9/11 Attacks - Defining Moment in Intelligence History - Case Study Example

DЕFINING MОMЕNT IN INTЕLLIGЕNСЕ HISTОRY: 9/11 АTTАСKS. Student’s name Course Professor Institution’s name Date DЕFINING MОMЕNT IN INTЕLLIGЕNСЕ HISTОRY: 9/11 АTTАСKS. On September 11, 2001, there was a terrorist attack in the United States of America. The attack was an act of war and retaliation by terrorist groups against the United States of America and its close allies. What happened during this fateful day was that members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and flew two of them straight into the Twin Towers which is also known as the World Trade Center. One of the remaining two planes crashed into the Pennsylvania after a battle between the passengers and the terrorists. The analysis shows that the plane was heading to the Capital Building or the Whitehouse. The remaining plane was flown into the Department of Defense headquarters in the Pentagon building and crashed the building, but the damage was not as severe as that of the Twin Towers. Over 3000 people were killed that day. They included all persons on board in these planes while the others were on the ground and in the buildings. Thompson and Center for Cooperative Research (2004) provide the event timeline of the attacks. At 7.59 am, a Boeing 767 airplane (flight 11) belonging to American Airlines takes off with 92 passengers on board. The plane was heading to Los Angeles from Boston Logan Airport. At 8.14 am, another Boeing 767 plane (flight 175) belonging to United Airlines takes off with 65 passengers on board. The plane was also from Boston to Los Angeles. At 8.20 am, a Boeing 757 plane (flight 77) belonging to American Airlines with 64 passengers on board takes off from Dulles Airport in Washington DC heading to Los Angeles. At 8.24 am, in an attempt to talk to the cabin of Flight 11, a hijacker identified as Atta Mohammed accidentally makes a connection with ground control. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) provides an alert about a suspected hijacking of Flight 11 to the Northeast Air Defense Sector and North America Aerospace Defense Command at 8.40 am. Flight 11, however, crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center before fighter planes sent by NEADS to locate flight 11 are even able to take off. At 8.41 am, another plane of model Boeing 757 (flight 93) belonging to United Airlines takes off en route to San Francisco from Newark Airport with 44 passengers on board. Flight 93 was also scheduled to take off at 8.00 am, which was around the same times of departure of the other three hijacked planes. Flight 11 is crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC) from floors 93 to 99 at 8.46 am. Ports Authority Police Department, NYPD, and FDNY immediately responded, and evacuation process. At 9.08 am, FAA bans all planes destined to New York from takeoff. Subsequent closure of all tunnels and bridges by the Ports Authority follows at 9.21 am. At 9.24 am, after some family members in flight 77 alert family members, the FAA notifies NEADS about a suspected hijacking. At 9.37 am, the terrorists crash Flight 77 into the Pentagon by terrorists that had hijacked it; all passengers were killed. The FAA suspends all flights scheduled off and into the United States of America at 9.42 am. The South and North towers of the WTC collapsed at 9.59 am, and 10.28 am respectively. At 10.07 am, Flight 93 crashes into Pennsylvania Somerset County killing all on board after passengers fought with the terrorists in an attempt to retake control of the plane. President Bush addressed the nation on the attacks at 8.30 pm. Some theories have been put forward about the possible issues that led to the 9/11 attacks of the United States of America by al Qaeda. The community of Intelligence in America (IC) lacked strategy and direction. The intelligence community was in shambles before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the country (The 9/11 National Commission Report, 2004). September 11, 2001, had significant impacts on the members and all stakeholders of the intelligence community. The primary responsibility of the IC was to prevent such attacks from happening, and they failed miserably thus creating a sense of guilt in those concerned. The shambles in IC is further highlighted by the fact that the agencies that make up the intelligence communities had pieces of information that if were fitted together would have prevented the attacks. Failure to work in unity by these agencies led to comparisons between the 9/11 attacks and the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 (The 9/11 National Commission Report, 2004). It seems that agencies in the intelligence community were marred by corruption and issues to deal with competition among themselves. A statement from Eggan, a Washington Post writer, supported this claim. He stated that "The inability to detect Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking plot amounted to a significant failure by the FBI and was caused in large part by widespread and longstanding deficiencies in the way the agency handled terrorism and intelligence cases” (Eggan, 2012). Many of the citizens supported this view especially after former, and current FBI agents reported that before the 9/11 attacks, information and threats on al-Qaeda were considered common information just like information on bank robbery and drug dealing. Therefore, it means that the FBI did not take information from other intelligence agencies seriously. Another body that had failed the president and the American people was the CIA as claimed by several reports on 9/11 attacks (Miller & Julie, 2013). Overall, the incompetence and ineffectiveness of the intelligence community were a major contributor to the September 11 attacks. Another major contributor to the terrorist attacks was poor policies and management. Before the 9/11 attacks, the United States governments had not considered terrorism as a primary concern in natural security policy making and implementation (The 9/11 National Commission Report, 2004). Leaders had failed as they faced challenges in policymaking and implementation of imagination laws. Members of both the Bush and Clinton administration had no concern for terrorism and considered an invasion of Afghanistan into the country as inconceivable. This scenario highlighted failure in management systems