Comprehensive Case Study Identifying and Assessing the Analytical Failures Associated with the 9/11 Attack

Section I: Overview

The primary purpose of this paper is to make an overview of the 9/11 attacks by placing more emphasis on the analytical failures that took place on the day when it occurred. The event caught the United States by surprise, and that was a clear indication that they were not prepared for disaster and that was the reason why the country ended up losing a lot on that day. The 9/11 attacks took place in New York and also in Washington D.C. and the people who conducted it was the Al Qaeda militia group.

The event took place due to the issues of intelligence and counterintelligence that can be looked at from the perspective of the United States (Bloom, 2005). The Al Qaeda was on the front line to make use of the meticulous intelligence mechanism that they had spent many days studying. In that case, they were able to place a substantial measure concerning the environment in which they were supposed to launch their attacks. The group had an easy time to ensure that everything went as per their plans since they had assessed the environment using the counterintelligence mechanisms that were at their disposal.

Al-Qaeda were the main actors in the attack they ensured that all the operational intelligence that they had were put to productive use. The attack led to the death of many Americans and also many buildings and properties underwent tremendous destruction. The elements that were used in operation were connected to the weak intelligence that the Americans had put in place, and this was an event which had been planned for a long time before its execution (Bloom, 2005). In that case, this article also intends to analyse the people who took place in the operation while checking on the errors that occurred and even the kind of leadership that led to the high levels of uncertainty during the process.

Section II: Pre-Event/Event Actions

The attacks that took place on September 11 came as result of the terrorist attacks that were conducted in four coordinated ways. Al Qaeda had all the mechanisms and tools of perpetrating the event. Most people believed that they formed part of the Islamic terrorists who had been planning to launch their attacks on the U.S. The attacks led to the death of over 2,996 people while other 6000 escaped death by getting minor injuries (Marrin, 2011). The event also led to the loss of over $10 million when looked at from the perspective of infrastructure and even the important property.

On September 11, there were over four airliners that were seen flying over the American airspace, and many did not have a clue of what was about to happen. The airliners belonged to the United States, but they were hijacked by a group of 19 al-Qaeda terrorists. Only two planes were attacked, and they included United Airlines Flight 175 and also American Airlines Flight 11. The attackers redirected the aircraft to crash into the World Trade Centre located in New York City, and it took only one hour for the building to collapse hence resulting in fires around the area. The third plane was forced to crash into the Pentagon (which is the United States Department of Defence).

Al-Qaeda took advantage of the weak links that existed in the United States Defence after it had investigated all the areas where it could pose an attack. The terrorists made sure that they had an understanding of the American Environment by making use of methodical intelligence. In that case, they had useful information regarding the target, and that made them launch a surprise attack with minimum detection. The attackers were sure that the use of sophisticated weapons would not work while in the cockpit of the planes and they, therefore, opted to go for the hijacking mechanism that they felt could form a better basis of directing the aircraft to the most critical structure in the United States.

The event led to many families losing lives, and that affected them psychologically. Many were not able to get back to work since they feared that such an event could retake place. Psychologically the people were not prepared for an incident of that nature. The politics of the United States, therefore, became much stronger as that was the time when the president decided to launch a war on all acts of terror (Shultz & Beitler, 2004). All the leaders who were vying for elective posts vowed that they could attack Afghanistan to ensure that the leadership of the country went back to its normalcy.

Section III: Missed Indicators

The attackers and people who took part in the 9/11 terrorist did it after announcing that there was a significant war coming between the United States and Al-Qaeda (Goodman, 2006). The politicians in the United States did not place any measures to counter this threat since they did not have a clue on when the event would take place. In that case, all the organizational barriers that were put in place did not withstand the attacks which seemed to be massive and intelligently planned.

The terrorists blamed the U.S for supporting the attack of Muslims in Somalia; they also claimed that there were some U.S troops sent to Saudi Arabia and that the U.S troops were oppressing the Muslims in Kashmir, a town in India (Nicander, 2011). In that case, they wanted to revenge and prevent the United States from interfering with the Muslim affairs. The attackers knew that the strength and all the intelligence of the United States were located in the Pentagon and they, therefore, went ahead to attack it in the first place. This was an indication that the United States knew that anyone who would attack the Pentagon would lead to its weakness but still did not put in place measures that would stop them.

Section IV: Lessons Learned

The 9/11 attack was severe, and the United States had all the chances to prevent it from occurring since they had been warned of a raging war. In that case, one of the lessons learned from the incident is that all warnings whether in the form of propaganda should be kept in mind and taken seriously. The United States would have started investigating on some of the ways the Al-Qaeda could have posed an attack to get ready and prepared for anything.

The other lesson learned is that there is always a need to frisk and check all people who are boarding airplanes. Also, all the planes are supposed to be checked to remove any suspicious weapons that might have been planted before taking off. The United States did not ensure that the airplanes that were hijacked were safe before taking off. In that case, the terrorists went ahead to direct the planes to the most important buildings in the country.

The third lesson learned is that any country that keeps interfering with others countries when it comes to religious and political matters is always on the verge of being attacked. The United States had placed its troops in most nations that are known to be full of Muslims in the name of maintaining security and intelligence. The nation should only ensure that its airlines and borders are safe instead of operating from an external location.

References

Bloom, M. (2005). Dying to Kill: The Allure of Suicide Terrorism. Columbia U. Pr.

Goodman, M. A. (2006). 9/11: The Failure of Strategic Intelligence. Intelligence and National Security. 18 (4)

Marrin, S. (2011). The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: A Failure of Policy Not Strategic Intelligence Analysis. Intelligence and National Security.

Nicander, L. D. (2011). Understanding Intelligence Community Innovation in the Post 9/11 World. International Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence.

Shultz, R. H., & Beitler, R. M. (2004). Tactical Deception and Strategic Surprise in Al-Qaidas Operations, Middle East Review of International Affairs 8(2)