WEBVTT - NCTAUUS 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:10.320 Soon after the attacks of nine eleven, the families of 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:14.800 those killed demanded answers, Politicians began pointing fingers, and the 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:17.600 American public was wondering if this could ever happen again. 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:21.840 Note for the record that se of what we knew 0:00:21.840 --> 0:00:25.840 about found out about Asama bin Laden after nine eleven. 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:30.760 We knew in. N of the facts that we knew 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:35.320 about Asama bin Laden we knew in but the full 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:39.200 story wasn't delivered until after nine eleven. It was held 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:44.280 in classified, compartmentalized sections. This is nine eleven, two decades later. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:49.760 I'm Steve Gregory in Los Angeles. Within a year of 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:53.800 the attacks, Congress drafted legislation to create the National Commission 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.960 on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, commonly referred to 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.520 as the nine eleven Commission. On November twenty seventh, two 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:04.679 thousand to, President George W. Bush signed the legislation, which 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:07.600 mandated a full and complete accounting of the attacks of 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:11.160 September eleven, two thousand one, and recommendations as to how 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:13.800 to prevent such attacks in the future. With a budget 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:16.920 of fifteen million dollars and eighty people on staff, the 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:20.759 Commission would research, compile, and report on eight points of interest, 0:01:20.800 --> 0:01:24.319 including al Qaeda and the organization of the nine eleven attack, 0:01:24.840 --> 0:01:30.320 Intelligence collection, analysis, and management. International counter terrorism policy including 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:34.960 states that harbor or harbored terrorists, terrorists financing border security 0:01:34.959 --> 0:01:38.720 and foreign visitors, law enforcement and intelligence collection inside the 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:43.040 United States, Commercial aviation and transportation security, including the investigation 0:01:43.120 --> 0:01:46.320 into the four hijackings, and the immediate response to the 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.680 attacks at the national, state, and local levels, including issues 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.560 of continuity of government. On July twenty, two, thousand four, 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.800 the nine eleven Commission issued its final report to Congress. 0:01:56.880 --> 0:01:59.320 The following month, the chair and vice chair of the 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:02.360 Commission would sit before the Armed Services Committee to discuss 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:06.120 the report and take questions. One such exchange happened between 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:09.720 Democratic Congresswoman Nita Lowey and Committee Chair Thomas Kane. In 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:14.040 your report, you say, quote, it must take into consideration 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.400 the full array of possible enemy tactics, such as the 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:22.640 use of insires. Did the Commission intend for airport workers, 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:28.520 cabin cleaners, maintenance crews, caterers who are currently permitted to 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:34.880 bypass metal detectors? Should they be given antiquated badges or 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:40.160 should everyone have to go through medical excuse me? Metal detectives, 0:02:40.800 --> 0:02:44.040 and I've been repeatedly told by T s A it's 0:02:44.080 --> 0:02:49.080 too inconvenient and costly to screen all airport workers, despite 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:52.000 the fact that a hundred percent of workers have physically 0:02:52.080 --> 0:02:56.080 screened at airports like Heathrow, almost a hundred percent at 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:59.359 Child de Gall This doesn't make sense to me. If 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:02.320 you could can continue to weigh in on that issue, 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:06.200 because I'm sure you agree that everyone should be going 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:10.519 through medical detectives metal detectives, and as a New Yorker, 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:15.520 it disturbs me that currently we are so worried about 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.080 security in the New York area, yet thousands of people 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:23.200 are going through every day with antiquated badges. And if 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.480 we're going to carry out your recommendations, I would like 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:30.600 to hear your