NCJ Number
206230
Date Published
2004
Length
585 pages
Annotation
This report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States fulfills its mandate to investigate "facts and circumstances relating to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001," including those relating to intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, diplomacy, immigration issues and border control, the flow of assets to terrorist organizations, commercial aviation, the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation, and other areas determined by the Commission to be relevant to its mandate.
Abstract
In fulfilling its charge, the Commission held 19 days of hearings and took public testimony from 160 witnesses. Background information is provided on the evolution of al Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Ladin, with attention to its reasons for declaring war on the United States, the building of its organization, its appeal in the Islamic world, and the evolution of its tactics. The chronology and methods of al Qaeda are traced, along with U.S. responses to al Qaeda's threats and attacks on various U.S. targets prior to September 11. Details are provided on the various planning stages and terrorist personnel movements and activities leading up to the September 11 attacks. Attention is given to the relevant intelligence information known to various U.S. Federal agencies and the failures of interagency information sharing and coordinated action that might have provided a more effective defense against the September 11 attacks. The report concludes with chapters on a global strategy to counter Islamist terrorism and recommendations for reorganizing the Federal Government to facilitate better sharing of intelligence information, improve the Nation's defenses against terrorism, and increase congressional oversight of homeland security. The recommended global strategy involves a broad political-military commitment to attack terrorists and their organizations, prevent the continued growth of Islamist terrorism, and protect against and prepare for terrorist attacks. Recommendations for the reorganization of the Federal Government to achieve a more effective counterterrorism effort are to unify strategic intelligence and operational planning against Islamist terrorists across the foreign-domestic divide with a National Counterterrorism Center; unify the intelligence community with a new National Intelligence Director; unify the participants in the counterterrorism effort and their knowledge in a network-based, information-sharing system that transcends traditional governmental boundaries; unify and strengthen congressional oversight to improve quality and accountability; and strengthen the FBI and homeland defenders. Chapter notes