The 9/11 Commission report [electronic resource] : final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States

Final FM.lpp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page i

THE 9/11

COMMISSION

REPORT

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CONTENTS

List of Illustrations and Tables ix
Member List xi
Staff List xiii—xiv
Preface xv

1. "WE HAVE SOME PLANES" 1

1.1 Inside the Four Flights 1

1.2 Improvising a Homeland Defense 14

1.3 National Crisis Management 35

2. THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM 47

2.1 A Declaration ofWar 47

2.2 Bin Ladin's Appeal in the Islamic World 48

2.3 The Rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda (1988-1992) 55

2.4 Building an Organization, Declaring

War on the United States (1992-1996) 59

2.5 Al Qaeda's Renewal in Afghanistan (1996-1998) 63

3. COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES 71

3.1 From the Old Terrorism to the New:

The First World Trade Center Bombing 71

3.2 Adaptation — and Nonadaptation —

in the Law Enforcement Community 73

3.3 . . . and in the Federal Aviation Administration 82

3.4 . . . and in the Intelligence Community 86

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3.5 . . . and in the State Department and the Defense Department 93

3.6 . . . and in the White House 98

3.7 . . . and in the Congress 102

4. RESPONSES TO AL QAEDA'S INITIAL ASSAULTS 108

4.1 Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania 108

4.2 Crisis: August 1998 115

4.3 Diplomacy 121

4.4 Covert Action 126

4.5 Searching for Fresh Options 134

5. AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND 145

5.1 Terrorist Entrepreneurs 145

5.2 The "Planes Operation" 153

5.3 The Hamburg Contingent 160

5.4 A Money Trail? 169

6. FROM THREAT TO THREAT 174

6.1 The Millennium Crisis 174

6.2 Post-Crisis Reflection: Agenda for 2000 182

6.3 The Attack on the USS Cole 190

6.4 Change and Continuity 198

6.5 The New Administration s Approach 203

7. THE ATTACK LOOMS 215

7.1 First Arrivals in California 215

7.2 The 9/11 Pilots in the United States 223

7.3 Assembling the Teams 231

7.4 Final Strategies and Tactics 241

8. "THE SYSTEM WAS BLINKING RED" 254

8.1 The Summer of Threat 254

8.2 Late Leads — Mihdhar, Moussaoui, and KSM 266

9. HEROISM AND HORROR 278

9.1 Preparedness as of September 11 278

9.2 September 11,2001 285

9.3 Emergency Response at the Pentagon 311

9.4 Analysis 315

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10. WARTIME 325

10.1 Immediate Responses at Home 326

10.2 Planning for War 330

10.3 "Phase Two" and the Question of Iraq 334

11. FORESIGHT— AND HINDSIGHT 339

11.1 Imagination 339

11.2 Policy 348

11.3 Capabilities 350

11.4 Management 353

12. WHAT TO DO? A GLOBAL STRATEGY 361

12.1 Reflecting on a Generational Challenge 361

12.2 Attack Terrorists and Their Organizations 365

12.3 Prevent the Continued Growth of Islamist Terrorism 374

12.4 Protect against and Prepare for Terrorist Attacks 383

13. HOW TO DO IT? A DIFFERENT WAY OF

ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT 399

13.1 Unity of Effort across the Foreign-Domestic Divide 400

13.2 Unity of Effort in the Intelligence Community 407

13.3 Unity of Effort in Sharing Information 416

13.4 Unity of Effort in the Congress 419

13.5 Organizing America s Defenses in the United States 423

Appendix A : Common A bbreviations 429
Appendix B: Table of Names 431
Appendix C: Commission Hearings 439
Notes 449

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P

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
AND TABLES

p. 15 FAA Air Traffic Control Centers

p. 15 Reporting structure, Northeast Air Defense Sector

p. 32—33 Flight paths and timelines

49 Usama Bin Ladin

p. 64 Map of Afghanistan

p. 148 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

p. 238-239 The 9/11 hijackers

p. 279 The World Trade Center Complex as of 9/11

p. 284 The World Trade Center radio repeater system

p. 288 The World Trade Center North Tower stairwell with deviations

p. 312 The Twin Towers following the impact of American Airlines

Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175

p. 313 The Pentagon after being struck by American Airlines Flight 77

p. 313 American Airlines Flight 93 crash site, Shanksville, Pennsylvania

p. 413 Unity of effort in managing intelligence

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Final FM.lpp 7/17/04 5:25 PM Page XX

