The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), an independent, bipartisan commission created by congressional legislation and the signature of President George W. Bush in late 2002, is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks.

The Commission has released its final report, available below in PDF format.

9-11 Commission Report

Public Statement by the Chair and Vice Chair Regarding the Report

PDF, 36 KB

Executive Summary

PDF, 372 KB

HTML, 64 KB

Complete 9/11 Commission Report

PDF, 7.4 MB

Report by Section

Contents, List of Illustrations and Tables, Members, and Staff

PDF, 372 KB

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Preface

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1. "We Have Some Planes"

• 1.1 Inside the Four Flights
• 1.2 Improvising a Homeland Defense
• 1.3 National Crisis Management

PDF, 952 KB

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2. The Foundation of the New Terrorism

• 2.1 A Declaration of War
• 2.2 Bin Ladin's Appeal in the Islamic World
• 2.3 The Rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda (1988-1992)
• 2.4 Building an Organization, Declaring War on the United States (1992-1996)
• 2.5 Al Qaeda's Renewal in Afghanistan (1996-1998)

PDF, 1.4 MB

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3. Counterterrorism Evolves

• 3.1 From the Old Terrorism to the New: The First World Trade Center Bombing
• 3.2 Adaptation--and Nonadaptation--in the Law Enforcement Community
• 3.3 ... and in the Federal Aviation Administration
• 3.4 ... and in the Intelligence Community
• 3.5 ... and in the State Department and the Defense Department
• 3.6 ... and in the White House
• 3.7 ... and in the Congress

PDF, 188 KB

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4. Responses to Al Qaeda's Initial Assaults

• 4.1 Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania
• 4.2 Crisis: August 1998
• 4.3 Diplomacy
• 4.4 Covert Action
• 4.5 Searching for Fresh Options

PDF, 185 KB

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5. Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland

• 5.1 Terrorist Entrepreneurs
• 5.2 The "Planes Operation"
• 5.3 The Hamburg Contingent
• 5.4 A Money Trail?

PDF, 312 KB

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6. From Threat To Threat

• 6.1 The Millennium Crisis
• 6.2 Post-Crisis Reflection: Agenda for 2000
• 6.3 The Attack on the USS Cole
• 6.4 Change and Continuity
• 6.5 The New Administration's Approach

PDF, 209 KB

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7. The Attack Looms

• 7.1 First Arrivals in California
• 7.2 The 9/11 Pilots in the United States
• 7.3 Assembling the Teams
• 7.4 Final Strategies and Tactics

PDF, 949 KB

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8. "The System Was Blinking Red"

• 8.1 The Summer of Threat
• 8.2 Late Leads--Mihdhar, Moussaoui, and KSM

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9. Heroism and Horror

• 9.1 Preparedness as of September 11
• 9.2 September 11, 2001
• 9.3 Emergency Response at the Pentagon
• 9.4 Analysis

PDF, 2.3 MB

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10. Wartime

• 10.1 Immediate Responses at Home
• 10.2 Planning for War
• 10.3 "Phase Two" and the Question of Iraq

PDF, 109 KB

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11. Foresight--and Hindsight

• 11.1 Imagination
• 11.2 Policy
• 11.3 Capabilities
• 11.4 Management

PDF, 133 KB

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12. What To Do? A Global Strategy

• 12.1 Reflecting on a Generational Challenge
• 12.2 Attack Terrorists and Their Organizations
• 12.3 Prevent the Continued Growth of Islamist Terrorism
• 12.4 Protect against and Prepare for Terrorist Attacks

PDF, 184 KB

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13. How To Do It? A Different Way of Organizing the Government

• 13.1 Unity of Effort across the Foreign-Domestic Divide
• 13.2 Unity of Effort in the Intelligence Community
• 13.3 Unity of Effort in Sharing Information
• 13.4 Unity of Effort in the Congress
• 13.5 Organizing America's Defenses in the United States

PDF, 158 KB

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Appendices

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Notes

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