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<S' Subject: Revised Team 3 Workplan Philip,
Attached is the revised version of the Team 3 Workplan. As you suggested when we met last week, we've tried to err on the side of brevity whenever possible. In particular, we severely cut the "questions" section in order to make it more manageable. We also tried to focus the interviewee and document lists a bit more. In all cases, we hoped that what we proposed was inclusive -- much of our plan will be adjusted as we begin our research, and we don't want to rule out any major issues at this point. We'd welcome your comments on the new version and would be happy to meet when your schedule permits. Best, Dan |D 2 Work Plan Draft 051103.doc application/msword 148.00 KB Hi
Proposed Work Plan for the Counterterrorism Policy Team Alexis Albion Scott Allan Warren Bass Daniel Byman Bonnie Jenkins Charles Hill Draft: May 12, 2003
Contents Project Overview
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Key Questions
Proposed Division of Labor
Initial Document Review List
Appendix One: Summary of Joint Inquiry Staff Work on Policy
Appendix Two: Suggested Readings
Appendix Three: Notional Interview List
Appendix Four: Proposed Briefings for the Commissioners
Project Overview: Counter-terrorism Policy The policy team seeks to understand and assess the development of U.S. counter-terrorism policy before the September 11 attacks, the changes in the immediate aftermath, and the nature of the policy today. These tasks will require reviewing overall priorities, identifying and evaluating the different instruments used to fight terrorism, and determining how well senior policy makers understood the threat from al-Qa'ida. Another integral part of the policy team's effort is examining U.S. relationships with key foreign partners and adversaries with regard to counter-terrorism. When appropriate, the team will distinguish between U.S. counter-terrorism policy in general and U.S. efforts to fight al-Qa'ida in particular. The nature of terrorism during the Cold War shaped U.S. counter-terrorism policy when al-Qa'ida began to emerge. These earlier terrorists, in the words of RAND's Brian Jenkins, wanted "a lot of people watching and a lot of people listening and not a lot of people dead." Their goals were usually tied to Marxist or ethno-nationalist agendas. The most lethal terrorists during this era were those backed by states, not those operating independently. In general, terrorism during this period was viewed as an important but not overriding policy concern. As al-Qa'ida and affiliated Islamist groups emerged and grew in the 1990s, the focus slowly shifted. The 1993 attack on the World Trade Center marked a turning point. For the first time, Islamist radicals sought mass casualties on U.S. soil. In contrast to the terrorists of the 1970s and 1980s, who had balked at destroying entire buildings, the new radicals wanted a lot of people watching and a lot of people dead. Several government counter-terrorism officials recognized the danger al-Qa'ida posed, but U.S. policy changed unevenly at best. The 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania elevated the importance of terrorism in general and al-Qa'ida in particular, but policy still lagged behind the immensity of the threat. It took the September 11 attacks to dramatically change U.S. counter-terrorism policy. Even today, counter-terrorism policy is evolving, with important policy decisions being made almost daily. The policy team expects to follow a normal investigative regimen of document requests and review, briefings by key individuals both inside and outside government, and extensive interviews with those in a position to discuss the formulation and implementation of U.S. government policy in the counter-terrorism arena. In addition, the team will draw on the work of the Congressional September 11 Joint Inquiry as appropriate. Key Questions
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The policy team will determine why the United States did not successfully stop al-Qa'ida before September 11 and assess the effectiveness of counterterrorism policy today. In the process, the team will tell the story of how counterterrorism policy evolved as the al-Qa'ida threat grew during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, examining such key events as the 1993 World Trade Center attack, the 1998 Embassy bombings, and the 2000 attack on USS Cole. In particular, the team plans to answer the following questions: • Strategy. What was U.S. counterterrorism policy and how did it evolve, particularly after 1998? Were there gaps in the strategy and, if so, how did policy makers address them? What factors hindered policy makers? • Instruments. What counterterrorism instruments did policy makers consider, use, or neglect and why? How effective were instruments such as diplomacy, criminal prosecutions, renditions, fundraising restraints, disruptions, military operations, covert action, and public diplomacy? What were the limits