Mon, Sep 19, 2005
Information From Previously Unreleased 9/11 Commission
Findings
Three years before the
September 11, 2001 attacks, the FAA and officials from major
domestic air carriers knew of a terrorist plot to "seek to hijack a
commercial jet and slam it into a U.S. landmark," according to The
New York Times.
This information -- suspected by many since the attacks occurred
-- is from an updated release of the 9/11 Commission's report
posted on the National Archives website last week. The new version
makes available some information deleted from the original report
released in January.
Many commission members, and the White House, have fought to
have this information on airline security failures added to the
heavily-edited original report. Most of the new material focuses on
warnings the FAA received about possible terrorist hijackings,
including information gathered from 52 intelligence documents
mentioning either al-Qaeda or Osama bin Laden.
According to the new information, officials knew that two of the
three airports ultimately utilized by the 9/11 hijackers -- Logan
and Dulles -- had experience repeated security issues. For example,
information deleted from the original report stated one-quarter of
all screeners used for United Airlines flights at Dulles Airport in
2001 had not completed required criminal background checks. The
screeners were contracted by Argenbright Security.
A separate statement on the report says that American Airlines
suffered security lapses as well at Dulles. An American employee is
quoted as saying keys to access the cockpit "would be lost or
mishandled by employees without any significant repercussions or
concern by management."
Much of the report still remains classified, as evidence by
entire sections blacked out or simply erased, replaced by a
hastily-scribbled "redacted."
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