By Eileen Sullivan
The Associated Press
September 9, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has missed one
opportunity after another to improve the nation's security, according to a
Democratic congressional report.
From securing rail and bus
transportation to screening cargo, promoting democracy across the world and
capturing weapons of mass destruction, the administration has fallen short on
25 major national security initiatives, Democrats on the House Homeland
Security and Foreign Affairs committees concluded.
"The administration
has just failed to act in so many ways," said Rep. Bennie Thompson,
D-Miss. "Let's say that we've been fortunate that we have not been
attacked" since 2001, said Thompson, who chairs the House Homeland
Security Committee. The report noted there is no national coordinator
overseeing
"The Administration
has failed to provide the American people the security they expect and
deserve," the report said.
The Bush administration,
however, insisted it is making progress in national security.
"I fundamentally
reject the charge that the administration has made the world less safe from
terrorism," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. Wood had not seen
the Democrats' report.
The House Democrats also
blast Bush policy in