recommendations as to an adjustment. And since 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.440 my time is running out, if you can comment on 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:38.720 airport security, in particular the fact that thousands of people 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:44.240 are currently going through the metal detectors, uh that thousands 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.920 of people are not going through the metal detectors with 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:52.200 their badges, thank you very much. Well, everybody should go 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:57.200 through metal detectives, I believe without we have to wait 0:03:57.240 --> 0:03:59.560 for structural change, or do you think we can implement 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.839 that now, ow can it be implemented by executive order? 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:04.920 We can't seem to move the f A A or 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:08.800 T s A and business keeps talking about an inconvenience. 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.400 How can we get that done? Now? Well, you could 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.080 probably an answer that, knowing probably more about government than 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.840 I do, But I don't know what the how you 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:21.800 can do these kind of things by executive order, or 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:23.520 whether you can or whether you have to have something 0:04:23.520 --> 0:04:25.960 through the United States Congress that I just don't have 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.479 the expertise to answer that. But it should be done, 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:30.880 There's no There's no question about it. I believe that 0:04:30.920 --> 0:04:34.400 if we're going to create less terrorists change minds in 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.400 the Arab world, we've got to change. We can't just 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.440 be viewed as a military power. We've got to get 0:04:41.480 --> 0:04:42.919 back to some of the things we used to do 0:04:42.960 --> 0:04:44.919 in the Cold War to try to win that cold 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:48.200 Cold War and change minds. And that involved not only 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:53.800 education expenses, but cultural exchanges, ways in which with student exchanges, 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.880 ways in which show we allowed these people to get 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:00.960 to know us and that we had a better understanding 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.080 of them. I mean, we've got to get into those 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.480 with some people call soft areas we we we've got 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.200 to let these people know who we are, and we've 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.720 got to understand in a much better way who they are. 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.120 And I'm not talking about the small percentage you want 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.039 to kill us. I'm talking about the much lodge of 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.559 a centage now who don't really like us at all 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.159 because of what they know of us right now. But 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.480 if we were able to send a different message, might 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:28.840 like us a bit better. After the release of the report, 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.720 the ten commissioners held a press conference. Here's a portion 0:05:31.800 --> 0:05:34.600 of that conference with opening statements by Chairman Thomas Kine. 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:40.240 Today we present this report and these recommendations to the 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:44.160 President of the United States, to the United States Congress, 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:50.200 and the American people. This report represents the unanimous conclusion 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.840 of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:04.080 On September eleven, two thousand and one, nineteen men armed 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:10.320 with knives, box cutters, mace, and pepper spray penetrated the 0:06:10.360 --> 0:06:15.000 defenses of the most powerful nation in the world. They 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:20.440 inflicted unbearable trump on our people. At the same time, 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:25.800 they turned the international order upside down. Now, we recognize 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.760 as commissioners that we have the benefit of hindsight and 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.640 since the plotters were flexible and resourceful, we cannot know 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.960 whether any single step or series of steps would have 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:40.839 defeated them. What we can say with a good deal 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:45.040 of confidence is that none of the measures adopted by 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:50.000 the United States government before eleven disturbed or even delayed 0:06:50.720 --> 0:06:55.599 the progress of the al Qaeda plot. There were several 0:06:55.640 --> 0:07:02.120 unexploited opportunities. Our government did not watch list future hijackers 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:05.240 Osmi and Minhof before they arrived in the United States 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.360 or take adequate steps to find them once they were here. 