NCJ Number
206229
Date Published
2004
Length
31 pages
Annotation
This Executive Summary presents the findings and the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission’s investigation into the events of September 11, 2001.
Abstract
The events of September 11, 2001 are described. Over 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center that morning; another 125 died at the Pentagon and 256 died on the 4, planes. The attack was perpetrated by 19 young Arabs acting at the behest of Islamic extremists. The report outlines what was known about the threat of terrorism before the September 11th attacks occurred, tracing the flow of intelligence back to the World Trade Center bombing of February 1993. The time period between 1998 through September 11, 2001, is considered a key time because the August 1998 bombings of the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania established al Qaeda as a threat to the United States. The report traces the organization of the terrorist effort and the United States response to the al Qaeda threat, which included both the Clinton and Bush administrations. The response to the September 11th attacks in New York and Virginia is reviewed and a list of nine operational failures is presented, including the failure to follow-up on the location of two suspects in the United States and the failure to recognize tampered visa applications and passports. The general findings of the report point to failures of imagination, policy, capabilities, and management. Specific findings indicate problems within the intelligence community, unsuccessful diplomacy efforts from 1997 through 2001, lack of military options to deal with the emerging terrorist threat, problems within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, permeable borders and immigration controls, permeable aviation security, problems tracking the financing of the terrorists, an improvised homeland defense and emergency response, and a weakened congressional committee. Eight recommendations are offered, which are divided into two groups: (1) what to do and (2) how to do it. The 9/11 Commission recommends a global strategy to fight terrorism that includes attacking terrorists and their organizations, suppressing the growth of terrorist groups, and preventing and preparing for future terrorist attacks. These goals can be accomplished through a unity of purpose and effort that includes the interagency sharing of information, the appointment of a National Intelligence Director, and the development a National Terrorism Center, and an improved organization of America’s homeland defenses.