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Exclusive report: John Lehman, former Sec Navy, on the Lessons of 9/11

by: Clyde Middleton   posted: 2009-09-18 21:31:00
Viewed 338 times. 5 Comments.

Former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan, and member of the 9/11 Commission, John Lehman spoke tonight on the campus of St. Joseph's University. His topic was "The Lessons of 9/11: What we have learned, what have we accomplished, and what remains to be done."

Dr. Lehman has a great mix of command and comfort on the stage. In addition to his service to President Reagan, he was a pilot in Vietnam, and 25 years in the Naval Reserve.

He stated that the 9/11 Commission Report included 41 specific recommendations. The record on those recommendations is "mixed."

He gave a "plus" rating to our response to hit and eliminate terrorist sanctuaries around the world. We've "done well." Al Qaeda and the Taliban have been driven into the mountains of Pakistan.

This leads to another requirement that we must support Pakistan, and build it into a bulwark against AQ and the Taliban. The deeply seated religious beliefs of many of the people in Pakistani government means that AQ and the Taliban have a lot of sympathizers in government positions. We need to support democracy and stability there. Fortunately, AQ "over reached" in their recent assaults, and that has helped us to support Pakistan.

Securing and stabilizing Afghanistan received an "F" grade. We had "initial success there but are now losing." If we repeat what Russia did when things got tough - simply leave - we will lose all credibility in the region. Further, AQ and the Taliban will build training bases right on the border of Pakistan.

We received another "F" on the need to bring the problems with Saudi Arabia into the open. Islamic fundamentalists funded by the SA Ministry of Religious Affairs - Wahhabis - run schools worldwide, including 80% of the Muslim schools in the United States. They are the only alternative available to get an education for many Muslims in the world. They teach radically. President Clinton was strongly encouraged to confront the Saudis (obviously before 9/11) - Clinton did not. President Bush was strongly encouraged, also - Bush did not. Lehman stated that he has not asked President Obama yet, but has no reason to believe that Obama has brought the issue to the Saudis.

We need to sell our values and institutions overseas, to fund schools as an alternative to the Wahabi schools. As a government, we receive an "F," but Dr. Lehman noted that many private organizations are doing wonderful work, specifically citing Bono's "One" organization. This addressed the "soft power" sources that could fund enterprise operations. Better grade - D-.

It was recommended that we needed a common approach to captured terrorists across all involved nations. "We cannot torture, but we have gone too far the other way. Giving habeas corpus and right to counsel - every right of American citizens - to captured terrorists including reading Miranda rights is crazy." The result in an increased level of killing combatants rather than capturing them.

Al Qaeda wants to nuke the United States, preferably NYC or WDC. Non-proliferation must be a focus. We have a mixed picture. We have completely failed with Iran and North Korea, with NK selling its technology to anyone who wants it.

Yesterday's Poland decision simply adds to the problems. First, Dr. Lehman stated that he disagreed with President Bush on the strategic decision to place the missile-shield technology in Poland. But that decision was made, and countries in Europe and Eastern Europe modified their behavior - budgets, military plans - based upon that decision. President Obama "pulled the rug out from under our allies." They have learned that they cannot rely on our plans - plans "can change 180 degrees with any Administration change." He noted that Japan could build a nuclear bomb within six months. Overall, this effort received an "F."

We received an "A" for our efforts to combat terrorist financing. We have effectively closed off most of AQ's avenues. There has been great international cooperation. Saudi Arabia has assisted with putting heat on Arab foundations. The problem is that AQ doesn't much money to operate - the entire 9/11 event cost $600,000.

We received another "A" for targeting the travel of terrorists. They are heavily dependent on travel after initial recruitment occurs - they need to travel to the training sites (which are now located in Pakistan). We have balanced the need for identification documents with privacy. A problem is that while still in Afghanistan, AQ had "probably the best lab in the world at making passports."

There is a highly focused need for the detection of explosives at airports and ports. The underlying urgency was classified, but we received an "A+" for these efforts.

An Executive Branch board was needed to monitor infringement on American civil liberties resulting from new laws and regulations. This has done - but only a "B+" because it has become clear that the board members "are subject to Executive Branch pressures."

An "A" was given for local coordination and management in the event of a crisis. The priorities were to establish command and control standards, get radio-based communications that worked in all environments and conditions, and to free up frequencies for First Responders.

Another "A" for crisis management in private businesses. This was achieved by working with the insurance industry to establish the need for off-site reconstruction of business records in the event of disaster.

Congress receives an "F" for its failure to reform and streamline itself. The Department of the Navy reports to 70 committees; Homeland Security, 88. It is cumbersome, ineffective, and needs to be changed.

The last 9/11 recommendation he discussed was the need for a Director of National Intelligence. "If all of the intelligence that we possessed was shared, then 9/11 would not have happened." We need to do away with the stove-pipe approach to gathering and keeping information. It has not been corrected. President Bush did create the position, but it was not given broad enough authority, yet presently has 2,000 bureaucrats employed. There are good people making progress, but the structure is challenging. No grade was given, but success is clearly mixed.

Overall, Dr. Lehman said that we are "considerably safer, but there is more to do."

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Comments 5

MSGT's Daughter on 2009-09-19 00:34:06

Very interesting. Thank you.


Clyde on 2009-09-19 01:00:15

Welcome. It was a good talk. I enjoyed it greatly.


leg on 2009-09-19 02:51:55

Having done a stint with Navy/Marines, I've always kind of kept an eye on the Secretary of Navy. I always thought Lehman as being pretty sharp and this talk demonstrates it. Thanks for sharing it.

His point about getting out and educating/selling ourselves to the world is spot on. I did not realize there are private groups doing this. Could you do a piece on Bono's group and whatever other groups there are? (sorry but I'm a little busy and maybe a little lazy to do my own homework right now). However, I cannot imagine Obama trying to sell real American values. Even if he tried, you cannot sell something that you don't understand.


Clyde on 2009-09-19 08:01:20

Hey Leg, here's the site for Bono's One org - http://www.one.org/us/


arkady on 2009-09-19 09:42:49

...but what else would you expect him to say? I would argue that virtually every one involved in the military will see this as a weak/bad move by the United States. This is not even bias, it's common sense.

However, the views of the military top command do not always reflect what is best for our nation. They view it through a prism of what makes the military more effective.


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