Obama and Congress Get an 'F' from WMD Commission

Of all of the balls that President Obama and Congress seem to be juggling, the one that may have fallen is preparation for the threat of a bioweapons attack on the homeland. That’s according to a bipartisan panel on weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which gave senior lawmakers a failing grade─literally, an F─for what it claims is the government’s lackluster and incomplete advanced planning. While cautioning that it has no "tactical intelligence" that an attack could be imminent, the panel reported that much more could be done─and gives the price tag of $3.4 billion needed to do it.

When asked for comment by NEWSWEEK's Michael Isikoff, a White House spokesperson called the report “absurd” and claimed Congress and the White House have indeed made steps on the nation’s preparedness policy. The White House also said that, by pure coincidence, Obama will be addressing the issue of domestic terror threats in his State of the Union address tomorrow night.

For the full story on the WMD Comission report and the White House response, visit our Declassified blog.