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.800 Our government did not link the arrest of zachairas Massawi 0:07:15.000 --> 0:07:17.680 described as interested in flight training for the purpose of 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:23.000 using airplane as a terrorist act to the heightened indications 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:27.160 of attack. Our government did not discover false statements and 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:32.760 visa applications, or recognized passports that were manipulated in a 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:38.240 fraudulent manner. Our government did not expand no Fly List 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:43.320 to include names from terrorist watchless or require airline passages 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:50.280 to be more thoroughly screened. These examples make up part 0:07:50.320 --> 0:07:53.360 of a broader national security picture where the government failed 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:58.120 to protect the American people. The United States government was 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:03.000 simply not active enough in batting the terrorist threat before eleven, 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:09.240 diplomacy and foreign policy failed to extract Unladen from his 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:16.160 Afghan sanctuary. Our military forces and covert action capabilities did 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:18.880 not have the options on the table to defeat al 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.760 Qaeda or kill or capture either Ben Laden or his 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:27.840 top lieutenants. Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies did not 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:33.000 manage or share information or effectively follow leaves to keep 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:39.280 pace with a very nimble enemy. Our border, immigration, and 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:45.080 aviation security agencies were not integrated into the counter terrorism effort, 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.360 and much of a response on a day of nine 0:08:49.400 --> 0:08:55.840 eleven was improvised and ineffective, even as extraordinary individual acts 0:08:55.840 --> 0:09:03.000 of heroism saved countless lives. Our failures took place over 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:08.000 many years and administrations. There's no single individual who is 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:13.440 responsible for our failures. Yet individuals and institutions cannot be 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:19.040 absolved of responsibility. Any person in a senior position within 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.640 our government during this time bears some element of responsibility 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:28.680 for our government's actions. Having said that, it is not 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:32.960 our purse to assign blame. As we said at the outset, 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:37.440 we look back so that we can look forward. Our 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:43.959 goal is to prevent future attacks. Every expert with whom 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:49.040 we spoke toldness, an attack of even greater magnitude is 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:54.240 now possible and even probable. We do not have the 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:59.240 luxury of time. We must prepare and we must act. 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:04.680 The al Qaida network and its affiliates are sophisticated, patient, disciplined, 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:09.400 and lethal. Osama bin Laden built an infrastructure and organization 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:13.199 that was able to attract, train, and use recruits against 0:10:13.240 --> 0:10:18.680 even more ambitious targets. He rallied New Zealots with each 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:23.800 demonstration of Alakaida's capability. His message and his hate filled 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:29.200 ideology have instructed and inspired untol recruits and imitators. He 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:36.520 in al Qaeda despise America and its policies. They exploit 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:40.760 political grievances and hopelessnesses within the Arab and Islamic world. 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.360 They indoctrinate to disaffect it and pervert one of the 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:51.560 great world's great religions, and they seek creative methods to 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:56.560 kill Americans in limitless numbers, including if they can do 0:10:56.679 --> 0:11:01.240 it with the use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:05.680 Put simply, the United States is faced with one of 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:10.480 the greatest security challenges in our long history. Because al 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:14.360 Qaeda represents an ideology, not a finite group of people. 