James M. Jeffords: “We know what went wrong, and I firmly hope that we, as a nation, will develop comprehensive plans to address the…”

“We know what went wrong, and I firmly hope that we, as a nation, will develop comprehensive plans to address the shortcomings in our intelligence gathering and communication efforts. Because of the similarity of the September 11 attacks and the attack on Pearl Harbor, over 60 years ago--which I am just barely old enough to remember, being 5 at that time, but I remember that day to this moment--we should remember the finding of the Joint Congressional Committee that investigated Pearl Harbor, that: . . . the security of the nation can be ensured only through . . . centralization of responsibility in those charged with handling intelligence. That, to me, is the key that we have to look at for a resolution of this problem. I hope we will learn a lesson after the tragic events that occurred on September 11. Correcting intelligence failures must be the hallmark of any new Department of Homeland Security.”