REPORT

¶THE 9/11

REPORT

CONTENTS

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

1. "WE HAVE SOME PLANES"

1.1 Inside the Four Flights 1 1.2 Improvising a Homeland Defense 14 1.3 National Crisis Management 35

THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM

2.1 A Declaration of War 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

COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES

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

RESPONSES TO AL QAEDA'S INITIAL ASSAULTS

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

AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND

5.1 Terrorist Entrepreneurs 145 5.2 The "Planes Operation" 153 5.3 The Hamburg Contingent 160 5.4 A Money Trail? 169

FROM THREAT TO THREAT

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

THE ATTACK LOOMS

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"

8.1 The Summer of Threat 254 8.2 Late Leads—Mihdhar, Moussaoui, and KSM 266

HEROISM AND HORROR

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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WARTIME

10.1 Immediate Responses at Home 326 10.2 Planning for War 330 10.3 "Phase Two" and the Question of Iraq 334

FORESIGHT—AND HINDSIGHT

11.1 Imagination 339 11.2 Policy 348 11.3 Capabilities 350 11.4 Management 353

WHAT TO DO? A GLOBAL STRATEGY

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

HOW TO DO IT? A DIFFERENT WAY OF ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT

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 Abbreviations 429 Appendix B:Table of Names 431