This Sunday we pause to remember those lost or injured twelve years ago in the WTC bombing of February 26, 1993. Our thoughts go out their families, as well as all others who were impacted in some way by this tragic event.

This week we heard from many family members who were concerned about the controversy surrounding the possible transfer of operations of six major US ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We share these concerns and have reached out to elected officials on your behalf. VOICES will continue to monitor this situation and strongly suggests a moratorium on the takeover until there is a full investigation by Congress. In addition, this debate has brought to light that the overall operations of port management in the US are extremely vulnerable and must be reevaluated and scrutinized to address the threat of terrorism. We have included additional information below and encourage you to visit our bulletin board and share your thoughts. We hope you will continue to contact your representatives to make your views known on this controversial issue.

As always, the entire team at VOICES is here to help you. Please continue to reach out.

Warm Regards,

The recent controversy over the Dubai Ports transfer has released a slew of polarized opinions from politicians, the news media, and the public. VOICES would like to know how you feel about this issue. We encourage you to read our "On the Record" section below and post your thoughts about this issue on the VOICES Bulletin Board.

VOICES Would Like To Know So We Can Serve You Better

Please email VOICES to let us know if and how you plan to be involved in the upcoming penalty phase of the Zacarias Moussaoui trial. Some family members will travel to the courtroom to attend the trial or offer victim's impact statements, an important part of all death penalty trials. In addition, about 1,000 family members have told the Justice Department that they plan to watch the proceedings on closed-circuit television at one of five satellite locations set up at courthouses in Boston, Manhattan, Newark, Philadelphia and Long Island, NY, according to a recent Washington Post article.

Providing us information on your planned level of involvement in the trial will help us design mental health and support programs to better fit your needs. Thanks in advance for keeping us informed.

This week, VOICES is pleased to feature “Airline Ride Across America: A Tribute to the 33 Crew Members of September 11, 2001.” U.S. Airways pilot Thomas Heidenberger conceived the 33-day memorial ride from Los Angeles to Washington, DC via New York and Shanksville as a way to honor his wife, Michele, and the 32 other people working on the 9/11 flights. The organization is also raising money for the 9/11 memorials. “Airline Ride” is currently accepting donations and sponsorships for the ride on their website, which is scheduled to begin in April. Their goal is to raise $100,000 for the Pentagon Memorial, the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, Pa., and the World Trade Center Memorial.

“As I have been flying across the country I have been trying to figure out how to get some money for the Pentagon Memorial, and I thought, 'Hey, what a great way to do this,’” Heidenberger said in a recent Washington Post article. James Laychak, president of the Pentagon Memorial Fund said of the ride:
"I think it is outstanding, not only as a way to raise money but to raise awareness, not only for the Pentagon Memorial but for all the memorials." VOICES urges all of you to get involved with this tremendous effort of love on behalf of all victims of September 11th and their families.

The controversy over the possible transfer of operations for six major US ports to a company based in the United Arab Emirates erupted this week. There are many different sides to this issue, and clear lines have been drawn between the President, who supports the sale, and Congressional leaders who actively oppose the sale, or want to investigate it more thoroughly. And the issue has instigated sharp debate among the American people as well—especially 9/11 Families, who know the consequences of flawed national security policy better than most. VOICES believes a good way to understand the issues at stake is to see what our political leaders and security experts are saying ON THE RECORD. The following quotes are taken from recent news articles and statements to provide you a cross-section of views on the proposed transfer. You can click on the hyperlinks after each quote to read it in context:

President George W. Bush: "The transaction should go forward, in my judgment. If there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States, it would not go forward. The company has been cooperative with the United States government. The company will not manage port security. The security of our ports will be -- continue to be managed by the Coast Guard and Customs. The company is from a country that has been cooperative in the war on terror, been an ally in the war on terror. The company operates ports in different countries around the world, ports from which cargo has been sent to the United States on a regular basis. I think it sends a terrible signal to friends around the world that it's okay for a company from one country to manage the port, but not a country that plays by the rules and has got a good track record from another part of the world can't manage the port.” Excerpts from a statement to reporters on the White House South Lawn (Feb. 21)

Rep. Pete King, (R-NY) House Homeland Security Committee Chairman: "I will fight harder than ever for this legislation [to bar DPW from managing the ports], and if it is vetoed I will fight as hard as I can to override it." Quoted in an MSNBC.com article (Feb. 22)

Senator John McCain, (R-AZ): “The President’s leadership has earned our trust in the war on terror, and surely his administration deserves the presumption that they would not sell our security short. Dubai has cooperated with us in the war and deserves to be treated respectfully. By all means, let’s do due diligence, get briefings, seek answers to all relevant questions and assurances that defense officials and the intelligence community were involved in the examination and approval of this transaction.” From McCain Press Statement (Feb. 22)

Senator Susan Collins, (R-ME) chairwoman of the Senate Government Affairs and Homeland Security Committee: “Although the UAE is an ally in the war on terrorism, the country has historically been used as a base of terrorist operations and financing." Quoted in a CNN.com article (Feb. 22)

Senator Charles Schumer, (D-NY): "I don't think China or Britain or many of the others have the nexus with terrorism that Dubai has. What kind of controls do they have to prevent infiltration?" Quoted in a New York Times article (Feb. 21)

Ed Kelly, executive director of the 400-member Maritime Association of the Port of New York: "It's been a little distressing to see the way that this has been politically handled ... We have no particular concern or qualms [about Dubai Ports World]. We have a concern that any company complies properly with the laws, and DPW has conspicuously been a good citizen in the international trade community." He added that DPW has a good reputation and in New York would only take over one terminal accounting for 15 percent of the total container volume in the harbor, as quoted in a New York Newsday article (Feb. 22)

