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THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT

Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT EDITION

CIRCUMSTANCES LEADING UP TO 9/11 o From 1993 to 2000, the FAA was primarily concerned with passenger safety, rather than counter terrorism measures o 1997, Vice President Gore led commission into the safety of commercial Aviation; hijackings were never considered a major threat to security o In 1993, the port authority of New York constructed an evacuation plan for the twin towers after the bombing o The NYPD and the FDNY created the office of Emergency Managements in the WTC o NYPD and FDNY never prepared for a full scale terrorist attack and never trained together o There was serious miscommunication during duties in the event of an attack o In Washington D.C., however, emergency response was coordinated due to frequent drills o Civilian and military air controls had little to no contract and could not cooperate to track down or intercept rouge planes o United States supported Mujahedeen in Afghanistan against the soviets Trained and supplied Osama Bin Laden o United States supported the Taliban because it was pro-western even though they suppressed their people o During 1st Gulf war, AL-Qaeda opposed American intervention o 1993 Ramsi Yusuf orchestrated the World Trade Center bombing o FBI led an investigation that successfully incriminated Bin in the plot o The Taliban, after the collapse of the Soviet Union became steadily more anti-American o The majority of Muslims does not and did not support the radical interpretation of Islam preached by AL-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda existed in the tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan since the 1989 Soviet Retreat. o Al-Qaeda perpetrated the U.S.S. Cole and Nairobi bombings as trial runs for a larger scheme orchestrated by Yusuf. Yusuf also blew up Philippine Airlines to test his bombs o Twenty hijackers got work visas through Canada to enter the United States o Four of them received a commercial pilots license o By early 2001, these terrorists were autonomous from the heads of AlQaeda. They armed themselves with box cutters and knives o Upon the analysis of several expert testimonies, it is the conclusion of this committee that the primary failure by proper authorities to take initiative with presented intelligence was the primary factor that allowed America to be attacked. It is this shortcoming that will be primarily analyzed in determining what led up to 9/11. o After speaking with prominent experts on terrorism and intelligence gathering, substantial evidence was found that there was sufficient intelligence available to allow preventable measures to have been taken. Tenet outlines, in great detail, his CTC operations, which had the primary

objective of penetrating Afghan sanctuaries against Bin Laden and other top Al-Qaeda officials. Although we cannot release details, we can confirm that the CIA had successfully planed people deep within Al-Qaedas network, both near high-ranking terrorists and in positions of trust. Throughout his testimony, Mr. Tenet insisted that the attacks were not the fault of the CIA. In addition to penetrating Bin-Ladens network, these black operations led to the development of the Predator Drone. The Predator Drone helped us track and father high-resolution photos of Bin-Laden and other highranking officials. CTC sought to expand the project by attacking Hellfire missiles to the drones; unfortunately, the projects budget was cut under Bushs administration. Also giving testimony was Richard Clarke, who served as a counter terrorism expert under both Clinton and Bush, with a history of serving under both presidents, she was able to give us a very concise comparison between the two administrations. Upon analyzing his testimony, the committee concluded that the Clinton Administration had been more successful and aggressive in its counter terrorism efforts. Clarke insisted that, under the Clinton Administration, Bin-Laden had been the #1 priority. Under Bush, he had been taken less urgently. Clarke specifically outlines the Dillenda Plan, which Clinton had been behind, but had not been as heavily advocated by Bush. Clarke made it clear that he felt Bush had not taken Al-Qaeda seriously before 9/11, and had been less than willing to address the issue. Upon analysis of the Bush and Cheney testimony, they were deemed less than valid. They provided no information that was not already known, and even went as far as to avoid questions, and downright refused to answer questions of select committee members. In conclusion, it is the opinion of this committee that our intelligence committee performed honorably, and the ultimate issue was a lack of initiative taken by those who had the authority and responsibility to do so.

