After 2.5 million pages of documents and over 1,200 witnesses, the 10 members of the bipartisan 9/11 commission unanimously concluded that the United States failed on multiple levels of intelligence. The New York Times (registration required) pointed it out so well by saying:
The terrorists of Sept. 11, 2001, succeeded because the government of the United States — shackled by a mentality and a national-security bureaucracy more appropriate for a bygone cold war era — failed at many levels, the commission investigating the attacks said today as it warned that other, even deadlier attacks are likely.
Thomas H. Kean, the chairman of the commission added, “The most important failure was one of imagination. We do not believe leaders understood the gravity of the threat.” He also pointed out that, “It is not our purpose to assign blame,” but also said that the Clinton and Bush administrations should share blame.
The commission vowed that they would try as hard as they can to see their recommendations implemented. Both major candidates in this year’s presidential election said they would take action. George Bush said he would look over the panels “constructive” recommendations. John Kerry is urging the Bush administration and Congress to come together and implement the recommendations as quickly as possible.
Lee H. Hamilton, the panel’s vice chairman, said a new “National Counterterrorism Center” would unify all intelligence and operations for counterterroism, but also said it would not support the creation of an agency like Britain’s MI5.
It called, too, for creation of a national counterterrorism center that would both unify strategic intelligence-gathering against Islamic terrorists and operational planning against them. But the report emphasizes that the enemy is not Islam, “the great world faith, but a perversion of Islam.” New York Times
The Washington Post elaborates on the point about the Islamic terrorists point and goes on to point out the huge influence of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.
Regarding the prospect of future terrorist attacks, the report says, “The problem is that al Qaeda represents an ideological movement, not a finite group of people. It initiates and inspires, even if it no longer directs. In this way it has transformed itself into a decentralized force. Bin Laden may be limited in his ability to organize major attacks from his hideouts. Yet killing or capturing him, while extremely important, would not end terror. His message of inspiration to a new generation of terrorists would continue.”
The document adds: “The enemy is not Islam . . . but a perversion of Islam. The enemy goes beyond al Qaeda to include the radical ideological movement, inspired in part by al Qaeda, that has spawned other terrorist groups and violence. Thus our strategy must match our means to two ends: dismantling the al Qaeda network and, in the long term, prevailing over the ideology that contributes to Islamic terrorism.”
Vice chairman Lee Hamilton said the “United States must promote an “agenda of opportunity” in impoverished countries, join “the battle of ideas,” so that those regions do not become incubators of future terrorists.” He also said the strategy “must integrate all the elements of national power: diplomacy, intelligence, covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, homeland defense and military strength.”
Some fundamental aspects of life may change. Such things as getting a driver’s license or birth certificate. The panel also said the United States should discuss problems with Saudi Arabia and “build a relationship beyond oil.”
The panel tried to avoid what happened 40 years ago, with the bipartisan panel for John F Kennedy.
In the summer of 1964, the Warren Commission was rushing to finish its work before the presidential election. On Sept. 24, the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren, concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was not part of “any conspiracy, domestic or foreign” when he killed Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. It determined, too, that Jack Ruby acted alone when he shot Oswald in the Dallas police station two days later.
