Columnist Benjamin Grove: Pentagon rebuilt; airport security lagging

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Sept. 6, 2002 | 5:37 a.m.

ONE THING PENTAGON officials learned Sept. 11 is that fleeing workers crawling their way along the floor can't see traditional exit signs through the black smoke of a jet fuel fire.

So in the newly rebuilt west side of the Pentagon, photo-luminescent exit and no-exit signs are now mounted in the hallway baseboards.

Early on, Defense Department officials made no secret of their commitment to rebuild the Pentagon by Sept. 11, 2002 -- and rebuild it well. A determined army of workers toiled furiously to finish the job with time to spare.

The reconstruction program's name, the Phoenix Project, was a reflection of their inspiring commitment to pull the military fortress from the ashes.

This week, you'll see a lot of stories about how the nation's recovery is a long way from over.

You'll hear that U.S. airports, seaports and borders are not yet as secure as they should be. You'll read about gaps that persist in the nation's intelligence network. You may see Army Gen. Tommy Franks repeat that the war on terrorism is still closer to the beginning than the end. A ceremony in New York will show us that the World Trade Center site is still desolate ground.

And there will be much discussion of the American psyche, yet unhealed.

So it is reassuring to know that at least one familiar symbol of American might is completely rebuilt, stronger and better than ever.

Much of the Pentagon reconstruction was completed several months ago. At a June 11 ceremony, workers fitted the final piece of limestone in the building's new facade -- a charred slab culled from the debris. It now bears a simple memorial to 184 lost souls: "September 11, 2001."

Amazingly, a majority of the 4,600 Pentagon workers displaced by the attack will be back at their desks by mid-week. The nation's Defense headquarters is again bustling in many ways.

More than 20,000 workers flood the Pentagon's 17.5 miles of corridors to reach their offices every day. It's often called a small city, complete with its own shopping mall.

President Bush, at a Pentagon ceremony Wednesday, will help mark a moment of silence at 9:37 a.m., when American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into the building last year. Pentagon officials considered holding the anniversary service on a parade ground on the opposite side of the building. But they decided to set up the bleachers right in front of the wall where the plane crashed, in defiance. "The fact we're holding the event at the site where they dared to attack us is a strong signal that yes, you fired a shot and the al-Qaida did a terrible thing," Richard McGraw, the Defense Department official organizing the ceremony, told the Washington Post, "but we're whole, and we're coming to get you."

Sept. 11 may have changed America in some ways, but daily life for many people is largely the same except in one respect: air travel.

Anyone who has flown in the last year knows flying is more of a hassle now. And many say: Good, it should be harder to get onto an airplane.

After the attacks, Congress moved quickly to set a Dec. 31 deadline that requires airports to have new security measures in place, including those minivan-sized explosive detection machines.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Makes sense. Safer is better.

But McCarran hasn't even begun planning the major construction project it will take to reconfigure baggage belts that would whisk our luggage behind the ticket counter and into one of the big machines. The airport is hardly alone. Lots of the nation's largest airports (the attractive ones to terrorists) say they can't get those machines installed in the next three and a half months.

The reaction in Congress, somewhat surprisingly, has been: OK, whatever. The House passed a bill in July pushing the Dec. 31 deadline back an entire year. The Senate may do likewise.

Airport managers are whispering in the ears of lawmakers: "If airports are forced to meet the deadline, we'll swamp passengers with unimaginable lines." The TSA said it would take 1,100 screening machines to zap every bag at the nation's airports, but only one-fifth have been installed.

The issue raises an interesting question as we ponder the Sept. 11 anniversary this week: Just how much hassle are we willing to bear to be safe?

All four of Nevada's congressional lawmakers support delaying the deadline, and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has emerged as a vocal proponent of a postponement. They represent a state that depends on its airports to move tourists in an out of casinos.

Ensign said he'd like to see senators delay the deadline as part of the final agreement on the Homeland Security Department legislation.

It's a little hard to believe that airports still can't meet the new federal guidelines by a date 15 months after the attacks. A number of airports, like Boston's Logan and Los Angeles International, are shunning excuses and working through the logistical and budgetary details to meet the deadline.

But other airports complain that the job is more complicated than it seems. They say the TSA has not been a helpful partner.

If Congress sets a new deadline for the airports, it should be the first and last time the deadlines get moved.

And the airports should stick to them, no excuses.