Skip to main content
CNN.com International
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON TV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Inside Politics

9/11 panel: U.S. was 'struggling' against terror threat

Excerpts from Staff Report 11 on the intelligence community


story.911.staff.jpg
Staff members of the September 11 commission read findings of their report during Wednesday's hearing.
ON CNN TV
Stay with CNN for updates and analysis from the campaign trail and follow-up perspective on the Oval Office session between President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and members of the 9/11 commission.
RELATED
Staff statement 11:  Intelligence community performanceexternal link
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
September 11 attacks
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Acts of terror
George J. Tenet

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Below is the conclusion of Staff Report No. 11, which was released Wednesday morning by the staff of the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks:

"Our investigation so far has found the intelligence community struggling to collect on and analyze the phenomena of transnational terrorism through the mid- to late-1990s.

  • "While many dedicated officers worked day and night for years to piece together the growing body of evidence on al Qaeda and to understand the threats, in the end it was not enough to gain the advantage before the 9/11 attacks."
  • "While there were many reports on (Osama) Bin Laden and his growing al Qaeda organization, there was no comprehensive estimate of the enemy, either to build consensus or clarify differences."
  • "With the important exception of attacks with chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, the methods developed for decades to warn of surprise attacks were not applied to the problem of warning against terrorist attacks."
  • "In intelligence collection, despite many excellent efforts, there was not a comprehensive review of what the community knew, what it did not know, followed by the development of a community-wide plan to close those gaps."
  • "The DCI (CIA Director George Tenet) labored within -- and was accountable for -- a community of loosely associated agencies and departmental offices that lacked the incentives to cooperate, collaborate and share information. Like his predecessors, he focused his energies on where he could add the greatest value -- the CIA, which is a fraction of the nation's overall intelligence capability. As a result, a question remains: Who is in charge of intelligence?"

  • Story Tools
    Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
    Top Stories
    Panel: Spy agencies in dark about threats
    Top Stories
    EU 'crisis' after summit failure

    CNN US
    On CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNN AvantGo CNNtext Ad info Preferences
    SEARCH
       The Web    CNN.com     
    Powered by
    © 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
    A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
    Terms under which this service is provided to you.
    Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
    external link
    All external sites will open in a new browser.
    CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
     Premium content icon Denotes premium content.