TEN YEARS LATER: ARE WE SAFER POST 9/11? MOST AMERICANS SAY YES
CYBERSPACE, SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 (MAIN LINE TIMES ONLINE) AND (DAILY NEWS ONLINE)
Are we safer post-9/11?
Published: September 06, 2011 By ERIC S. SMITH and FRAN MAYE esmith@dailylocal.com fmaye@journalregister.com
It was a picture-perfect, late summer day without a cloud in the sky.
That is how state Rep. Curt Schroder described Sept. 11, 2001, before the tragic attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville.
"The last thing you could imagine was anything horrific or evil happening that day," Schroder said. "It was the furthest thing from anyone's mind."
In the 10 years since the attacks, legislators like Schroder at the state and federal levels have been putting measures in place to help make Americans feel safer. But yet the question still remains if we are actually safer than we were on the days before the attacks.
State Sen. Andy Dinniman said what was truly unique about 9/11 was that it happened on U.S. soil and that it shook the secure feelings of U.S. residents.
"It changed our very sense of believing that we were distant from what happened in other places of the world," said Dinniman, D-19th of West Whiteland. "And it brought home the fact that conflict itself, aggression itself, can take place on our soil."
But most local politicians believe we are safer now than before.
"There are still a lot of improvements that can be made, but but there have been many improvements (in security) since the days before the attack," said U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach.
State Sen. Andy Dinniman said what was truly unique about 9/11 was that it happened on U.S. soil and that truly shook the secure feelings of U.S. residents.
"It changed our very sense of believing that we were distant from what happened in other places of the world," Dinniman, D-19th of West Whiteland, said. "And it brought home the fact that conflict itself , aggression itself, can take place on our soil.
Gerlach, R-6th of West Pikeland, said airport security could be better than it is today.
Schroder, R-155th of East Brandywine, said while there is a lot of debate about some of the security measures put in place at airports such as full-body screenings, he does not complain about "restrictions on personal movement." He said officials in the intelligence agencies know more than than the general public and are doing everything they can to keep people safe.
State Rep. Duane Milne, R-167th of Willistown, said most people accept the new security measures as a minor inconvenience in return for a greater feeling of safety.
But security at airports and other places is only one way in which the 9/11 attacks have changed how safe our country is or may be. State Rep. Warren Kampf, R-157th of Tredyffrin, said our intelligence gathering has become much better in the wake of 9/11.
"I think it has made us better at detecting these sorts of threats and preventing them from becoming a reality," Kampf said.
Gerlach said he believes we are doing a much better job of sharing intelligence both domestically and internationally than we did as a country prior to 9/11.
State Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9th of Chester, said local responders were given better resources and trained on how to respond to such a terrorist attack as result of 9/11. He said those measures have improved the safety of citizens.
While preparing the response on American soil is important, the 9/11 attacks also led to the War on Terror in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Those conflicts have helped to make Americans safer, but at the same time continue to cause unrest in the region that bred the terrorists that launched the attacks of 9/11, according to state Rep. Dan Truitt.
On one hand,I believe that our service men and women in the middle east provide a local target for madmen who would otherwise attack our civilians on our own soil," Truitt, R-156th of East Goshen, said. "Our service men and women sacrifice their lives, safety, and home life to make the rest of us safer at home.
"On the other hand, I worry that the ongoing unrest in the Middle East could be making it easier for dangerous weapons to make their way into the hands of people who would do us harm.
Gerlach said he fears some have forgotten the purpose of the War on Terror and hopes this 10th anniversary of 9/11 brings a renewed awareness of the war.
"We can't be complacent," Gerlach said. "We need to keep up our vigilance and protect our home land."
State Rep. John Lawrence said some of safety comes down to individuals continuing to be "cautious and observant."
Ultimately, keeping the country safe from similar attacks is an ongoing process without end.
"The regrettable reality is terrorists need only succeed once to inflict great damage," Milne said. "We must continue to use all of our resources to keep country as secure as possible."
Follow staff writer Eric S. Smith on Twitter @dailylocaleric.
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