Commission Report 911

Final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States.

Gain a firsthand account of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks' methods and actions as 9/11 Commission Report with Related Documents walks you through the drafting process despite the bitter political divisions surrounding the commission.

The eagerly awaited release of The 9/11 Commission Report has caused an avalanche of press coverage, but nearly all of the media commentary has omitted one important attribute of this instant bestseller: its readability. For once, our government has produced a report designed for the public that it purports to serve. By comparison, the Starr Commission Report was a confusing hodgepodge cobbled together for lawyer clones, and the Warren Commission Report resembled a hastily constructed mountain of data. By contrast, The 9/11 Commission Report is a model of narrative clarity. Reading it, one gains a better sense of every stage and dimension of these truly terrifying events; from the rise of Bin Laden and Al Qaeda to the collapse of the World Trade Center and its aftermath. Like a full-throttled detective story thrust into real life, it renders the near misses and muffed opportunities that enabled the plot to reach fruition. With sensationalizing or overgeneralizing, the report s authors have given us a document that illuminates the planning and possible countermeasures to these terrible acts. Every American should read this book: After all, we are its target audience and its sponsors. R. N. Wilson

Publisher description

The untold story of how the 9/11 Commission overcame partisanship and bureaucracy to produce its acclaimed report. From the beginning, the 9/11 Commission found itself facing obstacles — the Bush administration blocked its existence for months, the first co-chairs resigned right away, the budget was limited, and a polarized Washington was suspicious of its every request. Yet despite these long odds, the Commission produced a bestselling report unanimously hailed for its objectivity, along with a set of recommendations that led to the most significant reform of America’s national security agencies in decades. This is a riveting insider’s account of Washington at its worst — and its best.

How can the United States avoid a future surprise attack on the scale of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, in an era when such devastating attacks can come not only from nation states, but also from terrorist groups or cyber enemies? Intelligence and Surprise Attack examines why surprise attacks often succeed even though, in most cases, warnings had been available beforehand. Erik J. Dahl challenges the conventional wisdom about intelligence failure, which holds that attacks succeed because important warnings get lost amid noise or because intelligence officials lack the imagination and collaboration to “connect the dots” of available information. Comparing cases of intelligence failure with intelligence success, Dahl finds that the key to success is not more imagination or better analysis, but better acquisition of precise, tactical-level intelligence combined with the presence of decision makers who are willing to listen to and act on the warnings they receive from their intelligence staff. The book offers a new understanding of classic cases of conventional and terrorist attacks such as Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Midway, and the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The book also presents a comprehensive analysis of the intelligence picture before the 9/11 attacks, making use of new information available since the publication of the 9/11 Commission Report and challenging some of that report’s findings.

Executive summary of the 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 relevant by the Commission.

The most comprehensive account to date of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and aftermath, this volume includes unprecedented details on the impact on the Pentagon building and personnel and the scope of the rescue, recovery, and caregiving effort. It features 32 pages of photographs and more than a dozen diagrams and illustrations not previously available.