Kerrey: US should spend more on anti-terrorism

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The US is less vulnerable to terrorists since the 2001 attacks, but billions more must be spent to be prepared for another assault, Sept. 11 commissioner Bob Kerrey said. "I still don't believe that Congress and the Bush administration are giving enough to thwart a terror attack here or to train first responders in (the New York) region," said Kerrey, a former US senator from Nebraska, during a lecture Tuesday at Rutgers University's campus in Newark. More money must be spent to upgrade emergency communications systems, he said. The commissioner also said the Bush administration reduced the terrorism risk by invading Afghanistan, where Osama bin Laden enjoyed sanctuary from 1991 to 2001. During that time, the US government mistakenly viewed al-Qaida's bomb attacks on US embassies in Africa in 1998 and the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 as "one-off incidents," he said. Kerrey said another terrorism attack would likely be carried out by a lone entrepreneur with strong financial backing, rather than an elaborate network. The New York region would be a likely target because it is the nation's financial and media hub, he said.