Report blasts U.S. homeland security program.

• Author: Fein, Geoff S.
• Position: Security Beat - Brief Article

The Bush administration has earned a grade of "D" for its "surprisingly lax and inadequate efforts to protect America, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Policy Institute. A 27-page report, released in July, concluded the president "has given homeland security more lip service than action."

While the administration has destroyed al Qaeda cells in Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power, "building up America's domestic defenses" has been a different story, the report stares.

"... The Bush administration has been oddly lethargic in fortifying our defenses at home," the report says. "... It consistently dragged its feet."

The study gave the president failing grades for integrating terrorist watch lists, improving identification systems, completing a national threat assessment and for lessons learned from previous attacks.

"While integrating terrorist watch...