The 9/11 Commision Report with Related Documents (Bedford Series in History and Culture)

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 left Americans wondering how such a breach of security could have occurred. Relatives and friends of the victims pushed for the creation of a National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States to investigate the government's preparedness for and response to the attacks and to provide recommendations for preventing future disasters. As Senior Advisor to the 9/11 Commission, Ernest R. May provides students with a firsthand account of the commission's methods and actions. His introduction, which describes the drafting process and the collaboration of the commissioners despite the bitter political divisions surrounding them, allows students to view the report as an historical document. The report itself has been carefully abridged for the classroom while preserving the essence of the complete version. A cast of characters, a glossary of political acronyms, a chronology, a selected bibliography, and questions for consideration make this edition ideal for students.

ERNEST R. MAY is Charles Warren Professor of History at Harvard University, where he has served as dean of Harvard College, associate dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences, director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, chair of the history department, and director of the Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History. In 1988 he won the Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Contributing to World Order and in 2001 the American Historical Association's Distinguished Scholar Award. His most recent books include Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France (2000) and The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis (1997).

  Foreword

  Preface

    

PART ONE. INTRODUCTION

    Cast of Characters

    The Politics of the 9/11 Era

    The Creation of the Commission

    Battles between the Commission and the Administration

    Media Events

    The Report

    Shortcomings

    

PART TWO. THE DOCUMENT: THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT

    Preface

  1. "We Have Some Planes"

    Inside the Four Flights

    Improvising a Homeland Defense

    National Crisis Management

    

  2. The Foundation of the New Terrorism

    A Declaration of War

    Bin Ladin's Appeal in the Islamic World

    The Rise of Bin Ladin and Al Qaeda (1988–1992)

    Al Qaeda's Renewal in Afghanistan (1996–1998)

    

  3. Counterterrorism Evolves

    From the Old Terrorism to the New: The First World Trade Center Bombing

    Adaptation — and Nonadaptation — in the Law Enforcement Community

    …and in the Intelligence Community

    …and in the State Department and the Defense Department

    …and in the White House

    …and in the Congress

    

  4. Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults

    Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania

    Crisis: August 1998

    Covert Action

    Searching for Fresh Options

    

  5. Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland

    Terrorist Entrepreneurs

    The "Planes" Operation

    The Hamburg Contingent

    

  6. From Threat to Threat

    The Millennium Crisis

    Post-Crisis Reflection: Agenda for 2000

    The Attack on the U.S.S. Cole

    Change and Continuity

    The New Administration's Approach

    

  7. The Attack Looms

    First Arrivals in California

    The 9/11 Pilots in the United States

    Assembling the Teams

    

  8. "The System Was Blinking Red"

    The Summer of Threat

    

  9. Heroism and Horror

    

  10. Wartime

    Immediate Responses at Home

    Planning for War

    "Phase Two" and the Question of Iraq

    

  11. Foresight — and Hindsight

    Imagination

    Policy

    Capabilities

    Management

    

  12. What to Do? A Global Strategy

    

  13. How to Do It? A Different Way of Organizing Government

    

  Appendixes

    Glossary of Acronyms

    A 9/11 Chronology

    Questions for Consideration

    Selected Bibliography

    

  Index