The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United StatesIt has, improbably, been called uncommonly lucid, even riveting by The New York Times, and it was a finalist for the 2004 National Book Awards nonfiction honor. It is a literally chilling read, especially in its minute-by-minute description of the events of the morning of 9/11 inside the Twin Towers.It is The 9/11 Commission Report, which was, before its publication, perhaps one of the most anticipated government reports of all time, and has been since an unlikely bestseller. The official statement by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States-which was instituted in late 2002 and chaired by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean-it details what went wrong on that day (such as intelligence failures), what went right (the heroic response of emergency services and self-organizing civilians), and how to avert similar future attacks.Highlighting evidence from the day, from airport surveillance footage of the terrorists to phone calls from the doomed flights, and offering details that have otherwise gone unheard, this is an astonishing firsthand document of contemporary history. While controversial in parts-it has been criticized for failing to include testimony from key individuals, and it completely omits any mention of the mysterious collapse of WTC 7-it is nevertheless an essential record of one of the most transformational events of modern times. |
Contents
THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM | 47 |
COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES | 71 |
RESPONSES TO AL QAEDAS INITIAL ASSAULTS | 108 |
AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND | 145 |
FROM THREAT TO THREAT | 174 |
THE ATTACK LOOMS | 215 |
THE SYSTEM WAS BLINKING RED | 254 |
HEROISM AND HORROR | 278 |
WARTIME | 325 |
FORESIGHTAND HINDSIGHT | 339 |
WHAT TO DO? A GLOBAL STRATEGY | 361 |
HOW TO DO IT? A DIFFERENT WAY | 399 |
Common Abbreviations | 429 |
Commission Hearings | 439 |
Notes | 449 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abu Zubaydah Afghanistan agencies agents aircraft airport al Qaeda Atta attack Aviation Battalion bombing Chief CIA analytic report CIA's Civilian interview Condoleezza Rice counterterrorism Defense Department Deputy detainee Director DOJ Inspector evacuation FBI electronic communication FBI report FDNY interview George Tenet Ghamdi Hambali Hanjour Hazmi and Mihdhar hijackers Ibid Intelligence report interrogation of Khallad interrogation of KSM interview Apr interview Dec interview Jan interview Oct Islamic Jarrah July June KSM's Ladin meeting military Moussaoui Muslim National Security NEADS NORAD North Tower NSC email NSC memo NYPD NYPD interview officers operation Pakistan PAPD Penttbom plane Port Authority President Bush President Clinton Qaeda report of investigation response Rice Saudi Arabia Sept September 11 Shehhi Taliban targets Tenet terrorism terrorist threat tion told transcript U.S. government United 93 Usama Bin Ladin visa White House World Trade Center