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The 9/11 Commission: Overview
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, released its final report on June 22, 2004. The Commission was created in late 2002 after families of victims put intense pressure on the White House and Congress to form an independent investigative commission. The families and other critics feared the reports underway by congressional intelligence committees would not be able to tell the full story. Initially, the White House was accused of dragging its heels on the full-scale investigations the victims' families sought, and it was not until late 2002 that Public Law 107-306 created The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, an independent, bipartisan commission. Its mandate was sweeping — to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks — and to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.
The White House faced additional fire when the President appointed former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as chairman of the Commission. Kissinger stepped down within the first two weeks of taking the post rather than answer allegations of potential conflicts of interest. His replacement was former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, a Republican, Democrat Lee H. Hamilton, former U.S. Representative from the 9th District of Indiana, was chosen as vice chair. The other committee members included Richard Ben-Veniste (Democrat, attorney, former chief of the Watergate Task Force of the Watergate Special Prosecutor's Office), Fred F. Fielding (Republican, attorney), Jamie S. Gorelick (Democrat, former Deputy Attorney General in the Clinton Administration), Slade Gorton (Republican, former Senator from Washington), Bob Kerrey (Democrat, former Senator from Nebraska), John F. Lehman (Republican, former Secretary of the Navy), Timothy J. Roemer (Democrat, former U.S. Representative from the 3rd District of Indiana), James R. Thompson (Republican, former Governor of Illinois) — a total of five Republicans and five Democrats.
The Commission encountered a number of hurdles in its investigation. Battles over the handling and release of classified documents were frequent. The White House was criticized by some for placing too tight restrictions on interviews, but in the end President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Condoleeza Rice all testified. Commission members also needed to ask for both more time and more funding to complete the task with which they were charged.
In the course of its duties the Commission interviewed over 1,200 people in 10 countries and reviewed over two and a half million pages of documents. You can read the full report online. You can also read the submitted testimony of experts called to testify at open hearings held before the Commission at the Commission's Web site. The transcripts of public hearings are also on the Commission's Web site.
Congressional intelligence committees released a separate report on the actions of the FBI and CIA before and after the September 11 attacks. Read the Report of the Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks.
Additional 9/11 Resources
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