US must do more to thwart WMD threat - 9/11 panel

The United States is not doing enough to thwart terrorists’ attempts to acquire or make weapons of mass destruction, the September 11 commission has found.

The panel accused the Bush administration of failing to protect nuclear weapons and warned that it must improve its image abroad following reports of terror suspect abuse.

In a wide-ranging and critical review, the commission said “minimal” progress had been made on several key issues concerning proliferation, foreign policy and diplomacy.

On nuclear proliferation, commission chairman Thomas Kean said: “The most striking thing to us is that the size of the problem still totally dwarfs the policy response.

“In short, we still do not have a maximum effort against the most urgent threat to the American people.”

The report warned that preventing terrorists from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction must urgently be made the top priority.

The body, which consists of the same 10 commissioners who investigated the 11 September attacks, was reviewing action on recommendations it made last year.

It gave the US government an “unfulfilled” grade on the recommendation to develop a common approach with friendly nations on the treatment of terror suspects.

The report said the Bush administration must adopt standards in accordance with international law.

“These standards should cover the treatment of detainees held by all elements of the US government,” it said.

“The United States should work with its allies to develop mutually acceptable standards for terrorist detention.”

President George Bush last week defended the country’s interrogation practices, declaring: “We do not torture.”

The report did offer praise for US attempts to integrate the Arab and Muslim world into the global trading system and for its crackdown on terrorism financing.

Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste also said Iraq was on track to succeed Afghanistan as a terrorist training ground.

“The flames of extremism undoubtedly burn more brightly when we are the ones who deliver the gasoline,” he said.

The 9/11 Commission disbanded last year after finding the US government to blame for failing to protect Americans from the 2001 attacks. It made several key recommendations on issues of national security.

The panel then reformed to review progress and keep up the pressure on Congress, calling itself the 9/11 Public Discourse Project.