Text 1833, 146 rader
Skriven 2005-12-05 23:33:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0512055) for Mon, 2005 Dec 5
===================================================
===========================================================================
Fact Sheet: Progress on the 9/11 Commission Recommendations
===========================================================================

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 5, 2005

Fact Sheet: Progress on the 9/11 Commission Recommendations



The President Has Worked To Address The Recommendations Of The Commission

President Bush's Top Priority Is The Safety And Security Of The American
People. Since September 11th, President Bush has restructured and reformed
the Federal government to focus resources on counterterrorism and to ensure
the security of our homeland.

The Administration Has Worked With Congress To Implement The 9/11
Commission's Recommendations. Since the Commission issued its final report,
the Administration has taken action on 37 of the Commission's 39
recommendations that apply to the Executive Branch and is working with
Congress to continue to improve intelligence and homeland security.

Administration Officials Repeatedly Have Testified On The Implementation Of
The Recommendations. Officials from the Intelligence Community, the
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department
of State, and other agencies have testified before Congress on the
recommendations of the 9/11 Commission in over 50 hearings since the
Commission issued its final report.

The President Supported The Work Of The Commission. The White House
provided the 9/11 Commission with unprecedented access, including providing
close to 1,000 interviews with Administration officials and making
available 2.3 million pages of documents for the Commission's review.

Key Institutional Developments And Accomplishments

Appointing The Director Of National Intelligence. President Bush signed
into law the landmark Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004, which overhauls the intelligence community, mandating a range of
reforms and centralizing in one office key authorities. The Director of
National Intelligence (DNI) serves as President Bush's principal
intelligence advisor and the leader of the Intelligence Community. The
first DNI, Ambassador John Negroponte, was confirmed by the Senate and
sworn in this past April.

Establishing The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). The NCTC assists
in analyzing and integrating foreign and domestic intelligence acquired
from all U.S. government departments and agencies pertaining to the war on
terrorism. The Center identifies, coordinates, and prioritizes the
counterterrorism intelligence requirements of America's intelligence
agencies and develops strategic operational plans for implementation. In
July 2005, the Senate confirmed the President's nominee, Vice Admiral Scott
Redd, to become the first Director of the NCTC.

Establishing The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). The DNDO, in the
Department of Homeland Security, provides a single federal organization to
develop and deploy a nuclear-detection system to thwart the importation of
illegal nuclear or radiological materials.

Appointing A Privacy And Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The President has
nominated the Chairman and Vice Chairman and appointed the other three
members to serve on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, to
further help ensure that privacy and civil rights are not eroded as we
fight the War on Terror.

Establishing The Terrorist Screening Center. In order to consolidate
terrorist watch lists and provide around-the-clock operational support for
Federal and other government law-enforcement personnel across the country
and around the world, the Administration created the Terrorist Screening
Center. The Center ensures that government investigators, screeners, and
agents are working with the same unified, comprehensive set of information
about terrorists.

Transforming The FBI To Focus On Preventing Terrorism. The President has
led the effort to transform the FBI into an agency focused on preventing
terrorist attacks through intelligence collection and other key efforts,
while improving its ability to perform its traditional role as a
world-class law-enforcement agency.

Strengthening Transportation Security Through Screening And Prevention.
Since 9/11 the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made
significant advancements in aviation security, including the installation
of hardened cockpit doors, a substantial increase in the number of Federal
Air Marshals, the training and authorization of thousands of pilots to
carry firearms in the cockpit, the 100 percent screening of all passengers
and baggage, and the stationing of explosives-detection canine teams at
each of the Nation's largest. These initiatives have raised the bar in
aviation security and shifted the threat.

Improving Border Screening And Security Through The US-VISIT Entry-Exit
System. US-VISIT uses cutting-edge biometric technology to help ensure that
our borders remain open to legitimate travelers but closed to terrorists.
US-VISIT is in place at 115 airports, 14 seaports, and 50 land border
crossings across the country. Since January 2004, more than 39 million
visitors have been checked through US-VISIT.

Establishing The National Targeting Center (NTC) To Screen All Imported
Cargo. DHS established the NTC to examine cargo and passengers destined for
the United States to identify those presenting the greatest threat. The NTC
screens data on 100 percent of inbound shipping containers (9 million per
year) to identify those posing a "high risk." CBP personnel examine 100
percent of high-risk containers.

Expanding Shipping Security Through The Container Security Initiative
(CSI). The CSI is currently established in over 35 major international
seaports to pre-screen shipping containers for illicit or dangerous
materials before they are loaded on vessels bound for the United States.

Developing Project Bioshield To Increase Preparedness For A Chemical,
Biological, Radiological, Or Nuclear Attack. Project BioShield is a
comprehensive effort that will ensure that resources ($5.6 billion) are
available to pay for "next-generation" medical countermeasures, expedite
the conduct of NIH research and development on medical countermeasures
based on the most promising recent scientific discoveries, and give FDA the
ability to make promising treatments quickly available in emergency
situations. Project BioShield will help protect Americans against a
chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack.

Cracking Down On Terrorist Financing With Our International Partners. Over
400 individuals and entities have been designated pursuant to Executive
Order 13224, resulting in nearly $150 million in frozen assets and millions
more blocked in transit or seized at borders. We have built an
international coalition that is applying more rigorous financial standards
and controls to help prevent terrorists' use of the international financial
system. Specifically, we have established with the Government of Saudi
Arabia a Joint Task Force on Terrorism Finance that serves as a
coordinating mechanism to cooperate on important terrorism-financing
investigations.

Increasing Cooperation And Reform Among International Partners At The Front
Lines Of The War On Terror. In Pakistan over the next five years, we will
provide more than $3 billion in security, economic, and development
assistance to enhance counterterrorism capacity and promote continued
reform, including of the education system. In the last three years, the
United States provided more than $4.5 billion in reconstruction, economic,
and security assistance programs to Afghanistan.

# # #
===========================================================================
Return to this article at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051205-5.html

 * Origin: (1:3634/12)