of various instruments? How supportive were key countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan? • Safe Havens. Did the United States confront terrorist sanctuaries, such as Sudan and Afghanistan, properly? Were "permissive environments" in Europe and elsewhere addressed? • Immediate Aftermath. How did counterterrorism policy change in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks? Why were several hard-hitting steps only taken after the attacks occurred? • Current and Future Policy. Does the United States have the right policies to fight al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups today? What additional changes should be made, and who should make them? Note: The policy team will work closely with other teams in its research. For example, it will support the terrorist financing team when assessing efforts to disrupt radicals' fundraising and assist the intelligence team in determining whether policy makers received sufficient information on al-Qa'ida's unusual nature to properly structure U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Proposed Division of Labor Person
|| Agency
||lssue Lead
Alexis Albion
||CIA, DoD
[[instruments
Scott Allan
||state, DoJ, CIA
||Safe Havens
Warren Bass
||White House/NSC, State
||strategy
Daniel Byman
White House/NSC
Bonnie Jenkins
IJDoD, State
Charles Hill*
||State
Kevin Scheid or other person with budget experience
OMB
Acting team leader; will work with all team members on their specific tasks. ||lmmediate aftermath
Assist with counterterrorism budget issues
* Senior advisor. It may be best to use him to review the research plan and work as it progresses rather than assign a particular task. Byman may be used in a similar manner after a new team leader is chosen. All team members will work on assessing current and future policy. All team members will work on at least one issue in addition to the one for which they are responsible. Proposed Briefings for the Commissioners We believe the Commissioners would benefit from briefings about general U.S. counterterrorism policy, U.S. policy toward
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al-Qa'ida before September 11, and the status of U.S. policy today. • Ambassador Michael Sheehan, the former Special Coordinator for Counterterrorism, would also be well-suited for helping Commissioners understand counterterrorism policy in context before September 11. • General John Gordon, the National Director for Counterterrorism and the Deputy National Security Advisor should brief on the current counterterrorism policy. • Dr. Paul Pillar, currently the National Intelligence Office for the Near East and South Asia, is perhaps the government's leading analyst of terrorism and could provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of different counterterrorism instruments. • Dr. Daniel Byman, who headed the "lookback" team on the 9-11 Inquiry, could offer a staff briefing on several aspects of the Congressional Joint Inquiry investigation, particularly covert action, foreign liaison, the use of military force, and the overall counterterrorism strategy as it related to intelligence. These briefings would follow the Joint Inquiry's more narrow focus and would not reflect many of the broader issues the Commission will examine. All four suggested briefers would probably prefer to brief in a classified or, at least, private venue in order to provide the maximum detail. Notional Document Review List Much, if not all, of the material we will be asking for will be classified. Since we will be requesting policy documents, the focus will be the Executive/NSC/OMB and probably the Departments of State and Justice as well. This list will grow and become more specific as the investigation proceeds. The documents we will be requesting include: • Presidential Decision Directives related to counterterrorism policy; • Records of discussions of counterterrorism policy, particularly among "Small Group" and "Counterterrorism Security Group" members; • NSC Memoranda related to counterterrorism policy; • State Department records, from both Foggy Bottom and the field, related to counterterrorism policy; • Tasking directed to the intelligence community related to counterterrorism, including tasking related to renditions and other covert action as well as collection and analysis; • Tasking directed to the military related to counterterrorism, both with regard to instructions to prepare military options and instructions to use military force; • Military and intelligence agency briefings and memoranda related to military strikes and covert action against alQa'ida; • Budget documents reflecting resources applied to counterterrorism. Many of the most interesting documents for the purposes of our effort will be predecisional. Such documents will provide insights into which options were chosen, which were rejected, and which were off the table. Because of the sensitivity of these documents, it may prove difficult to acquire them, which may in turn necessitate high-level interventions.
