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Five years have passed since that terrible day in September of 2001. Is America safer now than it was before 9/11? -- A recent national report says most American cities are not prepared to handle a terrorist incident. -- Security experts say Iraq has become a terrorist breeding ground for Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. -- Events in Afghanistan are heating up again with a resurgence of the Taliban. -- Incidents in Spain and recently in London point out that those bent on terrorism are alive and active. -- A survey released this week shows Homeland Security has failed Hometown Police. Experts believe the United States is still a target. It is not a question of "if" another incident will occur. It is a question of "when". And when those incidents happen, are we ready to fight them? The first responder to any terrorist incident will be the police patrol officer. Are patrol officers prepared to handle a terrorist incident? The California Organization of Police and Sheriffs (COPS) released a national survey from the Anti-Terrorism Law Enforcement Response Training (A.L.E.R.T.) Foundation today. The survey says our nation's police are woefully unprepared to defend our cities in the event of a terrorist incident. The ALERT Foundation surveyed 100 police departments across the nation. The results found two-thirds of our nation's law enforcement officers have not received appreciable antiterrorism training and, as a result, are dangerously ill equipped and unprepared to handle a terrorist attack on American soil. How can we expect first responders to realistically carry out their duties on the front lines of homeland security without first supplying them with the necessary training, tools and resources? After five years and billions of dollars spent on homeland security to have only one third of our law enforcement officers trained in terrorism awareness is disturbing to say the least. Nationally, it is estimated 600,000 law enforcement officers patrol our streets. Of them, 400,000 are not prepared to respond to a terrorist incident. That equates to a state of readiness tragically lacking and a public dangerously at risk. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated: "America's first line of defense in any terrorist attack is the 'first responder' community -- local police, firefighters, and emergency medical professionals. Properly trained and equipped first responders have the greatest potential to save lives and limit casualties after a terrorist attack. Even the best prepared States and localities do not possess adequate resources to respond to the full range of terrorist threats we face." The 9/11 Commission stated it best when they said: "The first responders of today live in a world transformed by the attacks of 9/11. Because no one believes that every conceivable form of attack can be prevented, civilians and first responders will again find themselves on the front lines. We must plan for that eventuality. A rededication to preparedness is perhaps the best way to honor the memories of those we lost that day." COPS couldn't agree more.
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