OFFICIAL ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED o September 11, 2001- America under attack o U.S. Government did not respond quickly enough FAA could not notify the government and military in time for them to prevent the attacks o These government agencies did not know that these hijackings were terrorist attacks until just before the attacks, but just typical hostage situation. However, curiosity arose once transponders were turned off o North Tower was hit at 8:46 a.m. American 11 (hijacking began at 8:14) o First responders in the area were brave and quick to act. Began saving lives in minutes Rudy Giuliani o Fear, panic, and curiosity across the nation

o South Tower hit at 9:03 a.m. United 175 was hijacked at 8:42 a.m. o President George W. Bush was in a first grade classroom reading to children when he received news from one of his aides A second plane hit the second tower. America is under attack o Rudy Giuliani, mayor at the time and in lock down, issued a state of emergency. The fact that this was a terrorist attack was instilled in the hearts of all Americans. o The FDNY and NYPD, working independently but acting in conjunction remained on the scene, trying to save lives o Reports claim people in the building were on fire and jumping out of windows o A testimony from NYFD Firefighter Tim Brown claims that people were stuck in elevators, essentially being cooked under the extreme head in the elevator shaft. o This was quickly escalating to the most severe attack on U.S. civilians in U.S History o At 9:26 a.m., the FAA issues an order to land all 4,500 flights in the air at the time for security purposes. The FAA also tried to notify the White House and military leaders, but the notification was delayed while it was moving up the chain of command at the FAA o At 9:37 am, American 77 crashed into the Pentagon. The American 77 Black Box recorded that the flight was en route to Reagan National Airport via autopilot. 189 people died in this crash, 54 of which were on the plane. o At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, creating somewhat of a dust and smoke bowl. One testimony claimed that the wind from this dust bowl reached 70-75 mph and lasted around four minutes. The building fell straight downward due to the unique design that reinforced external supports, thus shifted the buildings forces towards its center, essentially caving in on itself o At 10:02, United 93 crashed into a cornfield in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It is believed that the plane was attempting to crash into either the White House or the Capitol Building. The plane was hijacked at 9:28 a.m. and many brave passengers who had already heard of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, valiantly revolted and forced the plane down. The impact of the crash left a crater 8-10 feet deep and 30-50 feet wide. All 44 passengers, including the hijackers, were killed in the crash. The black box of the plane was recovered on September 13th, 2001 and recorded the voice of Captain Jason Dahl shouting Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! o Finally, at 10:28 AM, the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, creating another large dust bowl that swept through the city. Many surrounding buildings were destroyed. This included Buildings 1-6 of the World Trade Center.

o The largest problem that prevented adequate response on 9/11 was communication between agencies that responded to the 9/11 attacks NYPD and NYPD Did not communication well on the day of the attacks. The NYPD was more organized internally, but failed to adequately organize with the NYFD during the attacks FBI and CIA There is little to no exchange of domestic and international threats between the two agencies. Their rivalry must cease because their sense of their own duties prevented the two agencies from executing actions to a required extent NYPD/FDNY and NYC Government There was no government issued plan in regards to such an emergency. Mayor Giuliani called for an order to save the lives of the first responders by relocating them, but it was not followed FBI/CIA and National Government The FBI and CIA typically acted independent of direct federal order. The government needs to be more actively involved in FBI/CIA initiatives to prevent something like this in the future. FAA Communication within the FAA itself was a problem. The requirement for information to move up the chain of command delayed the call to land all planes until 9:26 a.m. The FAA only prepared for hostage situations; they were clueless when the planes transponders were turned off. FBI There is no communication between the 56 FBI regional branches

IMMEDIATE REACTIONS o The DEFCON level was elevated from 5 to 3 o NORAD ordered the ground stop of every flight originating or ending in the United States o Air Force jets were scrambled nationwide with shoot down orders on any airplane not following its flight orders to land o All incoming flights were diverted to Canada in operation Eagle Assist o Air traffic resumed on the 13th of September o On September 18th, congress approved president Bushs declaration of war on Afghanistan o Sky scrapers across the nation were evacuated o In October, Operation Enduring Freedom commenced and the U.S. toppled the Taliban regime

o Article 5, the collective defense clause of the Atlantic Charter was invoked. As a result, NATO nations were called on to assist the U.S. Mission in Afghanistan as the ISAF o In October, the USA Patriot Act was passed giving the government expansive new powers o Department of Homeland Security established

