1. According to the 9/11 Commission Report (Chapter 11 – Foresight and Hindsight) “the 9/11 attacks revealed four kinds of failures: in imagination, policy, capabilities, and management.” Choose one of these categories and discuss how the U.S. government failed and what can be done in the future to avoid a similar failure.

Although I feel that all of these categories can apply in some way or another, the category I choose to develop my question on is the failure of the management- both operational and institutional.
From reading Chapter 11 Foresight and Hindsight in the 9/11 Commission Report, we can see how the management missed numerous opportunities in upsetting the 9/11 plot. According to the Commission’s Report the reasoning behind this is because “Information was not shared, sometimes inadvertently or because of legal misunderstandings. Analysis was not pooled. Effective operations were not launched. Often the handoffs of information were lost across the divide separating the foreign and domestic agencies of the government.” (The 9/11 Commission Report-Pg. 353) Al Qaeda adapted to the failure of our management operations to gain entrance into the United States. Presented in the chapter is an illustration of how operational management failed in protecting our homeland with the case of Mihdhar, Hazmi, and Salem and their trip to Kuala Lumpur. In brief summary, here are the operational opportunities that the United States missed in this case: “1. January 2000: The CIA does not watch list Khalid al Mihdhar or notify the FBI when it learned Mihdhar possessed a valid U.S. visa. 2. January 2000: The CIA does not develop a transnational plan for tracking Mihdhar and his associates so that they could be followed to Bangkok and onward, including the United States. 3. March 2000: The CIA does not watch list Nawaf al Hazmi or notify the FBI when it learned that he possessed a U.S. visa and had flown to Los Angeles on January 15, 2000. 4. January 2001: The CIA does not inform the FBI that a source had identified Khallad, or Tawfiq bin Attash, a major figure in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, as having attended the meeting in Kuala Lumpur with Khalid al Mihdhar. 5. May 2001: A CIA official does not notify the FBI about Mihdhar’s U.S. visa, Hazmi’s U.S. travel, or Khallad’s having attended the Kuala Lumpur meeting. 6. June 2001: FBI and CIA officials do not ensure that all relevant information regarding the Kuala Lumpur meeting was shared with the Cole investigators at the June 11 meeting. 7. August 2001: The FBI does not recognize the significance of the information regarding Mihdhar and Hazmi’s possible arrival in the United States and thus does not take adequate action to share information, assign resources, and give sufficient priority to the search. 8. August 2001: FBI headquarters does not recognize the significance of the information regarding Moussaoui’s training and beliefs and thus does not take adequate action to share information, involve higher-level officials across agencies, obtain information regarding Moussaoui’s ties to al Qaeda, and give sufficient priority to determining what Moussaoui might be planning. 9. August 2001: the CIA does not focus on information that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a key al Qaeda lieutenant or connect information identifying KSM as the “Mukhtar” mentioned in other reports to the analysis that could have linked “Mukhtar” with Ramzi Binalshibh and Moussaoui. 10. August 2001: The CIA and FBI do not connect the presence of Mihdhar, Hazmi, and Moussaoui to the general threat reporting about imminent attacks.” (The 9/11 Commission Report-Pg. 355-356) As we can see the CIA and FBI did not release information to others, which would make them aware of what was happening behind the scenes. It seems like once someone had information; they didn’t do anything about it. “There is no evidence of any tracking efforts actually being undertaken by anyone after the Arabs disappeared into Bangkok. No other effort was made to create other opportunities to spot these Arab travelers in case the screen in Bangkok failed.”(The 9/11 Commission Report-Pg. 354) All in all, I would say that in order for management failure to not happen again I would say that information needs to be public, analysis needs to be shared, and effective operations need to be launched. There needs to be more communication between departments.

2. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency there are things that you and your family can do to prepare for a possible terrorist attack. What do these agencies recommend? Are they all in agreement? Which site provides the most useful information? Why?
In order to prepare for an attack, everyone should be prepared. Whether the attack is from natural disasters, contagious diseases, or terrorism, there are a number of actions you can take to guarantee that you and your family are prepared to handle these emergencies. In researching what actions you should take in order to prepare yourself and family, all three sites, DHS, FEMA, and MEMA are in agreement, when they state that the most basic and simplest things you can do is make a kit, be prepared, and be informed. All three sites stated that your safety kits should include water, non-perishable foods, flashlights, batteries, a dust mask, plastic sheeting, duct tape, and a first aid kit. These are just a few recommended items that each site tells you to include into your kits, many more items that should and can be included, are available online to use as a checklist. “Acts of terrorism include threats of terrorism; assassinations; kidnappings; hijackings; bomb scares and bombings; cyber attacks (computer-based); and the use of chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons.” (FEMA) As for preparing for terrorists attacks, the sites that gave the most information on how to prepare yourself was the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security. To narrow it down to the site that is most useful I would have to say that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which is a branch off the Department of Homeland Security website. This site is the most effective in offering information to the general public about what to do in an attack. FEMA offers information about all the different kind of attacks that terrorists are capable of carrying out. The site provides information on explosive attacks, biological threats, chemical threats, nuclear blasts, and RDD’s (Radiological Dispersion Devices). FEMA informs people what the attacks can be brought on by, what they are capable of doing upon detonation, what to do before an attack, what to do during an attack and what to do after an attack. I found this site to be useful for many reasons. Not only do they inform you how to prepare for terrorists attacks, but also prepare you for other attacks, such as, earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, tornados, and winter storms.

3. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said, “Publicity is the oxygen of terrorism”. How does the media fuel the flame of terrorism? In other words, what do terrorist organizations seek from media coverage? What are their (often multiple) objectives? Support your answer with four examples of media use by terrorist groups. Be specific.
The media fuels terrorism in many ways. Terrorists I feel use the media to create fear among the public, try to convince citizens that their government is powerless, and to get immediate publicity. Post 9/11, it seems that terrorist groups around the world continue to have simmering plots to hurt as many citizens as the can. By the media’s daily exposure of these terrorist plots, it’s heightens the public awareness of terror. This is what the terrorists are hoping for – to instill fear in the public and make their group known throughout the world. Terrorist groups use the media to seek notoriety. Most of these terrorist plots are formed by radical extrememists, however the public cannot tell one from another. This leads to the public’s profiling of people of foreign descent. Media used by terrorist group have been shown throughout time, “Traditional politically motivated terrorist groups often seen in the west such as the IRA or the Italian Red Brigades chose to strike at high profile political targets or against targets that would guarantee media attention like the bombing of commercial centres. The targeting was determined mainly by two factors, maximum media attention and little loss of life, the so called propaganda of the deed, and the by the survival / escape of the terrorists carrying out the attack.” (Terrorist Targets) More recently terrorists have used the media to cause even greater media attention. The September 11th attacks are the first example. As we all know, Al-Qaeda is responsible for the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center and the Twin Towers in New York. The objective of the attack was to send a message to the United States, that Al-Qaeda wanted the troops to get out of Saudi Arabia and leave them alone. This I feel is an example of media being used by a terrorist group, because once Americans saw what this group could do and how it could shut down the entire financial district of New York and make airlines around the world heighten their security, this instilled fear in the American people for years to come. Even to this day the when the media covers the anniversary of September 11th, Americans are reminded of what terrorist groups can do to another group of people. Al-Qaeda’s objective of using the media is to make them seem powerful to the American people. Another example of the media being used by a terrorist group is by way of the internet. “Militant groups around the world make use of mass communication tools like the Internet in order to recruit new faces and keep isolated cells informed of worldwide developments” (Virtual Extremism) We saw first hand how powerful the internet can be, when Al-Qaeda used internet messages boards to announce their intent to bomb South Africa’s World Cup this past June. “Militant organizations turn to virtual communication like Facebook and synthetic worlds for the same reason corporations do - it provides an easy, on-demand means of connection with a diverse base of people around the world” (Virtual Extremism) Terrorist not only use the media to put fear in people, but to make the world aware of their plans. The media also allows for the recruitment of followers. “Al Qaeda combines multimedia propaganda and advanced communication technologies to create a very sophisticated form of psychological warfare. Osama bin Laden and his followers concentrate their propaganda efforts on the Internet, where visitors to al Qaeda’s numerous websites and to the sites of sympathetic, aboveground organizations can access prerecorded videotapes and audiotapes, CD-ROMs, DVDs, photographs, and announcements. Despite the massive onslaught it has sustained in recent years-the arrests and deaths of many of its members, the dismantling of its operational bases and training camps in Afghanistan, and the smashing of its bases in the Far East-al Qaeda has been able to conduct an impressive scare campaign.” (Virtual Extremis) It seems that whatever attack will cause the most media attention is what a terrorist group will try to carry out. Terrorist targets said it best, “All types of terrorist seek the maximum media coverage for an attack, so a target which has lots of international visitors is a preferred target.”(Terrorist Targets) 4. What kind of treatment did Muslim and Arab-American citizens and immigrants experience at the hands of their neighbors, their community, and the U.S. government in the moths after 9/11? How does this compare to the treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II? Did the U.S. government ever admit to the error of their actions or apologize to either of these communities?