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To gain a deeper understanding of counter-terrorism, we also intend to focus on the activities of several U.S. missions, such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, to determine how they handled counterterrorism in practice. In addition to examining directives from Washington, we also plan to look at cables and instructions to and from key counterterrorism officials at these posts. We will also interview key country team members as appropriate. Appendix One: Congressional Joint Inquiry Activity in the Policy Area The Congressional 9-11 Inquiry's work on policy issues focused on the intelligence-policy nexus rather than on the soundness of the overall policy. The Inquiry discussed intelligence priorities, the dissemination of information, and the quality of analysis with policy makers in some depth. The focus of its work was on the late Clinton-early Bush administrations, with the Inquiry having more success learning about the Clinton period. Policies toward foreign partners received at best incomplete attention. For example, the Inquiry looked at how the policy makers' desire for a strong bilateral relationship with Country X affected intelligence gathering on Country X or on neighboring countries. However, this was only done with a few countries, and even there it was not done systematically. Moreover, the Inquiry deliberately did not try to judge whether other equities in a bilateral relationship were more or less important than counterterrorism. The Inquiry did more extensive work on the use of military force and on covert action. On the former, however, it was hampered by a lack of interviews and access to many key individuals and documents outside the strict purview of intelligence. The Inquiry did not try to judge overall counterterrorism policy in any comprehensive way. Parts of the Inquiry's work looked at issues such as warning the public, working with state and local officials, and emphasizing law enforcement over disruption of terrorist groups. Many of these issues, however, involved the work of non-Intelligence Community agencies (e.g. the Department of Justice, the INS), which received less attention than they deserved. In addition, the Inquiry did not do basic policy analysis such as trying to evaluate the available instruments, the limits on those instruments, and political support in Congress. Suggested Readings for the Commissioners on Terrorism and U.S. Policy 1.
Paul Pillar, Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2001), pp. 73-129. These pages in Dr. Pillar's book provide an excellent overview of the instruments used to fight terrorism.
2.
Michael Elliott, "Could 9/11 Have Been Prevented?" Time, August 4, 2002. This article provides a fairly detailed history of various efforts to fight al-Qa'ida in the Clinton and Bush administrations. Many of the quotes suggest that former Clinton administration officials were sources for the article.
3.
Daniel Byman, "A Scorecard for the War on Terrorism," The National Interest, Summer 2003. This piece examines how well the war on terrorism has gone since September 11.
Note: we also highly recommend as background Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (Random House, 2002), pp. 219-349. These pages review (and defend) the Clinton administration's counterterrorism policy and examine (and attack) the Bush administration's policy before September 11. This is the most detailed look at U.S. counterterrorism policy to emerge so far, though it remains incomplete. Notional List of People to Interview As a first cut, the team would divide people to be interviewed into several categories: those with responsibilities for U.S. foreign policy who can place counterterrorism in context; those with counterterrorism responsibilities; those with valuable related responsibilities; personnel at key posts; and outside experts. NSC staff will prove particularly important, as they often directed and coordinated the overall "war on terrorism" in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
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The first list in particular includes the most prominent names in U.S. government. That may seem ambitious, but priorities and focus do begin at the top - and often end there. In several cases (e.g., at OMB), it may be more appropriate to talk to a deputy or someone who focused more on counterterrorism. Given the prominence of several of the people on this list, we favor interviewing the working-level individuals, particularly those involved in counterterrorism, and outside experts first whenever possible. Only when we know as much of the story as possible will we interview the most senior individuals. People Responsible for Overall Policy 1.
President George W. Bush
2.
President William J. Clinton
3.
Vice President Richard Cheney
4.
Vice President Al Gore
5.
Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor
6.
Samuel Berger, former National Security Advisor
7.
Colin Powell, Secretary of State
8.
Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State
9.
Attorney General John Ashcroft
10.
Former Attorney General Janet Reno
11.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
12.
Secretary of Defense William Cohen
13.
Former FBI Director Louis Freeh
14.
Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet
15.
Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State
16.
Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Sectary of State
17. Sean O'Keefe, former Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget 18. Josh Gotbaum, former Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget 19.
Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
20.
Douglas Jay Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
21.