POST 9/11 REACTIONS o Government In response to the terrorist attacks facilitated by extremist groups, namely Al-Qaeda, the United States has adopted the following: September 18th, 2001- The United States waged war against Afghanistan o Intel determined the Afghanistan government, the Taliban, was aiding and housing Al-Qaeda efforts o The stated goal of the US is to dismantle the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and eliminate the use of Afghanistan as a base o A secondary goal is to remove the Taliban regime from power and create a democratic state The Patriot Act On October 26th, 2001, President Bush signed the Patriot Act The Act enables the government to search electronic communications of any citizens to further the security of the United States The act was created to increase information quality to government agencies, involving possible terrorist acts against the nation This act has caused great concern as many question its constitutionality One benefit of this is it has allowed the development of 9/11 for victims families It was able to expand the Secretary of Treasurys position It has made deporting immigrants of suspected terrorism easier, including domestic terrorism According to Tom Ridge, it was created to keep a good balance of personal rights and national security Tom Ridge also claims that in a safer time there may be no need for the act in the future Guantanamo Bay In an attempt to prevent future developments of Al-Qaeda and similar extremist groups, the detention camp Guantanamo Bay was establish to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and Iraq

Located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Prisoners held are enemy combatants under reasonable suspicion for engaging in terrorist activity The Iraqi War In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration was immediately suspicious of Saddam Hussein. On September 12, 2001, President Bush and then counter terrorism advisor, Richard Clarke, attempted to find a link between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda. The investigation brought no connections. The United States established a coalition consisting of themselves, Britain, Italy, Australia, and South Korea. On March 18, 2003, the United States declared war on Iraq. The war began with a bombing campaign and then escalated to a deployment of 256,000 ground troops. Two coalition forces now control Baghdad. Bush justified the invasion of Iraq with claims that Saddam had access to WMD and was unwilling to allow inspectors to confirm these suspicions. Bush states that Saddam was harboring, funding, and training terrorists along with assisting tin the planning of the 9/11 attacks. However, there remains a controversy over these claims as no evidence has arisen to validate these claims despite U.S. forces control this capital of Iraq Homeland Security On November 25, 2002, the United States Government formed the Department of Homeland Security. The main purpose of this organization is to increase cooperation and protection of the United States. This was created in response to the 9/11 attacks, and felt that this would help in preventing a future attack Now the department runs immigration and nationalization This department has created a threat level system to alert the public of current nations security The department will continue with its main purpose of protecting our nation from attacks, accidents, and natural disasters o Civilians $250,000 for each family of those who died in 9/11. $50,000 for each dependant Provide proper and adequate healthcare for all family members of the victims of 9/11 Provide extra benefits to civil workers (police, fire department, etc) who worked on the attack. Such as $20,000 and care for mental health issues (PTSD, etc.)

To owners whose property was damaged, all damages were fully paid by insurance companies

SECURITY RECOMMENDATIONS o Foreign Policy The United States pledges to rebuild Afghanistan to prevent a collapse into a haven for Al Qaeda and the Taliban Confirm and ascertain the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and neutralize said threat, if confirmed to exist Continue sanctions against known states sponsors of terrorism Introduce resolutions to security conceal regarding a multilateral approach to destabilizing all extremist cells. o Intelligence Unify 56 autonomous FBI divisions in order to prevent failings in effective communication and intelligence fathering Work with and pool intel with foreign intelligence agencies The FBI, CIA, and other domestic intelligence agencies must share information in order to form a more coherent and coordinated flow of information o National Security Requests Department of Homeland Security to work with the officers of Emergency Management in the 20 largest cities in the nation to unify medical, police and fire department services to minimize redundancy and increase efficiency in responding to threats Integrate commercial radar with NORAD military radar to allow tracking of all planes deviating from flight paths or displaying erratic behavior, to be tracked by the Air Force, enabling jet intercepts to scramble with instant readiness. Communication between administrations in the executive branch must be improved Recommends security officials be retained in new administration for at least 6 months to allow full debriefing and prevent lapses in information and readiness. o Administration To give local city departments increased voice and authority when dealing with imminent threats within their borders To take all possible threats seriously and investigate each serious threat before neglecting it o Infrastructural Recommendations Insure proper and efficient civilian information distribution by: Implementing and refining policy in relation to activation of the emergency alert system Informing civilians properly and efficiently/expediently in all cases of homeland attacks/emergencies

The above recommendations will reduce ground-level and civil chaos and disorder and ensure a safer and more knowledgeable civilian population emergency reducing casualties in disasters Ensure a secure national infrastructure by implementing emergency lockdown and failsafe processes

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