Lee H. Hamilton
Lee H. Hamilton
Lee Herbert Hamiltonis a former member of the United States House of Representatives and currently a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council. A member of the Democratic Party, Hamilton represented the 9th congressional district of Indiana from 1965 to 1999. Following his departure from Congress he has served on a number of governmental advisory boards, most notably as the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth20 April 1931
CountryUnited States of America
I cannot remember a national security advisor testing in public, under oath, talking at length about policy matters, and that's an unusual event.
What struck me after Katrina was we were not as safe as I thought we were,
The status quo failed us. Reform is an urgent matter, and reform must not wait until the next attack.
The structure of the intelligence community has not changed since 9/11. The commission believes the status quo is unacceptable, ... This legislation is necessary to make the American people safer and more secure. We believe it must be enacted before the 108th Congress adjourns.
Is it countries that harbor or develop weapons of mass destruction? Is it only countries that harbor terrorists? What really are the targets that we're aiming at in this war on terrorism?
Our sense is that the commission supports reform of the intelligence community, but we have come to no judgment about the nature of reform that we will recommend.
We are a mobile, dynamic society. We depend upon open, accessible transportation systems. Terrorists know that. It's the reason they target transportation, and it's why we must stop them.
I was personally kind of discouraged with that statement. This is not a new problem.
It is fair to ask how long the FBI will take to reform itself ... The terrorists will not wait,
The president has a lot at stake here. This is the first major test of his political clout after the election, ... He's said over and over again, 'I support this bill.' Now, if he fails to get that bill through, he has to be worried about the signal that sends about his own political clout with his own party. I think the Congress has a lot at stake. But aside from politics, what is really important here is the safety of the American people.
We have thought about what to do, a global strategy, and how to do it: A different way of organizing our government.
I am impressed by the number of intelligence warnings, the spiking of the threats that occurred during, particularly the summer of the year 2001.
But there's another whole dimension here, and that dimension is the public dimension -- and I think the American public would benefit from hearing Condi Rice testify under oath.
Look, we want a bill on the desk of the president as soon as possible.