[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 101 (Tuesday, July 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8470-S8471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ESSAY FROM THE 9/11 FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE

  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
following essay be printed in the Record on behalf of Kristen 
Breitweiser, Patricia Casazza, Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken who 
lost their husbands on September 11, 2001 and became advocates on 
behalf of their own families and all who were affected by the tragic 
events of that day.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                        What Is A Citizen To Do?

       How could 19 middle-eastern men simultaneously hijack 4 
     commercial airplanes in two hours, crash them into the World 
     Trade Center and the Pentagon and murder 3000 innocent 
     people?
       With the billions spent each year on defense and 
     intelligence, why did our nation do so little in a defensive 
     posture to mitigate the vast devastation that was brought 
     upon us by these 19 men?
       Our research began with every agency and every policy that 
     could possibly shed some light on why the tragedy of 9/11 was 
     not averted. With each revelation and each new understanding, 
     our naivete waned and the challenges loomed large. The 
     problems were systemic in nature. Changes were needed 
     everywhere. Agencies, 20 years after the Cold War had ended, 
     were still operating in a Cold War posture. Terrorists were 
     not watch-listed. FBI computers were antiquated. Intelligence 
     agents and supervisors failed to analyze and investigate 
     creatively, aggressively, and with curiosity. Congress and 
     the Executive Branch failed to properly share their growing 
     National Security concerns and garner the will of the nation 
     to fight this new war against terrorism. The media was more 
     prone to cover scandal than terrorism.
       Our research revealed that numerous indicators throughout 
     our intelligence history illustrated the use, or intended use 
     of planes as missiles. We found field reports, case files and 
     studies, eye witness testimony, intelligence community threat 
     matrices, and Department of Defense mock drills all 
     addressing the ``planes as missiles'' idea.
       In fact, during the summer of 2001, President Bush attended 
     the G-8 summit in Genoa Italy where specific protections were 
     put into place to ward against an air attack. Moreover, FBI 
     agents testified in the Embassy bombing trial in NYC during 
     the spring of 2001 that al-Qaeda was interested in suicide 
     hijackers flying planes into buildings--buildings like the 
     World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Finally, we learned that 
     the Olympic Games in Atlanta and Salt Lake City had included 
     aerial attacks in their security protocols.
       Indeed, most haunting is what we found out about al-Qaeda 
     and their attempt to attack Atlanta, Georgia during the 
     summer Olympics. Because of the heightened protection and 
     alert status during the Atlanta Games, al-Qaeda got 
     ``spooked'' and called off their planned attack. And thus 
     began the ``what ifs?''
       What if the pre-9/11 national security apparatus', agencies 
     and institutions had matched themselves with similar alert 
     levels? What if the 19 hijackers on 9/11 noticed that same 
     type of vigilant security, gotten spooked themselves and 
     delayed their attack by days or even months? More potently, 
     would such a delay have given enough time to our Intelligence 
     Community to discover and/or minimize the damage of the plot?
       Could the FBI have had enough time to receive the FISA 
     warrant on Zaccharias Moussaoui? After all, the FBI had 
     enough information to meet probable cause for a FISA warrant 
     because French intelligence in August 2001 had handed over a 
     huge file on Moussaoui linking him to terrorist groups. 
     Moreover, given the fact that Moussaoui was attending the 
     same flight school that the FBI had investigated since 1998 
     because of the many known middle-eastern terrorists training 
     there, maybe the FBI could have applied for and received a 
     simple criminal warrant.
       Perhaps, the internal decision in May 2001 by FISA Court 
     Chief Judge Royce C. Lamberth that had a ``chilling effect'' 
     on all FBI surveillance and wiretapping of terrorist 
     organizations--including Al-Qaeda cells in the US, during the 
     spring and summer 2001 could have been lifted or at the very 
     least tempered?
       Or maybe the hijackers could have been watch-listed and 
     forbidden to fly on commercial flights? What if the airline 
     pilots were told that hijackers were capable of flying 
     commercial airliners and to not allow anyone into the 
     cockpit--whether or not they were in uniform? What if airport 
     security was told to be on the lookout for possible terrorist 
     suspects and/or contraband such as gas masks, mace, pepper 
     spray, guns and/or knives?
       Could the NSA have translated the phone conversations or 
     intercepts of the hijackers, Bin Laden, Bin Laden family 
     members, and other Al-Qaeda operatives that they had in their 
     possession throughout the summer and early fall of 2001? 
     Could the NSA have acted on and/or communicated this 
     information to the FBI, CIA, and National Security Council in 
     time?
       Perhaps, FBI Agent David Frasca may have had the time to 
     read the Phoenix memorandum and the Moussaoui information 
     both of which were on his desk by August 2001 and put the two 
     files together?
       Could the FBI have had the time to find two of the 
     hijackers, Al-Midhar and Al-hazmi, who were already under 
     investigation for two years by the CIA after it had conducted 
     surveillance on a terrorist meeting in Malaysia in January 
     2000? After all, Al-Midhar and Al-Hazmi were living in San 
     Diego, listed in the phone book, had bank accounts in their 
     own names, trained at flight schools and resided with a known 
     FBI informant?
       Could the CIA have found Marwan Al-Shehi? He was Mohammed 
     Atta's roommate and visited the same flight school that 
     Moussaoui was arrested at by the FBI. The CIA had the name 
     ``Marwan'' and a phone number given to them by the German 
     government. Could they have had the time to follow-up with 
     this information?
       Could our National Security Council's Principals who first 
     met on September 4, 2001 had more time to hold a second 
     meeting where they could have discussed the threat spikes and 
     foreign government warnings from Russia, Israel, Germany, and 
     Egypt that Al-Qaeda was planning an imminent and spectacular 
     attack on the domestic US? Would our NSC Principals have had 
     the time to harden our homeland security?
       Could NORAD have placed fighter jets on shorter alert 
     status, so that our air defense did not arrive too late like 
     it did on 9/11? Perhaps, with over an hour's worth of notice 
     before the attack on the Pentagon, the F-16's could have 
     arrived on time to protect our Department of Defense.
       Could we learn from this tragedy so that it would not be 
     repeated? Could our fellow citizens be willing to shed 
     sunlight onto the inadequacies of our government's ability to 
     defend itself against terrorism? Could our elected officials 
     cease the diversionary tactics of ``mudslinging'' and ``name-
     calling'' long enough to allow the facts to be revealed, 
     examined, and fixed? Could the media no longer fall prey to 
     sensational stories and feed the public information that 
     truly informs and educates them about our nation's ability to 
     fight terrorism?