0:11:14.880 --> 0:11:17.880 We should not expect the danger to receive greatly as 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:21.439 years to come. No matter whom we kill a capture, 0:11:22.160 --> 0:11:26.080 including Osama bin Laden himself, there will be still those 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:32.160 who plot against us. And Laden has inspired affiliates and imitates. 0:11:32.000 --> 0:11:36.320 The societies they prey on are vulnerable. The terrorist ideology 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:41.160 is potent, and the means for a conflicting harm are 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:47.280 readily available. We cannot let our God down. Congressman Hamilton's 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:55.760 I begin with the recommendations. This commission, of course does 0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:59.400 not have all of the answers, but we have thought 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:03.800 about to do a global strategy and how to do 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:09.200 it a different way of organizing our government. But based 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:13.200 on our third review of the government's performance and our 0:12:13.280 --> 0:12:17.560 examination of the enemy, we recommend the following elements for 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:23.680 a counter terrorism strategy. The strategy must be balanced. It 0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:30.120 must integrate all the elements of national power, diplomacy, intelligence, 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:35.840 covert action, law enforcement, economic policy, foreign aid, homeland defense, 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:41.680 and military strength. There is no silver bullet or decisive 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:47.160 blow that can defeat Islamic terrorism. It will take unity 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:50.640 of effort and sustained an effective use of every tool 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:57.080 at our disposal. We need to play offense to kill 0:12:57.200 --> 0:13:03.119 or to capture the terrorists, deny them sanctuaries, and disrupt 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:06.960 their ability to move money and people around the globe. 0:13:08.640 --> 0:13:12.240 We need to ensure that the key countries like Afghanistan 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:19.559 and Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are stable, capable, and resolute 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:24.680 in opposing terrorism. We need to sustain a coalition of 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:31.120 nations that cooperates bilaterally and multilaterally with US in the 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:36.400 counter terrorism mission. We need a better dialogue between the 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:41.640 West and the Islamic world. We also highlight the need 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:45.559 to restrict and roll back the proliferation of the world's 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:50.240 most dangerous weapons. We need to put forth an agenda 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:56.440 of opportunity, economic, educational, political, so that young people in 0:13:56.480 --> 0:14:01.400 the Arab and Islamic world have peaceful and productive avenues 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:07.240 for expression and hope. We need to join the battle 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:13.840 of ideas within the Islamic world, communicating hope instead of despair, 0:14:15.120 --> 0:14:22.600 progress in place of persecution, life instead of death. This 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.720 message should be matched by policies that encourage and support 0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:33.120 the majority of Muslims who share these goals. At home, 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:36.080 we need to set clear priorities for the protection of 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:42.520 our infrastructure and the security of our transportation resources. Should 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:47.680 be allocated based upon those priorities, and standards of preparedness 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:53.200 should be set. The private sector and local governments should 0:14:53.240 --> 0:14:58.160 play an important part in this process. We need secure 0:14:58.200 --> 0:15:03.280 borders with heightened and uniform standards of identification for those 0:15:03.720 --> 0:15:09.200 entering and exiting the country, and an immigration system able 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:14.600 to be efficient allowing good people in while keeping the 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:22.600 terrorists out. If God forbid there is another attack, we 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:27.200 must be ready to respond. We must educate the public, 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:34.760 train and equip our first responders, and anticipate countless scenarios. 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:42.880 We recommend significant changes in the organization of government. We 0:15:43.000 --> 0:15:47.000 know that the quality of the people is more important 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:53.160 than the quality of the wiring diagrams. Good people can 0:15:53.240 --> 0:16:01.440 overcome bad structures. They should not have to day and night. 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:06.280 Dedicated public servants are waging the struggle to combat terrorists 0:16:06.320 --> 0:16:10.120 and protect the homeland. We need to ensure that our 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:19.480 government maximizes their efforts through information sharing, coordinated effort, and 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:25.280 clear authority. A critical theme that emerged throughout our inquiry 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.520 was the difficulty of answering the question who is in charge? 0:16:33.160 --> 0:16:39.320 Who ensures that agencies pool resources, avoid duplication, and plan jointly. 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:45.440 Who oversees the massive integration and unity of effort necessary 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:50.800 to keep America safe. Too often the answer is no one. 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:57.280 Thus we are recommending a National counter Terrorism Center. We 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:02.800 need effective unity of effort on counter terrorism. We should 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:08.200 create a National counter Terrorism Center to unify all counter 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:14.440 terrorism intelligence and operations across the foreign and the domestic 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:19.880 divide in one organization. Right now, these efforts are too 0:17:19.880 --> 0:17:25.639 diffuse across the government. They need to be unified. We 0:17:25.720 --> 0:17:30.840 recommend a National Intelligence Director. We need unity of effort 0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:35.720 in the intelligence community. We need a much stronger head 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:39.679 of the intelligence community and an intelligence community that organizes 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:45.720 itself to do joint work in national mission centers. We 0:17:45.800 --> 0:17:49.560 need reforms of the kind the military had two decades ago. 0:17:51.040 --> 0:17:55.280 We need a Goldwater Nichols reform for the intelligence community. 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:01.440 The intelligence community needs a shift in mindset and organization 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:06.719 so that intelligence agencies operate under the principle of joint 0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:12.399 command with information sharing as the norm. We need to 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:17.159 reform in the United States Congress. We need unity of 0:18:17.200 --> 0:18:23.800 effort in the Congress. Right now, authority and responsibility are 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:29.679 too diffuse. The Intelligence Committees do not have enough power 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:38.320 to perform effectively their oversight work oversight for homeland security 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:44.159 is splintered among too many committees. We need much stronger 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:49.320 committees performing oversight of intelligence, and we need a single 0:18:49.320 --> 0:18:53.679 committee in each chamber providing oversight of the Department of 0:18:53.680 --> 0:18:59.800 Homeland Security. We need reform in the FBI. We need 0:18:59.880 --> 0:19:05.600 us stronger national security workforce within the FBI. We do 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:11.640 not support the creation of a new domestic intelligence agency. 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:16.320 What the f FBI needs is a specialized and integrated 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:25.560 national security workforce consisting of agents, analysts, linguists, and surveillance specialists. 0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:33.240 These specialists need to be recruited, trained, rewarded, and retained 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:39.320 to ensure the development of an institutional culture with deep 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:46.320 expertise and intelligence and national security. We need changes in 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:51.560 information sharing. We need unity of effort in that task. 0:19:52.720 --> 0:19:57.480 United States government has access to vast amounts of information, 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:03.760 but it has a weak process, a weak system of 0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:10.680 processing and using that information. Need to share must replace 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:16.040 need to know, and we need a better process for 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:23.280 transitions between one administration and another for national security officials 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:28.720 so that this nation does not lower its guard every 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:34.399 four or eight years. These and other recommendations are spelled 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:39.800 out in great detail in our report. We've made a 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:45.000 limited number of recommendations, focusing on the areas we believe 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:49.840 most critical. We are acutely sensitive to the need to 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:57.120 vigorously protect our liberties as we secure and guard our security. 0:20:57.520 --> 0:20:59.960 We endorse many of the actions taken in the week 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:04.280 in the wake of nine eleven to facilitate government action 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:09.560 and information shared, but we stress that these measures need 0:21:09.600 --> 0:21:14.840 to be accompanied by commitment to our open society and 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.919 the principle of review safeguards that are built into the 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:26.520 process and accompanied by vigorous oversight. We must, after all 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:31.040 is said and done, preserve the liberties that we are 0:21:31.080 --> 0:21:33.600 fighting for. It wasn't long after the release of the 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:37.560 report that controversy would seep into the narrative. Critics claimed 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:41.520 the report was rife with inaccuracies, lacked factual basis, and 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:44.399 claims of conflicts of interest. Some of those claims were 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:47.399 actually leveled by members of the commission. Other members of 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:50.080 the Commission claimed the recommendations were being ignored, and even 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:53.560 went on a nationwide tour to convince people and agencies 0:21:53.560 --> 0:21:57.120 to adopt the recommendations. Chairman Kane and Vice Chairman Hamilton's 0:21:57.119 --> 0:21:59.560 would go on to write a book about their experiences 0:21:59.680 --> 0:22:03.639 and the frustrations over lack of cooperation from intelligence agencies 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.240 and misstatements by the f a A and the Pentagon. 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:09.840 Both men said the commission was set up to fail. 0:22:17.480 --> 0:22:20.760 Captain Dale die as a retired Marine, a military consultant 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.040 and author, and one of the most sought after technical 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:26.760 advisors from motion pictures and television. He's also very well 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:29.400 informed and connected. I asked him if there was even 0:22:29.400 --> 0:22:32.680 a need for the Department of Homeland Security. I don't 0:22:32.680 --> 0:22:35.800 think so. Um. Look, we're one of one of the 0:22:36.240 --> 0:22:40.560 other things about Americans, as well as being blamers, Um, 0:22:40.880 --> 0:22:47.440 we're we're bureaucracy builders. I mean, part part of our 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:52.800 I don't know, national character, I guess, is to say, well, 0:22:52.880 --> 0:22:55.639 you know what we need here the greatest minds in 0:22:55.680 --> 0:22:58.439 the world. So let's go find them and we'll build 0:22:58.480 --> 0:23:01.679 some sort of bureaucracy and they'll study the question and 0:23:01.680 --> 0:23:05.960 they'll tell us what to do. Um. The problem with that, 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:09.399 as is a problem with all bureaucracies, is it's become 0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:16.120 self perpetuating. And what happens is they grasp for power. Okay, 0:23:16.160 --> 0:23:18.800 we're the we're the Department of Homeland Security. We will 0:23:18.880 --> 0:23:20.800 rule your lives. This is the way this is going 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:24.880 to go. And that's that's entirely anti American. UM. I 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:28.800 didn't see the need for it. I still don't see 0:23:28.800 --> 0:23:31.600 the need for it, frankly. But it is one of 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:35.600 those self perpetuating bureaucracies, and here we go, so we 0:23:35.680 --> 0:23:39.720 need I think at this point we don't. We might 0:23:39.760 --> 0:23:43.320 have needed an increased level of training and security and 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:45.920 that sort of thing for the for the normal security 0:23:45.960 --> 0:23:49.720 people and at airlines and major travel hubs and that 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:51.960 sort of thing. I think I think we should have 0:23:52.920 --> 0:23:56.440 taken a lesson from the Israelites. Frankly, they're very good 0:23:56.480 --> 0:24:00.080 at this, UM. And and if it were me, rather 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:04.240 than say, okay, let's build a bureaucracy full of eggheads 0:24:04.240 --> 0:24:06.400 and experts who can study this problem, I would have said, 0:24:06.440 --> 0:24:08.879 wait a minute, what are you guys doing over there 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:11.080 in Israel? You seem to do really well with this 0:24:11.240 --> 0:24:13.320 sort of thing. And I would have either copied or 0:24:13.920 --> 0:24:17.480 mimicked that and let it go. But that's not that's 0:24:17.480 --> 0:24:22.199 not in our American nature. UM. We liked to build 0:24:22.440 --> 0:24:27.080 stuff and then okay, problem solved, And of course it 0:24:27.160 --> 0:24:32.360 never is. It just creates other problems. UM. So UM 0:24:32.560 --> 0:24:35.879 Homeland Security t s AN I don't think so. We 0:24:35.920 --> 0:24:38.040 could have done it better. In the last few years, 0:24:38.040 --> 0:24:40.840 there's been a lot of controversy surrounding our intelligence services, 0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:45.240 lack of trust, failures in communication, failures to work together. 0:24:45.720 --> 0:24:50.280 How is our intelligence infrastructure? Do you think? Look, we 0:24:50.280 --> 0:24:57.960 we needed a central collating an analysis point. We created one. 0:24:58.880 --> 0:25:02.000 But in the process of doing that, I think we 0:25:02.119 --> 0:25:08.399 ignored the old bureaucratic in fighting. Well, I know something 0:25:08.480 --> 0:25:10.920 you don't know, and that gives me a certain edge, 0:25:10.960 --> 0:25:14.440 that gives me a certain power. And that's rife, rife 0:25:14.480 --> 0:25:19.600 throughout the American intelligence community, whether it's civilian intelligence or 0:25:19.640 --> 0:25:24.440 military intelligen there's something like thirteen fourteen or fifteen separate agencies. 0:25:25.080 --> 0:25:30.199 I think we finally understood that that the material, the 0:25:30.280 --> 0:25:35.800 product that is produced out of those intelligence agencies needs 0:25:35.840 --> 0:25:41.760 to come under one umbrella. But look, intelligence gathering is 0:25:41.840 --> 0:25:47.520 a dirty business. Even with all of the electronic gizmos 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:52.720 and satellites and surveillance techniques that we have, it's still 0:25:52.760 --> 0:25:57.119 a dirty business. It's still about secrets. It's still about 0:25:58.080 --> 0:26:01.879 I know something you don't know, and and because I 0:26:01.920 --> 0:26:04.159 know that, and now I have access to power and 0:26:04.200 --> 0:26:06.960 so on, and and that is the sort of thing 0:26:07.040 --> 0:26:11.320 that that defeats a lot of our our intelligence efforts. 0:26:11.560 --> 0:26:14.200 And you know, it's so simple. In many cases, it's 0:26:14.200 --> 0:26:18.840 a matter of picking up a phone and saying, hey, 0:26:19.080 --> 0:26:21.760 I got some stuff, what do you got? But we 0:26:21.880 --> 0:26:26.040 don't want to do that because that's giving away. Um. 0:26:27.359 --> 0:26:32.359 We're so clandestinely oriented about this sort of thing that 0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:36.080 in many cases we defeat ourselves. The information that we've 0:26:36.160 --> 0:26:41.680 gathered through extraordinary effort never gets shared because we're afraid 0:26:41.720 --> 0:26:45.560 of it being compromised. Well, look, a little compromise is 0:26:45.600 --> 0:26:48.720 better than no information at all. Are we safer today 0:26:48.720 --> 0:26:50.720 than we were twenty years ago? You know, I was 0:26:50.720 --> 0:26:52.960 afraid you were going to ask me that, Steve. And 0:26:53.560 --> 0:26:57.320 I don't know the answer, my friend, I really don't. Um, 0:26:57.359 --> 0:27:03.280 I think so, UM, I hope so. I hope we've 0:27:03.400 --> 0:27:07.920 learned some things through this agony that we've been over 0:27:08.119 --> 0:27:14.040 in uh in, in this century. I really do. UM. 0:27:14.080 --> 0:27:17.040 I think it's important for us to understand that America 0:27:17.200 --> 0:27:20.959 is vulnerable and can be vulnerable. And the more we 0:27:21.040 --> 0:27:25.800 screw up internationally, the more we allow China to do 0:27:25.920 --> 0:27:30.119 what China is trying to do become the world power 0:27:30.240 --> 0:27:36.120 that the United States once was. The more we do that, UM, 0:27:36.160 --> 0:27:41.560 I'm afraid our safety, which has improved certainly since nine eleven, 0:27:42.320 --> 0:27:44.639 the safety of the individual on the street, living in 0:27:44.760 --> 0:27:47.239 l A or living in kia Kuk or wherever it is. 0:27:47.560 --> 0:27:50.600 I think I think they are indeed safer right now. 0:27:51.440 --> 0:27:59.160 But if we continue to chase these sort of overseas involvements, Uh, 0:27:59.240 --> 0:28:02.080 we're gonna sack pfies a great deal of that safety. 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:07.600 We're inviting higher, we're inviting spite. And the more we 0:28:07.680 --> 0:28:13.840 do that, the more the people who are threatening our 0:28:13.880 --> 0:28:17.080 safety are going to attempt to get to us. Look, 0:28:17.080 --> 0:28:19.800 it's a great coup to be able to kick the 0:28:19.800 --> 0:28:24.520 great Satan in the butt. America is a powerful country, 0:28:24.680 --> 0:28:29.040 and anybody who can take a shot and that shot lands, 0:28:29.560 --> 0:28:32.840 that's a great deal of prestige for those people. Um, 0:28:32.840 --> 0:28:36.720 and we are vulnerable. But I think in direct answer, 0:28:37.680 --> 0:28:41.280 we're a bit safer for mr and mrs on the 0:28:41.360 --> 0:28:45.240 street than we were before nine eleven. Once again, Thomas Caine, 0:28:45.240 --> 0:28:47.800 the chairman of the nine eleven Commission, his final words 0:28:47.800 --> 0:28:50.360 on the day the Commission's report was released. We have 0:28:50.400 --> 0:28:54.640 struck blows against the terrorists nine eleven. We have we believe, 0:28:54.720 --> 0:28:57.719 prevented attacks on the homeland. We do believe we are 0:28:57.760 --> 0:29:01.000 safer today than we were in nine eleven, but we 0:29:01.160 --> 0:29:04.800 are not safe. Thank you all. We do believe that 0:29:04.880 --> 0:29:14.160 in this volume, our recommendations will make the American table safe. 0:29:15.800 --> 0:29:19.880 So maybe the answer isn't with government officials, experts and politicians. 0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:23.200 Maybe the answer hits a little closer to home. Do 0:29:23.400 --> 0:29:27.080 you feel safer today than yesterday, than twenty years ago? 0:29:28.000 --> 0:29:38.320 I'm Steve Gregory in Los Angeles, nine eleven, Two decades 0:29:38.400 --> 0:29:42.200 Later is produced by Steve Gregory and Jacob Gonzalez and 0:29:42.360 --> 0:29:44.520 is a production of the k FI News department for 0:29:44.560 --> 0:29:48.040 I Heart Media Los Angeles and the iHeart podcast Network. 0:29:48.400 --> 0:29:51.240 The views expressed are strictly those of the guests and 0:29:51.320 --> 0:29:59.840 not necessarily the hosts or employees of I Heart Media.