Steven Cambone, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
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WITHDRAWAL NOTICE RG: 148 Exposition, Anniversary, and Memorial Commissions SERIES: 9/11 Commission, Team 3 NND PROJECT NUMBER:
52100
FOIA CASE NUMBER: 31107
WITHDRAWAL DATE: 11/21/2008
BOX: 00005
FOLDER: 0008
TAB: 6
DOC ID: 31207086
COPIES: 1 PAGES:
The item identified below has been withdrawn from this file: FOLDER TITLE: Counterterrorism Policy Working Papers DOCUMENT DATE:
DOCUMENT TYPE: List
FROM:
TO: SUBJECT:
Counterterroism Specialists and Other Senior Working Level Officials. Pages 7 and 8 of a nine page documents
This document has been withdrawn for the following reason(s): 9/11 Closed by Statute 9/11 Law Enforcement Privacy
WITHDRAWAL NOTICE
Mail:: INBOX: Revised Team 3 Workplan
16.
Gregory Passic, Director
17.
Nicholas Rasmussen, Director
Page 9 of 9
Outside Experts 1.
Bruce Hoffman, the RAND Corporation
2.
Brian Jenkins, the RAND Corporation
3.
Juliette Kayyem, Harvard University
4.
Richard Betts, Columbia University
9 Draft -- Unclassified Draft -- Unclassified Delete I Reply I Reply to All I Forward I Redirect I Blacklist I Message Source I Resume I Save as I Print Back to INBOX Move I Copy [This message to
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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Proposed Work Plan for the Counterterrorism Policy Team Alexis Albion Scott Allan Warren Bass Daniel Byman Bonnie Jenkins Charles Hill Draft: May 15, 2003 Contents Project Overview Key Questions Proposed Division of Labor Initial Document Review List Appendix One: Summary of Joint Inquiry Staff Work on Policy Appendix Two: Suggested Readings Appendix Three: Notional Interview List Appendix Four: Proposed Briefings for the Commissioners
Project Overview: Counterterrorism Policy The policy team seeks to understand and assess the development of U.S. Counterterrorism policy before September 11, 2001, the policy changes in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, and the nature of the policy today. These tasks will require reviewing overall policy priorities, identifying and evaluating the different instruments used to fight terrorism, and determining how well senior policy makers understood the threat from al-Qa'ida. Another integral part of the policy team's effort is examining U.S. relationships with key foreign partners and adversaries with regard to Counterterrorism. When
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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appropriate, the team will distinguish between U.S. counterterrorism policy in general and U.S. efforts to fight al-Qa'ida in particular. The nature of terrorism during the Cold War shaped U.S. counterterrorism policy when al-Qa'ida began to emerge. These earlier terrorists, in the words of RAND's Brian Jenkins, wanted "a lot of people watching and a lot of people listening and not a lot of people dead." Their goals were usually tied to Marxist or ethno-nationalist agendas. The most lethal terrorists during this era were those backed by states, not those operating independently. In general, terrorism during this earlier period was viewed as an important but not overriding policy concern. As al-Qa'ida and affiliated Islamist groups emerged and grew in the 1990s, the focus slowly shifted. The 1993 attack on the World Trade Center marked a turning point. For the first time, Islamist radicals sought mass casualties on U.S. soil. In contrast to the terrorists of the 1970s and 1980s, who had balked at destroying entire buildings, the new radicals wanted a lot of people watching and a lot of people dead. Several government counterterrorism officials recognized the danger that al-Qa'ida posed, but U.S. policy changed unevenly at best. The 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania elevated the importance of terrorism in general and al-Qa'ida in particular, but policy still lagged behind the immensity of the threat. It took the September 11 attacks to dramatically change U.S. counterterrorism policy. Even today, counterterrorism policy is evolving, with important policy decisions being made almost daily. The policy team expects to follow a normal investigative regimen of document requests and review, briefings by key individuals both inside and outside government, and extensive interviews with those in a position to discuss the formulation and implementation of U.S. government policy in the counterterrorism arena. In addition, the team will draw on the work of the Congressional September 11 Joint Inquiry as appropriate. Key Questions The policy team will seek to determine why the United States did not successfully stop al-Qa'ida before September 11 and assess the effectiveness of U.S. counterterrorism policy today. In the process, the team will tell the story of how counterterrorism policy evolved as the al-Qa'ida threat grew during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, examining such key events as the 1993 World Trade Center attack, the 1998 Embassy bombings, and the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole. In particular, the team plans to answer the following questions: • Strategy. What was U.S. counterterrorism policy, and how did it evolve, particularly after 1998? Were there gaps in the strategy, and if so, how did policy makers address them? What factors hindered policy makers? • Instruments. What counterterrorism instruments did policy makers consider, use, or neglect— and why? How effective were instruments such as diplomacy, criminal prosecutions, renditions, fundraising restraints, disruptions, military operations, covert action, and public diplomacy? What were the limits of various instruments? How supportive were key countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan? • Safe Havens. Did the United States properly confront terrorist sanctuaries, such as Sudan and Afghanistan? Were "permissive environments" in Europe and elsewhere addressed? • Immediate Aftermath. How did counterterrorism policy change in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks? Why were several hard-hitting steps only taken after the attacks occurred?
