1. "WE HAVE SOME PLANES" ....1
   1. Inside the Four Flights ....1
   2. Improvising a Homeland Defense ....14
   3. National Crisis Management ....35
   
   
   
2. THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW TERRORISM ....47
   1. A Declaration of War ....47
   2. Bin Ladin's Appeal in the Islamic World ....48
   3. The Rise of Bin Ladin and al Qaeda (1988-1992) ....55
   4. Building an Organization, Declaring War on the United States (1992-1996) ....59
   5. Al Qaeda's Renewal in Afghanistan (1996-1998) ....63
   
   
   
3. COUNTERTERRORISM EVOLVES ....71
   1. From the Old Terrorism to the New: The First World Trade Center Bombing ....71
   2. Adaptation--and Nonadaptation-- in the Law Enforcement Community ....73
   3. ...and in the Federal Aviation Administration ....82
   4. ...and in the Intelligence Community ....86
   5. ...and in the State Department and the Defense Department ....93
   6. ...and in the White House ....98
   7. ...and in the Congress ....102
   
   
   
4. RESPONSES TO AL QAEDA'S INITIAL ASSAULTS ....108
   1. Before the Bombings in Kenya and Tanzania ....108
   2. Crisis: August 1998 ....115
   3. Diplomacy ....121
   4. Covert Action ....126
   5. Searching for Fresh Options ....134
   
   
   
5. AL QAEDA AIMS AT THE AMERICAN HOMELAND ....145
   1. Terrorist Entrepreneurs ....145
   2. The "Planes Operation" ....153
   3. The Hamburg Contingent ....160
   4. A Money Trail? ....169
   
   
   
6. FROM THREAT TO THREAT ....174
   1. The Millennium Crisis ....174
   2. Post-Crisis Reflection: Agenda for 2000 ....182
   3. The Attack on the USS Cole ....190
   4. Change and Continuity ....198
   5. The New Administration's Approach ....203
   
   
   
7. THE ATTACK LOOMS ....215
   1. First Arrivals in California ....215
   2. The 9/11 Pilots in the United States ....223
   3. Assembling the Teams ....231
   4. Final Strategies and Tactics ....241
   
   
   
8. "THE SYSTEM WAS BLINKING RED" ....254
   1. The Summer of Threat ....254
   2. Late Leads--Mihdhar, Moussaoui, and KSM ....266
   
   
   
9. HEROISM AND HORROR ....278
   1. Preparedness as of September 11 ....278
   2. September 11, 2001 ....285
   3. Emergency Response at the Pentagon ....311
   4. Analysis ....315
   
   
   
10. WARTIME ....325
    1. Immediate Responses at Home ....326
    2. Planning for War ....330
    3. "Phase Two" and the Question of Iraq ....334
    
    
    
11. FORESIGHT--AND HINDSIGHT ....339
    1. Imagination ....339
    2. Policy ....348
    3. Capabilities ....350
    4. Management ....353
    
    
    
12. WHAT TO DO? A GLOBAL STRATEGY ....361
    1. Reflecting on a Generational Challenge ....361
    2. Attack Terrorists and Their Organizations ....365
    3. Prevent the Continued Growth of Islamist Terrorism ....374
    4. Protect against and Prepare for Terrorist Attacks ....383
    
    
    
13. HOW TO DO IT? A DIFFERENT WAY OF ORGANIZING THE GOVERNMENT ....399
    1. Unity of Effort across the Foreign-Domestic Divide ....400
    2. Unity of Effort in the Intelligence Community ....407
    3. Unity of Effort in Sharing Information ....416
    4. Unity of Effort in the Congress ....419
    5. Organizing America's Defenses in the United States ....423
    
    
    

Appendix A: Common Abbreviations ....429

Appendix B:Table of Names ....431

Appendix C: Commission Hearings ....439

Notes ....449