In the months following 9/11, America was on edge and now many Muslim and Arab-American citizens and immigrants who were assumed of having relations to the attacks or connections to terrorism, were detained by the Department of Justice for various immigration reasons. “In the 11 months after the attacks, 762 aliens were detained in connection with the FBI terrorism investigation for various immigration offenses, including overstaying their visas and entering the country illegally.” (Report on Treatment of Aliens) Before 9/11 and now even after, it seems that Americans still know little about Arabs and Muslims, from watching TV and listening to the news it saddens me that everyone with a foreign last name and/ or of Arab and Muslim decent is being accused of being connected with Al-Qaeda in one way or another. These American citizens and immigrants were being detained and jailed and often had to wait months to learn why they were being arrested. “Shockingly, after 9/11 the government detained and jailed without warrant or any evidence Arab men, denying them any communication with their families and lawyers. These were secret detentions, hearings and even deportations. Detainees might wait anywhere between several hours to several months before learning the reason behind their arrest or being allowed to contact an attorney. Masses of immigrants have been imprisoned for weeks before false charges were brought against them.” (Arab and Muslim Americans after 9/11) There was a survey shortly after the attacks, in a Detroit community with one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans in the nation. This survey stated that 42 percent of those “Feel their religion is not respected by mainstream society. Derogatory comments like, "Go back where you came from!" or "Ooh, are you a member of al Qaeda?" were the most common forms of abuse. Others alleged job discrimination and a small number reported physical assault. Nearly 60 percent said they worry more about their families' future than before the attacks” (Arab and Muslim Americans after 9/11), this to me is unfair abuse towards a member of society. Arab and Muslim Americans and immigrants were just as shocked as we were when the attacks happened, and there was no reason for this to ensue. Just like the movie we viewed in class, Fazul, the father of Yusef (who was actually the terrorist spy, not Fazul), was assumed to have connections with the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. He was detained by the authorities just because he had a Muslim last name and because he was seen shaking hands with a suspected terrorist outside a meeting he held. He ultimately committed suicide in jail because he couldn’t take the interrogation any longer. The government didn’t justify their actions at the time, only saying sorry for the loss. Just like the Arab and Muslim Americans and immigrants, the Japanese Americans also faced similar discrimination during World War II. In 1941, before the war, Japanese American consisted of foreign born immigrants (the Issei) and their American-born children (Nisei), but after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, both were considered rival aliens. “On the outbreak of the Second World War most Japanese Americans lived in California. On 29th January 1942, the U.S. Attorney General, Francis Biddle, established a number of security areas on the West Coast in California. He also announced that all enemy aliens should be removed from these security areas. Three weeks later President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the construction of relocation camps for Japanese Americans being moved from their homes. Over the next few months ten permanent camps were constructed to house more than 110,000 Japanese Americans that had been removed from security areas. These people were deprived of their homes, their jobs and their constitutional and legal rights.” (Japanese Americans and the Second World War) As for whether the government apologized to either community, I would say that yes the apologized for their actions. “In July 1942 Mitsuye Endo, a Nisei, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that detention in a relocation camp was unlawful. In December 1944 the Supreme Court ruled in her favour and over the next few weeks the Japanese Americans in the camps returned to their homes in California.” (Japanese Americans and the Second World War) Here it shows the government is agreeing that the detention camps are unlawful and granting the rights of freedom to the Japanese Americans. After 9/11 the same thing ensued. General Fine stated that “While our review recognized the enormous challenges and difficult circumstances confronting the Department in responding to the terrorist attacks, we found significant problems in the way the detainees were handled” (Report on Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges) The report stated problems in the way the terrorists were arrested, charged and placed in a detention center, as well as bond and removal issues. “Our review found that 84 September 11 detainees were housed at the MDC in Brooklyn under highly restrictive conditions. These conditions included “lock down” for at least 23 hours per day; escort procedures that included a “4-man hold” with handcuffs, leg irons, and heavy chains any time the detainees were moved outside their cells; and a limit of one legal telephone call per week and one social call per month.” (Report on Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges) I’m not sure if this is the apology the detainees were looking for, but it does state the problems that the FBI had, and they do admit that the way they were arrested and housed were incorrect. They should have paid more attention to the facts. We can see that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the Arab-American and Muslim communities were subjected to many of the same experiences that were once visited on Japanese Americans in the internment camps.

Works Cited

• Accounts, By All. "Virtual Extremism: How Social Media Gave Terrorist Groups a Second Wind." Pixels and Policy. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.pixelsandpolicy.com/pixels_and_policy/2010/04/global-militants-terrorism.html

• "Arabs and Muslim Americans after 9/11." Mass Media. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.umassmedia.com/2.3764/arabs-and-muslim-americans-after-9-11-1.440303

• "FEMA: General Information About Terrorism." FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.fema.gov/hazard/terrorism/info.shtm

• "FEMA: Learn About the Types of Disasters." FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.fema.gov/hazard/types.shtm

• "Japanese Americans and the Second World War." Spartacus Educational - Home Page. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAjapanact.htm

• "Ready.gov: Be Informed." Ready.gov - Prepare. Plan. Stay Informed. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/index.html

• "Report on Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges." Welcome to the United States Department of Justice. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.justice.gov/

• "Terrorist Targets." Military History Encyclopedia on the Web. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/concepts_terrortargets.html.

• "The 9/11 Commission Report- Chapter 11: Foresight and Hindsight." National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. http://www.9-11commission.gov