9/11 Commission. 9/11 Commission Report (Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States) (2004). Retrieved from: https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
Department of Homeland Security, 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/2014-qhsr-final-508.pdf
CRS Insights, 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review: Evolution of Strategic Review. Retrieved from: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/IN10127.pdf
Noftsinger, J. B., Newbold, K. F., & Wheeler, J. K. (2007). Understanding Homeland Security, Retrieved from Trident Online Library [Read Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 1-54].
Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US CERT): https://www.us-cert.gov
Department of Homeland Security (DHS): https://www.dhs.gov
Rare New Footage of 9/11 WTC Attack. Military.Com. Retrieved fromhttps://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/terrorism/rare-new-footage-of-9-11-wtc-attack/1785368803001/
Transportation Security Administration (TSA): https://www.tsa.gov
U.S. Secret Service (USSS): https://www.secretservice.gov
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS): https://www.uscis.gov
U.S. Coast Guard: https://www.uscg.mil
U.S. Customs and Border Protection: https://www.cbp.gov
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: https://www.ice.gov
Assignment Overview
The Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 and the Resulting Changes to U.S. Homeland Security
On 11 September 2001, al-Qaida (AQ) conducted a well-organized, coordinated attack against multiple major targets in the United States. These attacks were largely successful in achieving their goals, with the exception of Flight 11, which was thwarted; it is believed, by passengers aboard the airliner. Despite the latter, these attacks, described by many observers as a "Second Pearl Harbor," not only successfully attacked their targets but achieved exponentially greater long-term, strategic gains for the group, lead by Osama bin Ladin. Clearly, the nation was caught off guard by these attacks.
As a direct result of these attacks, U.S. Homeland Security undertook an unprecedented re-evaluation in virtually all government sectors, particularly amongst the two major domestic entities most responsible for defending the Homeland: the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Both of these groups implemented massive changes, backed by equally profound (and controversial) legislation from the White House and Congress.
These attacks and the legislative, administrative, judicial and military changes that followed laid the foundations for Homeland Security as we know it today. Therefore, it is essential that we explore and understand the attacks of 9/11 and the resulting changes that took place soon after that event, as well as the decision to take the nation to war in Afghanistan, a war that continues to this day.
In this case, your task is to:
1. Explain how AQ was able to establish terrorist cells within the United States capable of carrying out these attacks without detection.
2. Identify the major failures in the IC and DoD that enabled AQ to conduct these attacks and the shortcomings of each prior to 9/11 - particularly the failure of IC agencies and the DoD to share intelligence.
Be sure to properly cite your quotations that you use to support your statements. For more information, please consult the Purdue University OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
3 pages.