9/11 families push for reform

By Kevin Anderson
BBC News Online in Washington

Families of those who died in the 11 September 2001 attacks have welcomed the recommendations for reform put forward by the commission set up to investigate the attacks.

The bipartisan commission recommended a wide-ranging overhaul of US intelligence services, including the creation of a national counter-terrorism centre.

The families are pushing for action

But the changes have not come fast enough for the victims' families.

They say that for three years US government has failed to enact needed reforms.

The families are united in an effort to pressure politicians of both parties to make the difficult decisions necessary to make the changes the 9/11 Commission has suggested.

Frustration

Terry McGovern lost her mother in the attacks. She said the recommendations were quite positive and radical.

But she is concerned that some of the recommendations might lead to new layers of bureaucracy.

While most of the family members praised the report, some felt that the commission's efforts were hampered by lack of funds and lack of time.

"When you look at how much they spent to investigate the Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal and how much they spent on how to make America safe, it was a lot less," said April Gallop.

Both she and her infant son survived the attack on the Pentagon.

The commission members also at times failed to ask difficult questions because they did not want to appear partisan, she added.

Families united

Now the families want action.

"Clearly we're three years out from 9/11, and very little has been done," Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband in the attacks, told the BBC.

She said the commission and report had motivated the families to "force our elected officials to do something".

"It's time to end the rhetoric and show proof that national security is our number one priority and that national security trumps politics," Mrs Breitweiser said.

Deborah Burlingame, whose brother died in the attacks, said: "We know what the problems are, but we need the political will to fix them.

"These families are united to hold politicians' feet to the fire in a non-partisan way."

Ms Burlingame says the families will shame any politician who blocks reforms for partisan gain, especially in this election year.

Carie Lemack's mother Judy Larocque died on American Flight 11.

The families have always been nervous that the deaths of their loved ones could be used for political gain, she said.

And they will jealously guard the legacy of those who died, to prevent their memories from being used by politicians for their own purposes.

"That's why you saw when President Bush used the ads with bodies that people stood up. The message was loud and clear," she said.

Ms Lemack said the commission's report was just the beginning.

"We have a lot more work to do," she said.

"People asked in the aftermath of September 11 what they could do to help, and now, three years later we have an answer. Our answer is you can help us get these recommendations implemented."

For the families, it is a personal fight. As April Gallop said: "It's turning our pain into activism. It's a mission now."