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Sept. 11 Commission report summary
July 22, 2004

Washington D.C. —

HIGHLIGHTS OF REPORT

-- Commission concludes that a "failure of imagination," not governmental neglect, allowed 19 hijackers to carry out the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

-- The panel calls for an intelligence overhaul to confront an al-Qaida organization intent on striking again.

-- The report proposes a national counterterrorism center headed by a new Cabinet-level national director of intelligence. The director would have authority over the CIA, FBI and other agencies, while congressional oversight also would be strengthened.

-- The 10-member panel declined to recommend a separate domestic spy agency modeled after Britain's MI5, as some outside experts have suggested, deciding that reform efforts by FBI Director Robert Mueller were on the right track despite the FBI's historical focus on law enforcement.

-- The report lists a series of missed operational opportunities to stop the hijackers, such as the bungled attempts to kill or capture Osama bin Laden and the FBI's handling of terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who was arrested in August 2001 before the hijackings.

-- The report faults institutional shortcomings; it does not blame President Bush or former President Clinton for mistakes contributing to the 2001 terrorist attack.

-- The report faults Congress for poor oversight of intelligence gathering, and criticizes government agencies for their emergency responses to the attacks. The harshest criticism is leveled at the FBI and CIA. -- The report describes the meticulous planning and determination of hijackers who sought to exploit weaknesses in airline and border procedures by taking test flights.

-- The report also "debunks" some theories that once circulated widely, such as that the Saudi government had funded the hijackers and that the White House allowed a group of Saudis to slip out of the country just after Sept. 11 when all planes were grounded.

-- White House officials and congressional leaders have been briefed on the panel's findings.

PRESIDENT BUSH

-- President Bush received a copy of the report this morning.

-- Bush says he's told the leaders of the 9/11 commission that "where the government needs to act, we will."

-- Says the commission is putting forward a "common sense approach" on how to move forward in the fight against terrorism.

-- Says commissioners are making "very constructive recommendations."

-- In presenting Bush with the report, commission chairman Thomas Kean thanked the president for his administration's cooperation in the investigation.

-- Bush said the panel recognized what he and the nation also recognize -- that terrorism is still a threat.

-- Bush said the government has an obligation to do everything in its power to protect the American people.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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