[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.
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