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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• Current and Future Policy. Does the United States have the right policies to fight al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups today? What additional changes should be made, and who should make them? Note: The policy team will work closely with other teams in its research. For example, it will support the terrorist-financing team when assessing efforts to disrupt radicals' fundraising and assist the intelligence team in determining whether policy makers received sufficient information on al-Qa'ida's unusual nature to properly structure U.S. counterterrorism efforts. Proposed Division of Labor
Person
Agency**
[Alexis Albion [Scott Allan Warren Bass Bonnie Jenkins
CIA State, DoJ White House/NSC, OMB DoD
(^r")
Daniel Byman [Charles Hill* Kevin Scheid or other person with budget experience
+
Issue Lead (all team members will play a role in at least two issues) Instruments Safe Havens Strategy Instruments Acting team leader; will work with all team members on their specific tasks. Assist with counterterrorism budget issues
*Senior advisor. It may be best to use him to review the research plan and work as it progresses rather than assign a particular task. Byman may be used in a similar manner after a new team leader is chosen. **The agency designee is largely administrative. He or she will act as the primary interlocutor for document and interview requests and liaise with other teams working on that agency. All team members may interview at or work with documents from key agencies. All team members will work on the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the assessment of current policy, and the recommendations for the future. All team members will work on at least one issue in addition to the one for which they are responsible. Proposed Expert Briefings for the Commissioners We believe the Commissioners would benefit from briefings about general U.S. counterterrorism policy, U.S. policy toward al-Qa'ida before September 11, and the status of U.S. policy today. • Ambassador Michael Sheehan, the former Special Coordinator for Counterterrorism, would help Commissioners understand counterterrorism policy in context before September 11. • Dr. Paul Pillar, currently the National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, is perhaps the government's leading analyst of terrorism and could provide an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of different counterterrorism instruments. • Dr. Daniel Byman, who headed the "lookback" team on the 9-11 Inquiry, could offer a staff
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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briefing on several aspects of the Congressional Joint Inquiry investigation, particularly covert action, foreign liaison, the use of military force, and overall U.S. counterterrorism strategy as it related to intelligence. These briefings would follow the Joint Inquiry's more narrow focus and would not reflect many of the broader issues the Commission will examine. All three suggested briefers would probably prefer to brief in a classified or, at least, private venue in order to provide the maximum detail. Notional Document Review List Much, if not all, of the material we will be asking for will be classified. Since we will be requesting policy documents, the focus will be the Executive/NSC/OMB, and probably the Departments of State and Justice as well. This list will grow and become more specific as the investigation proceeds. For almost all categories of documents, we will focus our requests on the period after January 1998. The documents we will be requesting include: • Presidential Decision Directives and National Security Presidential Directives related to counterterrorism policy; • Records of discussions of counterterrorism policy, particularly among "Small Group" and "Counterterrorism Security Group" members; • NSC taskings and requests to agencies related to counterterrorism policy; • Records of the Transnational Threats Directorate at the National Security Council. This would include briefing memos, meeting notes, and perhaps selected e-mails related to key events; • State Department records, from both Foggy Bottom and the field, related to counterterrorism policy. The initial focus will be on documents from the Special Coordinator for Counterterrorism's Office, the deliberations of senior State Department officials, and selected documents related to policy toward key states in the war on terrorism; • Tasking directed to the intelligence community related to counterterrorism, including tasking related to renditions and other covert action, as well as intelligence collection and analysis; • The Defense Department, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and key commands' (CENTCOM, SOCOM) documents related to counterterrorism, particularly with regard to instructions to prepare