IU students and faculty react to testimony

A nation watched in disbelief as the dramatic events of Sept. 11 unfolded almost three years ago. Many questioned how the tragedy could have happened and whether the government had taken adequate precautions to prevent the attacks.\nAfter a period of refusing to testify before a congressional panel, members of the Bush administration reversed their decision and permitted National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to give testimony before the National Commission of Terrorist Attacks, which is investigating the World Trade Center attacks.\nRice acknowledged in front of the 9-11commission and families of victims of the attacks, under oath, that there could have been better intelligence-sharing before the attacks.\nRice's testimony left some students and faculty agitated with the current administration.\n"I think they were slacking because they did nothing about it (intelligence)," said freshman Daniel Martinko. "That does shock me and disturbed me a lot." \nMartinko said the president has a responsibility to the people, even when involves making hard distinctions and decisions.\n"I understand that it is a very, very hard job to do," said Martinko. "But at the same time, there's a reason why they're running the country and why the president is the one in charge of running the country."\nNeither surprised nor disappointed, senior Tiffany Bell said the testimony turned out the way she expected.\n"This just shows how shady of an administration we have," said Bell.\nPolitical Science Professor Abdulkader Sinno applauds Rice for being a sophisticated thinker but doesn't believe she or the administration showed any immediacy or emergency with the threats.\n"There were some glaring problems that needed to be dealt with by anybody in power," said Sinno. "Just to make it more difficult for (an attack) to happen, and we didn't do that."\nSophomore Erin McShea compared the warnings to a 'cry wolf' scenario, where the administration wasn't able to separate a high-risk threat from the average warnings they often receive.\n"I think they put it in the backburner and maybe didn't focus in on it too much," McShea said.\nWith the upcoming election, Sinno feels this just lessens the administration's chances of winning.\n"I think both factors -- the economy's state nine months before the election as well as what's happening in Iraq -- will be the two main determinants of the outcome of this election."\nMartinko said although he has backed the administration throughout its tenure, he and possibly other supporters are on the borderline.\n"I feel like this will be a definite stain on his record," said Martinko. "It'll be something that (Sen. John) Kerry (D-Mass.) will take full advantage of … and now after this, it kinda' makes me think."\n-- Contact staff writer Aishah Hasnie at ahasnie@indiana.edu.