The New York Times nicely summarizes the recently released report from the 9/11 commission:
When the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States set to work early last year to prepare the definitive history of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, it seemed that much of its hard work was already done, because so much of the horrifying story seemed to be known.
At the time, it was understood that all of the hijackers had entered the country legally and done nothing to draw attention to themselves; Osama bin Laden had underwritten the plot with his personal fortune but had left the details to others; American intelligence agencies had no warning that Al Qaeda was considering suicide missions using planes; President Bush had received a special intelligence briefing weeks before Sept. 11 that focused on past, not current, terrorist threats from Al Qaeda.
But 19 months later, the commission has released a final, unanimous book-length report that, in calling for a overhaul of the way the government collects and shares intelligence, showed that much of what had been common wisdom about the Sept. 11 attacks at the start of the panel’s investigation was wrong.
Until I have time to pore over the entire report — a copy of which is sitting here on my desk — this is a good overview.
iTunes: “First Encounter” by P.I.M.P. from the album Twisted Secrets Vol. 2 (1996, 7:52).