military options and instructions to use force; • Military and intelligence agency briefings and memoranda related to military strikes and covert action against al-Qa'ida; and • Selected budget documents reflecting resources applied to counterterrorism. Many of the most interesting documents for the purposes of our effort will be predecisional. Such documents will provide insights into which options were chosen, which were rejected, and which were off the table. Because of the sensitivity of these documents, it may prove difficult to acquire them, which may in turn necessitate high-level interventions. To gain a deeper understanding of counterterrorism, we also intend to focus on the activities of several U.S. missions, such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Germany, to determine how they handled counterterrorism in practice. In addition to examining directives from Washington, we also plan to look at cables and instructions to and from key counterterrorism officials at these posts. We will also
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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interview key country team members as appropriate. Appendix One: Congressional Joint Inquiry Activity in the Policy Area The Congressional 9-11 Inquiry's work on policy issues focused on the intelligence-policy nexus, rather than on the soundness of the overall counterterrorism policy. The Inquiry discussed intelligence priorities, the dissemination of information, and the quality of analysis with policy makers in some depth. The focus of its work was on the late Clinton-early Bush administrations, with the Inquiry having more success learning about the Clinton period. Policies toward foreign partners received, at best, incomplete attention. For example, the Inquiry looked at how the policy makers' desire for a strong bilateral relationship with Country X affected intelligence gathering on Country X or on neighboring countries. However, this was only done with a few countries, and even there it was not done systematically. Moreover, the Inquiry deliberately did not try to judge whether other equities in a bilateral relationship were more or less important than counterterrorism. The Inquiry did more extensive work on the use of military force and covert action. On the former, however, it was hampered by a lack of interviews and access to many key individuals and documents outside the strict purview of intelligence. The Inquiry did not try to judge overall counterterrorism policy in any comprehensive way. Parts of the Inquiry's work looked at issues such as warning the public, working with state and local officials, and emphasizing law enforcement over the disruption of terrorist groups. Many of these issues, however, involved the work of non-Intelligence Community agencies (e.g. the Department of Justice, the INS), which received less attention than they deserved. In addition, the Inquiry did not do basic policy analysis such as trying to evaluate the available instruments, the limits on those instruments, and political support in Congress. Suggested Readings for the Commissioners on Terrorism and U.S. Policy 1. Paul Pillar, Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy (Brookings, 2001), pp. 73-129. These pages provide an excellent overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the instruments that the United States has used to fight terrorism. 2. Michael Elliott, "Could 9/11 Have Been Prevented?" Time, August 4, 2002. This article provides a fairly detailed history of efforts to fight al-Qa'ida in the Clinton and Bush administrations. Many of the quotes suggest that former Clinton administration officials were sources for the article. 3. Daniel Byman, "Scoring the War on Terrorism," The National Interest, Summer 2003. This piece examines how well the war on terrorism has gone since September 11. 4. Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (Random House, 2002), pp. 219349. These pages review (and defend) the Clinton administration's counterterrorism policy and examine (and attack) the Bush administration's policy before September 11. This is the most detailed look at U.S. counterterrorism policy to emerge so far, though it remains incomplete. Notional List of People to Interview As a first cut, the team would divide people to be interviewed into several categories: those with responsibilities for U.S. foreign policy who can place counterterrorism in context; those with counterterrorism responsibilities; those with valuable related responsibilities; personnel at key posts; and outside experts. NSC staff will prove particularly important, as they often directed and coordinated overall U.S. efforts against terrorism in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
