Reading the 9/11 Commission Executive Summary

( I read kottke's html version. He's got a post pointing to some of the different versions.)

+ Missed Opportunities: the ones that stand out to me are the last three (beginning): 'not expanding no-fly lists to include names from terrorist watchlists; not searching airline passengers identified by the computer-based CAPPS screening system; and not hardening aircraft cockpit doors or taking other measures to prepare for the possibility of suicide hijackings'. The last one, I think, would have made the biggest difference. I'm confident no one will ever hijack an airliner with box cutters again. But we just weren't prepared for that tactic.

+ Everything in the 'Capabilities' section could have been fixed. Sure. hindsight is 20/20. And we're majorly limited in a democracy by the politicization of some of these issues, not least of all through budgeting.

+ 'The CIA had minimal capacity to conduct paramilitary operations with its own personnel, and it did not seek a large-scale expansion of these capabilities before 9/ 11' (line 546). I don't think they would have gotten this expansion, in the pre-9/11 enrvironment. But they might need it to fight terrorism (cf my 'Imperial Hubris' post).

+ Lack of military options: Again, referencing my post on 'Imperial Hubris', we're going to have to dial down what we regard as 'actionable intelligence' if we want to fight this war militarily. Operatives on the ground have to be given more authority. Is that what we want? I'm not sure.

+ '(853) So long as oversight is undermined by current congressional rules and reso-lutions, we believe the American people will not get the security they want and need. The United States needs a strong, stable, and capable congressional com-mittee structure to give America's national intelligence agencies oversight, sup-port, and leadership.' I'm sure this is true.

+ '(957) Attack Terrorists and Their Organizations': Yes! Strengthen our commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sort out our relationship with the Saudis, if possible. What about Iraq? And are they going to mention the situation in Palestine/Israel? One direction here would be to support work of an Authority there without Arafat (who has proven untrustworthy).

+ I have trouble imagining '(986) Define the message and stand as an example of moral leadership in the world.' What would this even look like? I think it'd require more interest in other nations' national interest. We've pulled out of so many treaties that others care about. Our corporations do so much of what they like. Our 'entertainment' exports are immoral.

+ '(1009) Develop a comprehensive coalition strategy against Islamist terrorism, using a flexible contact group of leading coalition governments and fashioning a common coalition approach on issues like the treatment of captured terrorists.' But we've acted unilaterally and thumbed our noses at many other governments.

Overall, I don't think we could have effectively fought this battle before something bad happened. The public and political will were not there.

And, finally, just as I feared, there's almost no mention, at least in the summary, of foreign policy, the behavior of multinational corporations, or international media responsibility.