Chapter 1 and 2 questions
For Wednesday Jan. 10: Read the first 2 chapters
Chapter 1 details the story of the 4 planes—“We have some planes..”
What is the meaning of the title?
What issues are raised by the way in which the Commission has uncovered this chronology?
Note the conclusions of the Commission at the end; how would you generalize the Commission’s conclusions?
What additional questions to you have?
Chapter 2 “The Foundation of New Terrorism”
This is an introduction to Osama (Usama) Bin Laden
Identify his role in the Soviet-Afghanistan War.
What was his role in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War?
What was his role in the Sudan? In the African Embassy bombings?
What was his role in Afghanistan in 1996-1998?
In class we will watch the beginning of 9/11 Press For Truth, which explains the push to create the 9/11 Commission.
The members of the Commission were:
* Thomas Kean (Chairman) - Republican, former Governor of New Jersey
* Lee H. Hamilton (Vice Chairman) - Democrat, former U.S. Representative from the 9th District of Indiana
* Richard Ben-Veniste - Democrat, attorney, former chief of the Watergate Task Force of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office
* Fred F. Fielding - Republican, attorney and former White House Counsel
* Jamie Gorelick - Democrat, former Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton Administration
* Slade Gorton - Republican, former U.S. Senator from Washington
* Bob Kerrey - Democrat, President of the New School University and former U.S. Senator from Nebraska
* John F. Lehman - Republican, former Secretary of the Navy
* Timothy J. Roemer - Democrat, former U.S. Representative from the 3rd District of Indiana
* James R. Thompson - Republican, former Governor of Illinois
The members of the Commission's staff included:
* The Commission's Executive Director was Philip D. Zelikow, and the Deputy Executive Director was Christopher Kojm. Daniel Marcus was the General Counsel.
* Al Felzenberg served as the commission's spokesman.[1]
Created in late 2002, the commission issued its final report on July 22, 2004.
Chapter 3-13 questions
3. Counterterrorism Evolves
World Trade Center bombing of Feb. 26, 1993—how was it viewed?
Note the different agencies which dealt with terrorism and the separation between them
What were the basic problems with the U.S. approach to counterterrorism?
4. Responses to Al Qaeda’s Initial Assaults
1997—Recognition of Bin Laden’s military planning
1998—Attack on US embassies in Africa
Why did the US not act against Bin Laden at this time?
How did the US seek to use the Northern Alliance?
5. Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland
Introduction of the architect of the 9/11 plan—Khalid Sheikh Mohammad
Identification of other Al Qaeda members
Development of the Planes operation choosing of the initial targets and suicide operatives
Development of the Hamburg group
6. From Threat to Threat
What did the Clinton administration try to do about terrorism?
Clinton’s authorization to the CIA; report of Principals Committee of May 2000
Was Pakistan any help in getting rid of Bin Laden?
Again, note internal disputes
Significance of the attack on the USS Cole
Result of investigation
Bush takes office—What were the proposals made by Richard Clarke?
Note that each person says about the identification of Bin Laden as a terrorist threat:
Bush; Rice; Berger; Clarke
Why did Bush decide not to retaliate against the attack on the Cole?
7. The Attack Looms
First hijackers in US—why they didn’t work out
Arrival of Hamburg group—how did they operate; organization of teams→qualities of recruits
FBI speculation—Al Qaeda might have directed other extremists in Phoenix to enroll in aviation training
(Mohammad Atta meeting with Iraqi in Prague not substantiated)
Final training of the summer of 2001—decisions on how to take over plane; how to set the date
Assassination of Massoud (Northern Alliance) 9/9 and Taliban offensive against Northern Alliance (10/10)
8. The System Was Blinking Red
Richard Clarke’s warnings
Briefing of August 6, 2001
Was there any extra security as a result of these threats?
Problem of CIA and FBI coordinating information
Arrest of Moussaoui
Problem connecting KSM and Mukhtar
9. Heroism and Horror
(You might read the analysis at the end of the chapter first)
Significance of WTC bombing of Feb. 26, 1993
First response when Plane hits South Tower and reactions in North Tower
Collapse of towers
Emergency response at Pentagon
Note the analysis at the end
10. Wartime
Note where Bush is taken after leaving Florida
What were the immediate responses?
What were the roles of different people in the administration in planning and carrying out war against Afghanistan?
War council: Cheney (VP); Powell (State); Rumsfeld (Defense); Generals Shelton and Meyers; Tenet (CIA); Ashcroft (Attorney General); Mueller (FBI)
Note: The difference between Powell and Rumsfeld
Result of meeting with Pakistani officials on Sept. 13
How did the administration deal with the question of Iraq (Note comment about Wolfowitz, assistant Defense secretary)
Attack on Afghanistan and result
(Look at the last line of the chapter….how did this happen????)
11. Foresight—and Hindsight
How does the commission find balance?
Failure of imagination
Failure in policy
Failure in capabilities
Failure in management
(Is the 9/11 Commission too balanced? Do they fail to ask the hard questions?)
12. What To Do? A Global Strategy
Reflecting on generation al change
Attack terrorists and their organizations
Prevent the continued growth of Islamist terrorism
Recommendations on p. 119
Protect against and prepare for terrorist
Video links
Some links about the 9/11 Commission Report
The story of the decision to create the graphic adaptation of the 9/11 Commission Report on NPR’s Talk of the Nation:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=569097
On Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers on NPR’s Morning Edition; he explains his “scrambled state of mind” after 9/11:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=3908199
Why In the Shadow of No Towers is having a hard time reaching readers; an interview of its significance with Art Spiegelman:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1290481
How the 9/11 Commission completed its work; on the book Without Precedent:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5657369
Bush and The Pet Goat:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/911/bush-911.htm
Contrast between the news reports (CNN and Fox) and Bush’s Actions between 9:00 and 9:30 on 9/11
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5752277067931547109&q=bush+9%2F11
9/11: Press For Truth (The story of the push for an independent commission by a group of 9/11 widows and their disappointment with the findings of the commission.)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5589099104255077250
(Based on the Complete 9/11 Timeline of Paul Thompson: http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/project.jsp?project=911_project
“September 11th as it happened”
ABC; FOX; CNN
http://youtube.com
Fahrenheit 9/11
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6387831398516462334&q=fahrenheit+9%2F11
Ann Coulter on 9/11 Widows http://youtube.com/watch?v=4xv05FK69KU (at 5:00)
Loose Change (for you conspiracy freaks!)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7866929448192753501