[[Page S8471]]

       Democracy cannot prosper on blind-faith. To work 
     effectively, democracy's foundation--the people, must be well 
     informed. And, in order to be more informed, more responsive, 
     and more prepared for the challenges ahead, we must continue 
     to ask questions to our leaders; that is our duty as 
     responsible citizens. It is why the 9/11 Independent 
     Commission's investigative work, public hearings, public 
     Final Report and public Recommendations are so vital.
       The only way elected officials, agencies and institutions 
     can be held accountable and responsible is if we, the 
     American people, stay vigilant and informed. Before 9/11, the 
     will of the nation to fight terrorism was not present. Post 
     9/11, the will of this nation exists to confront the battle 
     of terrorism.
       But fighting terrorism is not simply an offensive strategy. 
     It is a combined and cumulative process. We need the 
     intelligence agencies to investigate more creatively and 
     aggressively. We need our judicial process to permit the fair 
     and just prosecution of terrorists. We need our foreign 
     policy to issue sanctions to all countries that sponsor 
     terrorism, even if that means our foreign economic dependency 
     suffers. We need our Treasury Department to have the 
     resources to dry up money lines that fund terrorist 
     organizations. We need big business interests to yield to the 
     common good.
       Our elected officials who take an oath of office to lead, 
     protect, and serve need to be held responsible and 
     accountable. They must have the courage and curiosity to ask 
     questions, to have established and reliable plans and back-up 
     plans, to demand action, reforms and to welcome personal 
     responsibility.
       Most importantly, our elected officials need to remember 
     that they are serving at the will of the people. As our 
     public stewards, it should not be the sanctity of their own 
     political well-being that most consumes their actions and 
     decisions. More correctly, it should be the safety, security 
     and well-being of the people that they serve that should pre-
     occupy their time.
       In a post-9/11 world, it is the responsible preservation of 
     all life that must transcend politics.
     Kristen Breitweiser,
     Patricia Casazza,
     Mindy Kleinberg,
     Lorie Van Auken,
       Members of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 
     Independent Commission.

  Mrs. CLINTON. In light of the pending release of the 9/11 Commission 
report, I wish to recognize the Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 
Independent Commission and their efforts to establish the National 
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.

                          ____________________