US No Safer Now Than on 9/11, Richard Clarke Claims

Former presidential counter-terrorism advisor Richard Clarke is warning the country is no more secure than it was five years ago when terrorists struck on September 11.

In an article for CNSNews.com, correspondent Alison Espach says Clarke made the remarks last week in Washington, while he was promoting a task force report entitled “The Forgotten Homeland.” Espach says Clarke co-chaired the task force, sponsored by The Century Foundation think tank. That report, Espach says, “issues 128 recommendations, including the removal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from the authority of the Department of Homeland Security.”

Clarke said FEMA is currently missing the type of leadership it had during the 1990s. “If even half of the 128 suggestions in his report are followed, Clarke said the U.S. will become a much safer nation. If not, he warned that the country was headed for another major disaster like the 9/11 terrorist attacks or Hurricane Katrina,” Espach reports.

However, DHS spokesperson Russ Knocke told Espach last week Clarke’s claims and suggestions are “not only outrageous but unjustifiable.”

“We have made substantial investments and advanced in our security in virtually every facet of our society since 9/11,” Knocke told Espach.

Espach says Clarke gained national attention two years ago for writing a book titled “Against All Enemies” and for his testimony before the 9/11 Commission.