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The first list, in particular, includes the most prominent names in the U.S. government. That may seem ambitious, but priorities and focus do begin at the top—and often end there. In several cases (e.g., at OMB), it may be more appropriate to talk to a deputy or someone who focused more on counterterrorism. Given the prominence of several of the people on this list, we favor interviewing the working-level individuals (particularly those involved in counterterrorism) and outside experts first whenever possible. Only when we know as much of the story as possible will we interview the most senior individuals. People Responsible for Overall Policy 1. President George W. Bush 2. Former President William J. Clinton 3. Vice President Richard Cheney 4. Former Vice President Al Gore 5. Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor 6. Samuel Berger, former National Security Advisor 7. Colin Powell, Secretary of State 8. Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State 9. Attorney General John Ashcroft 10. Former Attorney General Janet Reno 11. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 12. Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen 13. FBI Director Robert Mueller III 14. Former FBI Director Louis Freeh 15. Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet 16. Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State 17. Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State 18. Sean O'Keefe, former Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget 19. Josh Gotbaum, former Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget 20. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense
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21. Douglas Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 22. Steven Cambone, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy 23. Steve Hadley, Deputy National Security Advisor 24. James Steinberg, former Deputy National Security Advisor 25. Lt. General Donald Kerrick, former Deputy National Security Advisor Counterterrorism Specialists and Other Senior Working Level Officials with Duties Related to Counterterrorism 1. Richard Clarke, former National Coordinator for Counterterrorism 2. Ambassador Cofer Black, Special Coordinator for Counterterrorism (S/CT) and former CTC Director 3. Ambassador Francis Taylor, former S/CT 4. Ambassador Michael Sheehan, former S/CT 5. Evelyn Lieberman, former Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs 6. Ambassador Tom Pickering, senior State Department official in several administrations 7. Ambassador Chris Ross 8. General (ret.) Wayne Downing, former Coordinator for Counterterrorism 9. General John Gordon, Coordinator for Counterterrorism 10. Robert C. Doheny, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict (mission: overall supervision of SOLIC) 11. Brian Sheridan, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for SOLIC (around 1999) 12. H. Allen Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for SOLIC 13. General Tommy Franks, CINCCENT since June 2000 14. General (ret.) Anthony Zinni, former CINCCENT 15. Mary Jo White, former U.S. Attorney for Southern District of New York 16. Ambassador Karl Inderfurth, former Asst. Secretary of State, South Asia 17. Ambassador Mark Parris, former Asst. Secretary of State, Near East 18. Ambassador William Burns, Asst. Secretary of State, Near East 19. Ambassador Martin Indyk, Asst. Secretary of State, Near East
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20. Bruce Riedel, former Senior NSC Director for the Middle East 21. Stephen Jennings, former Asst Section Chief, Intl Terrorism Unit at FBI 22. Thomas Knowles, former member of Intl Relations Branch at FBI 23. Michael Rolince, former Section Chief at International Terrorism Unit at FBI 24. Barry Savin, Counterterrorism Section Chief in DoJ's Criminal Division 25. James Reynolds, former Chief of Terrorism and Violent Crimes section at DoJ Key Country Team Members from Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan (1998-2001) 1. Ambassador
2.
9/11 Closed by Statute
3. Deputy Chief of Mission 4. Legal Attache (FBI) 5. Other U.S. officials as appropriate 6. Foreign Ambassador to the United States Select Additional NSC Staff 1. Susan Rice, former Director 2. Randy Beers, former Director 3. Lee Wolosky, former Director (CFR international affairs fellow) 4. William Wechsler, former Director 5. Fred Rosa, former Director (from Coast Guard) 6. Mary McCarthy, former Director 7. Daniel Benjamin, former Director 8. Steven Simon, former Senior Director 9. Roger Cressey, former Director 10. Michael Fenzel, former Director 11. Gayle Smith, former Senior Director (Africa)
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Initial Work Plan of the Counterterrorism Policy Team
Page 9 of 9
12. Jeffrey Jones, Senior Director 13. William McRaven, Director 14. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, Director (from DOE) 15. Joseph (Jody) Myers, Director 16. Gregory Passic, Director 17. Nicholas Rasmussen, Director 8 Draft - Unclassified Draft — Unclassified
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