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Editorial: Not much learned from 9/11 report The Daily Astorian The congressional report on intelligence failures before Sept. 11, 2001, has to be seen for what it is: An exercise in hindsight. As such, it doesn't add much to what was obvious before, and it provides no road map for preventing future attacks. The report found that U.S. intelligence had various clues but no specific advance information about the Sept. 11 attacks. Obviously. If we had had specific information, arrests could have been made. The trouble with mere clues is that usually you don't know what they mean until it is too late. In one or more cases, agents were aware of the plotters' presence in the United States. But they didn't know they were plotters. They had not been informed that the suspects were on watch lists for potential terrorists. One agent said it would have made a big difference if he had known. Maybe. But probably not. It would have helped only if the two Arabs had been picked up - based on what probable cause? - and browbeaten until they confessed all, hardly a likely event. The FBI, CIA and other intelligence branches now are said to be much more likely to share what they have learned about various incipient plots. And perhaps it has paid off. But we cannot say for sure. We have not suffered another blow since Sept. 11. But it is in the nature of successful plots that they are secret until they result in something taking place. In this war with terrorists, while being as vigilant as possible, we have to be prepared for the occasional loss, and we cannot let this prospect demoralize us. An open country such as ours cannot hope to prevent all terrorist plots or attacks unless and until we manage to find and kill all the terrorists - which in itself is an unlikely outcome. It's a war that may last a long, long time and has many different fronts. Abroad, we have to try to defeat or change governments that support terrorism, and even those that are likely to do so. It's a tough struggle, one that many Americans want nothing to do with because it makes us act like an imperialist chief cop of the world. But we don't have a choice. As long as the United States is a mighty force, economically and militarily, with western values of individual rights and freedom, and supporting Israel, we will be a target of fanatics of the al Qaida variety. The only way to avoid it is to slink off the stage and become a country like, say, Argentina, Canada or France. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -