What were the major findings and recommendations of the 9-11 Commission?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Commission cited systemic failures and charged that elected and appointed government
officials in the Congress, the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,
the CIA, and the FBI failed to grasp the seriousness of terrorism as an imminent threat. Although
the Commission stopped short of stating that the 9-11 attacks could have been prevented, it
noted many government missteps. The 9-11 Commission’s (2004) recommendations included the
following:
• Create a single, high-level intelligence director to supervise and oversee the 15 intelligence
agencies of the United States.
• Create a National Counterterrorism Center to coordinate data collection and analysis among
intelligence-gathering agencies, including the CIA and FBI.
• Develop a global diplomatic and public relations strategy to dismantle the terrorist network
that Osama bin Laden created and to defeat the radical fundamentalist Islamic ideology that
encourages and supports terrorist groups.
• Improve homeland security measures, including national standards for issuing driver licenses
and other forms of identification, create terrorist watch lists, and increase the use of biometric
identifiers to screen travelers at seaports, borders, and airports.
• Improve oversight of intelligence gathering and counterterrorism activities by the U.S.
Congress, especially during transitions between presidential administrations. This
recommendation supports radical changes, including a proposal for either a single, joint House–
Senate intelligence oversight committee or separate House and Senate committees, with direct
budget authority over the U.S. intelligence function