Analyze The Causes Of 9/11 Failure

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The September 11, 2001 attacks marked one of the greatest intelligence failures since Pearl Harbor in 1941. This is one of the most notorious failures that turned a watchful eye back to the intelligence community demanding reform and explanation. Prior to this attack, the focus of intelligence, outside of law enforcement, was almost solely foreign. This incident brought the overall security of the United States back into distinct focus (Anderson, 2005). The intelligence community did not do much inside the United States prior to this happening. The worry was by doing this, it would infringe on the rights of our citizens. Intelligence inside the country was, almost solely, placed on law enforcement, however not for terrorism reasons.
Prior to 2001, domestic intelligence and foreign intelligence were quite distinguishable (Randol, 2009). One did not interfere too much with the other. Agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Administration, and the Military controlled much of the foreign intelligence collection and analysis. While domestic intelligence rested on the law enforcement agencies inside the U.S., usually for criminal purposes and not terrorism prevention. This idea created problems.
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This paper will discuss a couple of the failures of the intelligence sector concerning 9/11. Perception of the intelligence community, lack of communication, lack of warning of suspicious activity leading to the disaster, and overall preparedness are some of the topics that will be discussed. The idea that the September 11th attacks was an intelligence failure of epic proportions is backed up by these ideas. Maybe the attack could not be avoided, however, the readiness and ability to recognize the possibility and prepare could have been greatly enhanced with the proper creativeness and mindsets of security and