Washington ? The effort to protect Americans from terrorism “appears to have waned” since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as both the government and its citizens worry more about the latest disaster or health crisis, a federal commission says.

In calling for the government to refocus on anti-terrorism efforts, the advisory panel, chaired by former Virginia Gov. and Republican Party Chairman James Gilmore, also called for an independent board to make sure that efforts to monitor suspected terrorists didn’t infringe on Americans’ civil liberties.

The report issued Monday was the last of five by the nonpartisan panel created by Congress in 1998. L. Paul Bremer was a member until he was named the U.S. Iraq administrator, as was Donald Rumsfeld until he became defense secretary. The commission, whose efforts were supported by the Rand Corp. think tank, is to go out of business early next year.

Events such as Hurricane Isabel last September and the current flu epidemic have diverted government’s attention from anti-terrorism efforts, said the commission, officially known as the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction.

“Americans have very short-term memories,” said commission vice chairman George Foresman, deputy director of Virginia’s office of preparedness. “People are dealing with the reality of their lives today. This country doesn’t do a good job at looking to the future and remembering the past.”

Commission members outlined several problems: The Homeland Security Department is trying to merge 22 agencies. Federal officials have not given clear directions to state and local governments on what they need to do in the anti-terrorism effort. And the private sector, which owns many power plants, the nation’s commercial airfleet and other critical elements of the infrastructure, needs to be brought into the planning.

“The momentum appears to have waned as people, businesses and governments react to the uncertainties in combating terrorism and to the challenge of creating a unified enterprise,” the report said.

The panel also said government should balance the threat of terrorism with protections for civil liberties. It called for an independent, bipartisan board to make sure that techniques used to fight terrorism, such as using military satellites, allowing law enforcement authorities to monitor lawful protests, and following suspects through computer databases and traffic cameras, were not also used to spy on Americans.

“We are expressing concern and a simple warning that this must be constantly thought about,” Gilmore said. “We should not fall into the pattern of suggesting that the freedoms of the American people should be traded off for their security.”