. 11. Speaking of those who died that day he said, “Make no mistake, it was because they were Americans that they were killed in this place.”

Rumsfeld also spoke the the resolve of the American people and of the U.S. military, “We have been acquainted with the night, we have taken it’s measure and in the darkest of times we stood together. In defiance our nation has pressed on toward morning…Our nation will force the dawn.”

Admiral Mike Mullen the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also spoke to the families of those who died in the Pentagon, “We honor the heart wrenching sacrifice, the quite courage of those who called these souls dad, mom, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, friend.”

Bush spoke about the wars that have followed the attacks on the Pentagon. “Since Sept. 11 our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home,” he said. Shortly after the attacks the U.S. began military operations in Afghanistan to unseat the Taliban government which was harboring the al-Qaida terrorist group that planned and executed the attacks. Thanking the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, Bush noted, “There has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.”

With the newly dedicated memorial and the Pentagon behind him, Sec. Gates spoke of the new meaning of the Department of Defense’s main building. “From this time forward the Pentagon will be more than a symbol of government, more than the seat of military power, it will also be a place of remembrance.”

In a conference call with reporters, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that the U.S. had a presence in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001. He said that all the attention was diverted to Iraq and that Afghanistan might be better off had more attention been paid to that conflict. (0:28)

 

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Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) says terrorist attacks are currently at historic highs, stating that that al-Qaeda is more capable of attacking the United States now than it was in 2001. He says the next president should reform the war on terror and include more intelligence, making it possible to prevent terrorists from being recruited. (1:12)

 

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