especially in the ways they deal with challenges and problems of the twenty-first century (Purpura, 2007). The allocation of resources and policy setting were significant in showing the downfall of management. A Statement by DCI Tenet in 1998 that, “We are at war. I want no resources or people spared in this effort, either inside CIA or the Community" showed the country had insufficient resources in the security department to deal with the issue of terrorism. The state had allocated inadequate resources to the security sector regarding money and personnel. The intelligence community including the FBI, CIA, military, state department, and homeland security had very few employees and less allocation of capital before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Finally, another primary cause attributed to the 9/11 attacks is the weak border and immigration control laws. After investigations, reports confirm that the terrorists were known and that they were al Qaeda terrorists that could have been on the country's watch list (The 9/11 National Commission Report, 2004). It is, therefore, surprising and not shocking that these terrorists were able to travel freely in the country by presenting false information on their visas, manipulation of their passports, and violation of immigration laws. Before the 9/11 attacks, the Border Security was not a concern for the government. Overall, the weak border and immigration control laws made a significant contribution to the attacks since tracking of the terrorists would have been possible. Also, if the laws were followed commendably, the terrorists would have been arrested. The 9/11 terrorist attacks had major impacts on several aspects of the country. The effects of the terrorist attacks on the country include the government implementing better immigration and deportation laws, improved surveillance, and improved security measures at airports. The Bush administration created improved immigration and deportation laws through the creation of Department of Homeland Security in 2002 (Morgan et al., 2009). The government formed the Department of Homeland Security by combining agencies that initially made up the intelligence community. Apart from the Department of Homeland Security, the Bush administration established the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which carried out massive deportations. The number of deportations doubled after compared to before the 9/11 attacks, and this showed that the country’s administration became serious concerning deportation laws and measures. Deportation records under the Obama administration were reported to be 400,000 annually, which was the highest deportation rate ever to be reported in American history. The change in deportation rates is attributed to better measures on immigration and deportation, and many of those deported were reported to be involved in criminal offenses and terrorism. Another significant program known as Secure Communities program was established in 2008 to help in securing the country although it was phased out in 2014. Overall, after the 9/11 attacks, the country established better immigration and deportation policies and laws that were lacking before the attack. The intelligence department of the United States grew by leaps and bounds after the 911 attacks due to improved surveillance. The growth is attributed to increased surveillance of web and phone networks (Gingerich & Coyle, 2013). Increased resources into the country’s security department especially concerning personnel and money for buying surveillance apparatus contributed to the growth. The budget allocated to security increased to 52.6 billion USD in 2013. Increased surveillance has been essential in fighting terrorism through obtaining information on terrorism threats. As at 2008, the intelligence department through the National Security Agency has been able to obtain over 56,000 emails from citizens. These emails were not even connected to terrorism, which is a violation of the people’s privacy (Nakashima, 2013). It is a clear indication that the country has improved its surveillance through better allocation of resources into the department that allows the acquisition of better equipment. Finally, the United States developed its airport security measures after the 9/11 attacks. Full body and luggage scans are the norms for any person that is traveling by use of air in the United States. The airport security was put through significant changes. Before 9/11 attack, the private organizations oversaw airport security. However, after 9/11 attack, there was a formation of the Transport Security Administration to oversee airport security, and this was a major overhaul of airport security (Kessler, 2012). TSA task was to ensure that new security procedures were instituted in the country's airports. The changes put in place after the 9/11 attacks made travel by air safer and proved that the country had started considering terrorism as crucial security aspect. Socially, the country also benefited, as people were able to help each other as a country during the difficult time. Besides, the anniversary of the events of 9/11 brings the country together and brings a sense of unity to the country (Foner, 2005).  References Eggan, Dan., 2012. ‘Pre-9/11 Missteps by FBI Detailed,’ The Washington Post. Foner, N. (2005). Wounded City: The Social Impact of 9/11. Gingerich C. & Coyle G., 2013. ‘National Security Policy Responses to the 9/11 Attacks.’ Kessler, R., 2012. ‘Disband the Office of National Intelligence Director,' Newsmax. Miller, G., & Julie T., 2013. ‘CIA director faces a quandary over clandestine service appointment,’ The Washington Post. Morgan, M. J., Sternberg, R. J., Zimbardo, P. G., & Palgrave Connect, 2009. The impact of 9/11 on psychology and education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Nakashima, E., 2013. ‘FBI surveillance tool is ruled unconstitutional,’ The Washington Post. Purpura, P. P., 2007. Terrorism and homeland security: An introduction with applications. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. The 9/11 National Commission Report, 2004. Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. Thompson, P., & Center for Cooperative Research, 2004. The Terror Timeline: Year by year, Day-by-day, minute-by-minute: a comprehensive chronicle of the road to 9/11--- and America's response. New York: Harper. Read More