NYT Survey: 9/11 Victims' Pain and Loss

This poignant story in today's NYT gives a clear and painful picture of what life for the 9/11 families is like today, almost three years after the tragedy.

As I read the story, I was struck by the thought that I don't feel any safer from a repeat of 9/11 than I did on 9/12. Who's to say that I won't be "one of them" the next time? Our military forces are fighting a war in Iraq. The positive effects of that war on our security will be minimal, at best. Meanwhile, our borders remain virtually unprotected, cargo ships come and go bringing millions of tons of unchecked cargo into our country each day, and the Dept. of Homeland Security is overwhelmed, underfunded and is currently serving as little more than a PR ploy.

I, for one, would feel much more secure if we had those dedicated military men and women who are in Iraq back here guarding our own borders, inspecting cargo ships, and giving our Homeland Security Agency an effective workforce to carry out their stateside security policies. If we don't put more of our focus on domestic security now, the next grieving family could be yours or mine.