SlONQN^

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"* UNITS'

COMMISSION
MEMBERS

^~M&^- 7^

Thomas H. Kean

CHAIR

Richard Ben-Veniste

Lee H. Hamilton

VICE CHAIR

Bob Kerrey

Fred E Fielding

John F. Lehman

Jamie S. Gorelick Timothy;). Roemer

Slade Gorton

James R. Thorny/son

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&

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e

COMMISSION
STAFF

Philip Zelikow, Executive Director

Christopher A. Kojm, Deputy Executive Director

Daniel Marcus, General Counsel

Joanne M.Accolla
Staff Assistant
Alexis Albion
Professional Staff Member
Scott H.Allan, Jr.
Counsel

John A. Azzarello
Counsel

Caroline Barnes
Professional Staff Member
Warren Bass
Professional Staff Member
Ann M. Bennett
Information Control Officer
Mark S. Bittinger
Professional Staff Member
Madeleine Blot
Counsel

Antwion M. Blount
Systems Engineer
Sam Brinkley
Professional Staff Member
Geoffrey Scott Brown
Research Assistant
Daniel Byman
Professional Staff Member
Dianna Campagna
Manager of Operations

Samuel M.W. Caspersen
Counsel

Melissa A. Coffey
Staff Assistant
Lance Cole
Consultant

Marquittia L. Coleman
Staff Assistant
Marco A. Cordero
Professional Staff Member
Rajesh De
Counsel

George W. Delgrosso
Investigator

Gerald L. Dillingham
Professional Staff Member
Thomas E. Dowling
Professional Staff Member
Steven M. Dunne
Deputy General Counsel
Thomas R. Eldridge
Counsel
Alice Falk
Editor

John J. Farmer, Jr.
Senior Counsel & Team Leader
Alvin S. Felzenberg
Deputy for Communications

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COMMISSION STAFF

Lorry M. Fenner
Professional Staff Member
Susan Ginsburg
Senior Counsel & Team Leader
T. Graham Giusti
Security Officer
Nicole Marie Grandrimo
Professional Staff Member
Douglas N. Greenburg
Counsel

Barbara A. Grewe
Senior Counsel, Special Projects
Elinore Flynn Hartz
Family Liaison
Leonard R. Hawley
Professional Staff Member
L. Christine Healey
Senior Counsel & Team Leader
Karen Heitkotter
Executive Secretary
Walter T. Hemp el II
Professional Staff Member
C. Michael Hurley
Senior Counsel & Team Leader
Dana J. Hyde
Counsel

John W Ivicic
Security Officer
Michael N.Jacobson
Counsel

Hunter W. Jamerson
Intern

Bonnie D.Jenkins
Counsel

Reginald F.Johnson
Staff Assistant
R.William Johnstone
Professional Staff Member
Stephanie L. Kaplan
Special Assistant & Managing Editor
Miles L. Kara, Sr.
Professional Staff Member
Janice L. Kephart
Counsel
Hyon Kim
Counsel

Katarzyna Kozaczuk
Financial Assistant
Gordon Nathaniel Lederman
Counsel

Daniel J. Leopold
Staff Assistant
Sarah Webb Linden
Professional Staff Member
Douglas J. MacEachin
Professional Staff Member & Team Leader
Ernest R. May
Senior Adviser
Joseph McBride
Intern

James Miller
Professional Staff Member
Kelly Moore
Professional Staff Member
Charles M. Pereira
Professional Staff Member
John Raidt
Professional Staff Member
John Roth

Senior Counsel & Team Leader
Peter Rundlet
Counsel

Lloyd D. Salvetti
Professional Staff Member
Kevin J. Scheid

Professional Staff Member &Team Leader
Kevin Shaeffer
Professional Staff Member
Tracy J. Shycoff

Deputy for Administration & Finance
Dietrich L. Snell
Senior Counsel & Team Leader
Jonathan DeWees Stull
Communications Assistant
Lisa Marie Sullivan
Staff Assistant
Quinn John Tamm, Jr.
Professional Staff Member
Catharine S.Taylor
Staff Assistant
Yo el To bin
Counsel

Emily Landis Walker
Professional Staff Member & Family Liaison
Garth Wermter
Senior IT Consultant
Serena B.Wille
Counsel
Peter Yerkes
Public Affairs Assistant