Gov. Jon Corzine, (D-NJ) Governor of New Jersey: “There is a deep, deep feeling that this is the wrong direction for our nation. It is unspeakable that we are being put into the position where we're going to end up having to bootstrap ourselves to make up for a very failed decision at the national government level.” Quoted in a Philadelphia Enquirer article (Feb. 22)

Keith Mason, former chairman of the Georgia Port Authority: "I can understand the high level of anxiety the deal has created. But a more important issue is what's contained in the boxes when they get to the United States," quoted in a USA Today article (Feb. 22)

Senator Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Majority Leader: "If the administration cannot delay the process, I plan on introducing legislation to ensure that the deal is placed on hold until this decision gets a more thorough review." Quoted in a Government Executive article (Feb. 21)

Ted Bilkey, the chief operating officer for Dubai Ports World: "The reaction in the United States has occurred in no other country in the world. We need to understand the concerns of the people in the U.S. who are worried about this transaction and make sure that they are addressed to the benefit of all parties. Security is everyone's business." Quoted in a New York Times article (Feb. 24)

Gordon England, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary: "The terrorists want us, they want our nation, to become distrustful, they want us to become paranoid and isolationist, and in my view, we cannot allow this to happen." Quoted in a National Journal Congress Daily article (Feb. 23)

Jury selection for the death penalty phase of the Zacarias Moussaoui trial is proceeding faster than expected. After initial delays caused by interruptions from the defendant, the process is moving forward with good behavior from Moussaoui. Though he was ejected from the courtroom last Tuesday, Moussaoui returned the next day and has behaved himself according to the warnings of U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema.

Selecting potential jurors has been brisk despite the trial’s location in Alexandria, Virginia, near the Pentagon. Judge Brinkema managed to qualify seven more potential jurors Wednesday morning, bringing the total to 74. She is seeking a pool of 85 which will be reduced March 6 to 12 jurors and six alternates who will decide whether Moussaoui is executed or imprisoned for life, according to an Associated Press article.

Moussaoui’s defense team has argued that the jury will be unfairly biased against their client because of the sheer number of people in Northern Virginia with some connection to the 9/11 attacks. On Wednesday, Judge Brinkema complied with a defense request to eliminate three jurors for bias. The three were a man still in contact with a fellow church member who was burned over 80 percent of his body in al-Qaida's attack on the Pentagon, a man who attended the funeral of a man killed at the World Trade Center because he was the father of a college roommate of the man's wife, and a man whose sister's best friend's son was killed in the World Trade Center. Prosecutor David Novak reacted to the last disqualification by stating, "Now it's a sister's best friend's son?" He argued that many potential jurors suffered 9/11 losses and couldn't all be excluded.

In a separate development, Moussaoui defense lawyers have subpoenaed maverick Congressman Curt Weldon to testify at the trial. The defense claims he has evidence to support their contention that the government knew at least as much about the 9/11 conspiracy as the defendant. Weldon has refused, claiming Congressional immunity as well as reluctance to testify on behalf of a “thug,” according to a New York Times news brief. Moussaoui's defense lawyers said they would continue to pursue Weldon’s testimony through legal channels.

In a written statement to Judge Brinkema, defense lawyer Edward MacMahon restated claims that Weldon has made in a book that he saw a chart the controversial Able Danger unit developed in 1999 [click here for more information on Able Danger] that identified some of the 9/11 hijackers as al-Qaida threats. “It is difficult for the defense to fathom why the Congressman would be eager to discuss these matters on Oprah, yet he would refuse to swear, in a capital case, that the same information is actually true,'' MacMahon is quoted in an Associated Press brief.

VOICES is distributing copies of "Victims and Survivors: Finding Your Way Through Court Proceedings in Federal Death Penalty Cases." The 80-page handbook, compiled by the Institute for Justice and Peacebuilding in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is full of information to help laypeople navigate the complicated process of a federal death penalty case. It has a step-by-step outline of trial proceedings and a helpful glossary of arcane legal terms. "Finding Your Way" is easy to read and a valuable resource for all 9/11 families as the Moussaoui penalty phase approaches. Please email VOICES or call us at (203) 966-3911 and toll-free at (866) 505-3911 to request a copy today at no cost to you. Or download a (PDF) copy directly by clicking here.

On the heels of a harsh Congressional report on the failures in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the White House issued its own “Lessons Learned” report on Wednesday. The White House report acknowledged flaws in the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, and suggests giving federal agencies from the Pentagon to the Department of Justice a greater role in the nation's disaster response playbook. President Bush commented on the report’s release: “We will learn from the lessons of the past to better protect the American people… I wasn't satisfied with the federal response," as quoted in an Associated Press article.

According to a New York Times article, The Homeland Security Department and its Federal Emergency Management Agency will continue to be the lead federal agencies in disaster response efforts, according to the blueprint proposed by President Bush’s Domestic Security advisor Frances Fragos Townsend. But the Pentagon may take over the commanding role during catastrophes "of extraordinary scope and nature," like a nuclear attack or "multiple simultaneous terrorist attacks causing a breakdown in civil society," the report says, citing examples even more extreme than Hurricane Katrina. For a summary of the report, please click here or download the full 228-page (PDF) report.

Senator Joe Lieberman criticized the report for not assigning enough blame for the widespread flaws in the federal response to Katrina: “Only a full understanding of what went wrong and who was responsible will enable us to correct our path for the future,” he said in a statement.

The report criticized DHS sharply, but stopped short of blaming Secretary Michael Chertoff for the failures. Some speculated after the blistering “Failure of Initiative" Report that President Bush might seek Chertoff’s resignation. But the Townsend “Lessons Learned” Report does not call for Chertoff to be replaced, and President Bush has publicly supported his top Security official, according to an Associated Press article.